Songman Professional DJ
Protocols
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PRE-PLANNING
INSTRUCTIONS
- 1-2 weeks prior to
event - get detail sheet from
client - finalize all timing (same as on your confirmation?),
pronunciations, special requests, etc.
- 3 days prior
- get your directions, call location site and say Hello to your
contact - fax or email timelines to make sure everyone’s on the same page
- 2 days prior
- confirm and comfort your client, “I’ll see you there!”
- Make sure your tux
and/or gig outfit are cleaned and pressed
- Make sure you have
your Songman business cards with you… if not, CALL HOME BASE and they will
be sent to you!
- Make sure that you
check your DJ gear before leaving for the gig… batteries for cordless mic,
backup cables & backup wired mic, power extension cables, power strips, etc.
WEDDING DAY PROCEDURES
- No jeans or cut-offs!
Only Dockers/Dickies and Polo shirts to be worn during load-in. Always
clean shaven.
- Allow extra time for
travels… don’t cut it short!
- Arrive 1 hour prior
to event start time… LATE STARTS
WILL CO$$T YOU!!
- Never set up in street
clothes while guests are arriving - change into your tux & return to finish
setup
- Do sound check, make
sure wireless mic is loud enough for the toast, start playing soft
background music
- Find and introduce
yourself to the on-site coordinator and catering director and review timings
– exchange business cards!
- Set business cards at
the bar and next to doorways if it’s OK with the on-site coordinator
- Check with on-site
coordinator regarding protocol to feeding the DJ
- Sometimes the Bride
and Groom will request cake cutting to be immediately after dinner… this
should be noted on your details - double-check this with them ahead of time
and with the catering director and onsite coordinator
- As they arrive,
introduce yourself to the videographers/photographers and give them your
business card - review timeline with them and always carry a pencil
- As guests arrive,
smile and reassure them that they are at the right party!
PREPARING FOR THE GRAND
ENTRANCE
- Gather the bridal
party and line them up according to the order on your coordination sheet
- Re-check the
pronunciations of the names (always have your pencil ready)
- When lining up bridal
party - tell Best Man & Maid of Honor that they’ll be doing the toast soon
- Check to make sure
there is an easy route for them to get to the head table
- Ask guests to be
seated… “Ladies and Gentlemen, at this time we would ask that all the
guests be seated, because in a few minutes I will be Introducing our bridal
party”
- Cue up videographer &
photographer that you will now be doing the Grand Entrance
- Go to your booth and
introduce yourself
“Good Afternoon/Evening! My name is ________.
It gives me great pleasure to be your Disc Jockey this afternoon/evening. But
before I introduce the bridal party this afternoon/evening you should give
yourself a round of applause so I know what kind of audience I’ll be
entertaining tonight!”
- Proceed to introduce
Bridal Party in an enthusiastic manner
BRIDE & GROOM GRAND
ENTRANCE: GET GUESTS TO STAND
“And
at this time I’d like to ask all of you to please stand for...
THE NEW MR. & MRS. ______________!”
When you’ve finished introducing everyone on your list, announce the following:
“Ladies and Gentlemen, in a few minutes we will
be preparing for the toast, so please fill your glasses with your favorite
beverage”
PREPARING FOR THE TOAST
- Check first to make
sure the champagne has been poured first...
- Make sure video &
photography are ready to go
- Find the Best Man,
Maid of Honor, and anyone else is who is doing a toast - know where they are
seated
- Get everyone’s
attention…
“Ladies and Gentlemen, it gives me great
pleasure to introduce our Best Man and Maid/Matron of honor”
- Proceed to give them
the mic, tell them to speak closely to mic - stand out of the way of
the pictures the Photographer is taking - after each toast ask for a nice
round of applause
- When toasts are done,
say “Ladies and Gentlemen, I invite you to enjoy your family and the
meal that is being served, and I’ll be back later with some great dancing
music”
DINNER
- Check with Bride and
Groom at head table - is there anything else they might need from you?
