The Following Are A Few Suggestions & Informative Questions Worth Asking Before You Make Your Final Decision On Choice Of Entertainment. (Taken From Weddings Magazine)

Q. Can your DJ provide a written contract and testimonials from previous clients?

It is extremely important to have your booking confirmed in writing. All terms of the agreement should be in writing to avoid any complications at a later date. Testimonials are an important part of any business and an experienced professional DJ should be able to provide you with current names and addresses of satisfied clients.

A. When booking BCs a booking form is sent which contains full terms & conditions. Some recent testimonials are shown on our website.

Q. Does your DJ use professional equipment?

There is a big difference between the audio equipment you have at home and the equipment a professional DJ uses. Professional audio equipment is built to go on the road day in and day out. Make sure your prospective choices use only professional equipment to insure the music sounds as good as possible for all of your guest's enjoyment.

A. All the equipment used by BCs is state of the art professional DJ equipment, which is regular services and PAT (Portable Appliance Tested) every year.

Q. Can your DJ provide backup equipment and personnel in case of emergency?

Even professional equipment can fail on occasion, so it is important to know whether your DJ has spare equipment available to them. Any number of circumstances may arise between the time you book your DJ and the date of your event. It is important to know if the DJ has a backup plan in case of illness or accident.

A. I bring spare equipment to every function in the event of equipment failure. I have regular contacts with other DJ's and Agencys and in the very unlikely scenario of illness I will be able to provide an experienced professional replacement DJ. I also have all my equipment fully insured from Musicgurad, who will pay for emergancy hire equipment, should my equipmrent be damaged or stolen from another job.

Q. Will your DJ be suitably dressed for the occasion?

It is important that your DJ looks the part by dressing in formal or semiformal attire. Be sure to specify the type of apparel that your DJ should use. There should be no added fee charged for formal attire.

A. When completing my booking form, there is an option to select the DJ attire that you would prefer.

Q. Does your DJ know the proper procedure and etiquette for your type of wedding?

A professional DJ will be prepared to handle all announcements and special events on the day of your wedding.

A. On average I perform at over 80 weddings per year and have performed at over 1,000's of weddings in my DJ career.

Q. Is your DJ registered and/or insured, and is their equipment tested regularly?

A DJ who has taken the time to register their business, arrange adequate Public Liability Insurance (PLI) and regularly has all electrical equipment tested to ensure that they comply with the standards required for Portable Appliance Testing (PAT) demonstrates that they are serious business men and women.

A. I carry full £5 Million Public Liability Insurance and all of my equipment has PAT certificates.

Q. Will your DJ arrive on time?

Punctuality is an ultimate necessity, and as professionals they should be aware of their responsibilities to their clients. Normal time spent setting up and removing equipment should not be part of the entertainment fee.

A. I am extremely punctual and will usually arrive at least 1 1/2 hours before the scheduled start time. It takes me around 1 Hour usually to set-up my equipment, depending on access to the function room, staircases, lift etc. The set-up time is seperate to any hours that I quote you and is not part of the fee. My van is equiped with Satelite Navigation, so I am not spending hours looking for your venue, should i have not previously been before.

Q. Will it be the DJ you were expecting?

When booking a DJ through an entertainment agency you usually will not know for definite which DJ will be performing at your special event. If the agency has a lot of events booked on the same day as yours, you may end up with a very inexperienced DJ because all the experienced guys went to the highest paying events!

A. BCs is not an agency, when you book BCs the DJ you will get is myself; Matt Butcher.

Q. Is your DJ willing to discuss musical selections ahead of time, and be willing to play requests, particularly if they are suitable for dancing?

A professional DJ is aware that they cannot possibly know everything there is to know about your musical preferences and entertainment needs. They should be willing to listen to your ideas and suggestions. They should make themselves available prior to your wedding to discuss selections. They should never play the songs you have asked them not to play. Special requests should never be a problem and your DJ should be willing to play them where they are appropriate.

When guests request music, remember, it is not possible for a DJ to have every song, or for a band to know every song that could be requested; however, DJs do have greater flexibility in handling requests because they don't have to learn the songs.

People often request songs that do not "fit-in" with the music programming. Some may request inappropriate songs. Professional entertainers know when it is acceptable to honour requests. If inappropriate requests are played, they will make you look bad. If you, the bride or groom insist on a song being played that is against the better judgment of the DJ or band, they have every right to let your audience know that the song choice is yours and not his. He has a reputation to protect and he should inform the audience why a poor song choice is being played.

A. Upon confirmation of a booking, I will send out a music question to enable you to create your request list. My full music liabary is available to vue online.

Q. How much music should a DJ bring?

Some DJ services brag about a huge music library. Ask them if they bring the entire library and if it is in a database. If they can’t find a song, then it does no good to have that many songs. On the other hand, some only bring about 300 to 500 of the most requested songs. These DJs can not really honour requests of a truly diverse audience that most receptions are composed of.

Remember that for a 4-hour reception, the maximum amount of songs that could be played is around 60! (Average of 4 minutes per song played back to back).

A. My entire database comprises of over 80,000 tracks, at any function I will have every track with me covering a huge range of music genre's & era's. You are of course welcome to supply your own CDs for any rarities. When searching through my collection to create the request list, previously some couples became very excited and drew up very lengthy request lists of over 70 songs! It is virtually impossible for me to play such a request list and also makes it very restrictive for me on the night and less able to react to what is happening on the dancefloor.

Q. What kinds of music styles should the DJ’s library contain?

A DJ should have all types of music with them at the reception in order to please a diverse audience. The DJ should be able to play music from the big band, 50’s, 60’s, 70’s, 80’s, and 90’s, right up through today’s hottest hits. Your DJ should be able to provide even ethnic music and many other more obscure genre’s to suit your event. DJs have an advantage over bands in this case because they have a broader selection of musical styles at their disposal.