Also, ask the parents to see if they need anything… IMPORTANT!
- Make sure the music is
good sound level for the room – enough to be background “white noise” but
not too loud to interfere with conversation, especially at the tables
closest to the sound system
- If you are invited to,
and you choose to eat, you will be served by the staff or go through the
buffet (see #8 under WEDDING DAY PROCEDURES). Just make sure you don’t go
last - you won’t have enough time to finish. Find an out-of-the-way place
to eat your meal - listen to the music at all times, in case of CD skips or
unforeseen level/playlist changes, or if you are needed (last-minute
announcements/changes/etc.)
- Most dinners are 45
minutes to 1 hour… when guests look restless or are getting up and/or the
staff is picking up plates, give the bridal party their 10 minute warning to
prepare for the formal dances
- When you’re finished
eating, check on your cued CDs - line up first dance, etc…
FORMAL DANCES
PREPARATION
- Check with Bride and
Groom to make sure they are ready to do their first dance… the Bride may
want to primp – this is their 15-minute warning (but a nice
warning!). Ask if they wish you to play the whole First Dance song or just
the first half (then fade out), depending on their comfort level and
choice. Make sure all the Moms and Dads are aware, and bridal party have
their coats/ties/shoes/whatever on… be polite!
- Find the videographer
and photographer to make sure they are ready to go before you start making
introductions
FIRST DANCE
- Make sure Bride and
Groom are ready and that you have their First Dance song and the next song
cued up
- Check to make sure
that the videographer and photographer are ready - proceed to announce Bride
and Groom…
“Ladies and Gentlemen, dancing for the first
time as Man and Wife, please join me in a round of applause for the new Mr. &
Mrs. _____________!”
- NOTE:
See if the Bride and Groom seem at ease as they dance… sometimes you only
need to play half the tune (see #1 under FORMAL DANCES PREPARATION)
- Always ask for
applause as they walk off the dance floor
FATHER/DAUGHTER DANCE
- Make sure that you
have the song cued
- Invite the Bride’s
Father to the dance floor…
“Ladies and Gentleman, it gives me great
pleasure to introduce the Father of the Bride, Mr. ________, dancing with his
daughter the new Mrs. ________ in the traditional Father/Daughter dance”
- NOTE:
many times, halfway through, the Groom will join in and dance with his
Mother. Your announcement is…
“And now our Groom will dance with his Mother,
Mrs. ___________”
Be
sure you have another song ready if the song runs out!
BRIDAL PARTY DANCE
- Typically this is an
upbeat song, but it will probably be the Bride & Grooms choice
- Once the pictures have
been taken you might invite the wedding guests to come out on the dance
floor signifying the start of open dancing…
“At this time, let’s get everyone on their feet
and join Mr. and Mrs. _________ on the dance floor! It’s time to party!”
OPEN DANCING
- Most of the time,
dancing sets will be 45 minutes to 1 hour - you’ll be playing music from the
set list that was provided by the Bride and Groom
- This is also a good
time to re-introduce yourself with something like “Good Evening
everyone, my name is _______” once again…
- You can add, “We
have music for everyone this evening, so if you’ll be patient I’m sure I’ll
get to one of your favorites!”
- Requests are handled
according to the time you have, and also if the Bride has requested that
certain songs not be played
- Should Mom or Dad come
up to talk to you, make sure you give them high priority
CAKE CUTTING
- At some point during
the first dancing set, either the coordinator or the catering staff will
give you the high sign to cut the cake. Your announcement is…
“Ladies and Gentlemen I hope you are enjoying
the music so far, and there will be more! At this time we will be cutting the
cake, so we ask all the guests to surround our Bride and Groom by their cake and
show your support”
- Point to the cake
and the return to soft music
- NOTE:
sometimes the Bride & Groom will request for the cake to be cut immediately
after dinner (will be noted on your details… double-check this with them
and with the catering director ahead of time)
BOUQUET TOSS
- You should see the
videographer and photographer cutting through the crowd toward you at this
time… announce that you want all the single women on the dance floor…
you can call some of their names out from your Cheat Sheet
- Play your fanfare CD…
ex. “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun”
- The
videographer/photographer will place the girls where to stand - after the
high sign, say, “Ladies, hands up and then count to three… 1… 2… 3!!”
- Bride will toss the bouquet
- Ask the lady that
caught the bouquet to stay close by for a picture with the Bride and Groom
after the garter toss
THE GARTER TOSS
- Call all the single
men to the dance floor, use their names from your Cheat Sheet and play
your fanfare CD… ex. “Bad To The Bone”
- lf needed, get a chair
for the Bride to sit in, at the center of the dance floor
- The
videographer/photographer will place the guys where to stand
- Build up the
excitement by asking the guys to howl as the Groom takes off the garter
- Groom will then stand
- get high sign from videographer/photographer - ask the Groom to get ready
and count to three - he will then toss the garter
- Immediately ask the
bouquet and garter catchers (say “the lucky Mr. ________ and Miss/Ms.
________”) to join the Bride and Groom for a photo in the middle of the
dance floor
- Return to soft/easy
listening music as people finish their cake and coffee – usually about 15 to
20 minutes - confer with the on-site coordinator about the length of the
second dance set, in reference to the timeline, facilities cutoff, overtime
limit, etc.
SECOND DANCE SET
- If the crowd is
already lively, just say something like, “Ladies and Gentlemen, let’s
get this party started again” and play some hot/energetic tune
- If it appears that
they are a bit “sleepy,” ease them in with a romantic ballad
- A couple of songs
before the contracted ending time, if it looks like the party is raging,
check with the Bride and Groom to see if they are interested in overtime…
you can ask for $50 per 30 minutes, or $75 per hour, or $100-125, based on
if you have a long drive to get home
- YOU MUST COLLECT THE
MONEY THAT NIGHT! Cash, check, whatever… it’s up to you… but get it right
away, since a) it’s not itemized on the contract, and b) tracking down the
Bride & Groom for the money during/after their honeymoon will be difficult
AND bad form!
CLOSING THE PARTY
- With about 20 minutes
left in your scheduled playing time, prepare the Bride and Groom for their
last dance with about a 5 minute warning.
Option #1:
Invite the remaining guest to make a circle around the Bride and Groom -
announce “Ladies and Gentlemen, we would like to invite the remaining
guests to make a circle around our Bride and Groom, the new Mr. and
Mrs._________ as they prepare for the traditional farewell dance”
Option #2
“Ladies and Gentlemen, our Bride and Groom will
be doing their traditional last dance and have asked that about halfway through
you join them on the dance floor”
- give the Bride and Groom about 1.5 minutes, then ask the remaining guests to
join them
- Once the traditional
dance is over, if there is still time left, say “Ladies and Gentlemen,
let’s have a big round of applause for our Bride and Groom, but we still
have time on the clock to take this party out ROCKIN!”
- Play out the remaining
time with great, fun dance songs
- The last thing you
say should be…
“Ladies and Gentlemen, my name is _________ and
I’m from Songman Entertainment. I hope that you’ve had an enjoyable evening. I
want to wish our Bride and Groom the best of luck in their lives ahead… and for
the rest of you, a pleasant good night and a safe return home. Thank you!”
- Start some soft/easy
listening background music, go to the doorway, thank guests as they leave,
and pass out business cards if appropriate. Pick up leftover cards
at the bar and anywhere else you’ve left them
- Shake hands with all
the vendors, the floor captain, videographer, photographer, on-site
coordinator, catering director, etc… exchange business cards if you have
not already done so
- TEAR DOWN AND GO HOME
A HERO!!!