Some music types and songs are unsuitable to play at wedding receptions. Playing heavy metal or gangsta rap, for example, might upset or displease some of your guests. Also, songs containing objectionable language should not be played.

A. I have an extremely wide music knowledge covering many eras and going way back to the 1940's, but still buy the upto date tracks and am very much in touch with the current scene.

Q. Should the DJ provide you with a music guide or list to assist you?

Yes. Your DJ should arrange a meeting with you to go over all the details. A DJ should take the time to find out your musical tastes and be open to your needs. By the same token, an experienced DJ also knows what works and what does not work. Listen to their advice. A classic example is one where the bride and groom insisted on House & Trance music for the entire reception! They chose their favourite music even though the guest list included many people from different backgrounds and age-groups! Common sense dictates that you might want to listen to your DJ in this case.

A. If you would like to meet me before the day to discuss your special event this can easily be arranged. Either at your home or the venue itself, to discuss setup arrangmen. This is best done within a few weeks of the big day.

Q. Will the DJ play cheesy songs such as the Birdie Dance & Agadoo all night?

The stereotypical image of a wedding disco in the UK is of a guy that will only play the very cheesy hits all night long. It is important that you emphasise whether you do/don't like this sort of style.

A. I find now that the vast majority of people who book me, state that they do NOT want the very cheesy stuff like Agadoo & Jive Bunny played and it is becoming increasingly common for couples to insist on NO cheese or boy band stuff whatsoever. I have no problem with this whatsoever; just let me know your preferences in advance.

Q. Will the music be too loud?

Music volume should be kept at an appropriate level so it doesn't "interfere" with the event. Throughout all segments of the reception, cocktail hour, dinner and dancing, the music should add to, or help create the proper atmosphere. During dinner the music should be loud enough to fill in any "dead" air that may occur while people are enjoying their meal. The music level shouldn't be so loud that it is distracting when you are engaged in conversation. As the event progresses towards the dancing portion of the event, the volume should increase. The increase should be mainly concentrated on the dance floor. This will add to the excitement of the party. The volume increase should not take away from the enjoyment of any guest as it moves to the foreground. Some people may prefer conversation over dancing. They should be able to find quieter areas away from the dance floor.

A. I play the music at the volumes you want to here.

Q. Are compact discs better than records?

In many ways yes. Records show wear that you can hear. They also skip on the best of turntables because the dance floors sometimes vibrate from people dancing. CD’s can skip too if the reception hall is old or has a very bouncy dance floor. You should consider this when you check out a reception hall.

A. With the majority of DJ CD players a bouncy floor would be a problem; however this is not an issue with the state-of-the-art pc driven equipment that allows for bouncy floors.

Q. If the contract states for five hours but everyone is having a great time how should I handle the overtime?

Your DJ should have discussed that with you prior to your reception and at contract signing. It should also be part of your contract. However, you alone must authorize it. If the cheque you have prepared for the DJ does not cover the overtime then the DJ has the option of accepting cash or check. Usually, it is best to have the cash available and to pay the DJ when services are rendered.

A. The rates for additional hours are clearly stated on the contract that I send to you.

Q. Do you tip a DJ and when do I pay them?

The answer to tipping is up to you. If you know the DJ gave you a fair price and a great performance then it is always nice to say thanks. Payments can be made either on the night of the performance, it is usually better to arrange this for near the start of the event, because otherwise once the drink starts flowing it can easily be forgotten if left till the end. Some people prefer to pay in advance and this can be done by posting a cheque.

A. On the contracts that I will send to you, the terms & conditions state that full payment must be made either 10 working days before the wedding date if paying by cheque or cash at the start of the night.

Q. Am I obligated to provide the DJ with food & drink?

No, you are not obligated to feed the DJ; however, it is a nice gesture to offer a meal of some sort while everyone else is eating. Often your DJ set up several hours before your actual reception, plays for a minimum of four hours, and will be there quite a while after your reception taking equipment down. All in all, a kind gesture is often returned many times over.

Most professional DJ's are reliant on their vehicle in order to transport their equipment and for this reason do not drink when working.

A. When working I usually drink soft drinks.

Q. Do u want a wedding arch/circle?

If you are thinking of doing this you need to take into account whether you are staying till the end and the start & end time of the whole day.
If for example the day starts at around mid-day for all your guests and the disco will be finishing at midnight but you want to do the arch at the very end of the night, you’ll sometimes find that many of the guests, especially the older ones, will have left before the end because they were tired, meaning fewer people to do the arch.

A. If you plan to leave before the end; a common scenario is that all the guests will follow the B&G out to the limo to say goodbye, leaving the dancefloor empty for 5 or 10 minutes and by then many of them will decide it’s time to go home, so it’s often pointless for example to leave at 10.30, but arrange for the event to go on until midnight!

Q. Extra's:

A: I offer the following extras for your wedding day:

Confetti Cannons
Pyrotechnics (Indoor Fireworks)
Video Walls
Bubble Machines
The choice is yours!

Q. How important should price be?

When compared to other party related expenses, a mobile disc jockey is a bargain. The national estimated cost of a wedding reception is well over £12,000. Photographers can cost as much as £4,000; high-quality digital video £800-£3,000; your wedding cake £500-£1,200, basic meal service (chicken) for 150 guests £5,000. Don't forget flowers, invitations, dresses and tuxedo rentals, limo's and even postage. Ask yourself these question's; is the entertainment less than 5% responsible for the success of your reception? Is price important? Yes, it is. But no price is a good price if you do not like the quality of your entertainment!

A. I realize what an important day your wedding is and how much you want everything to be perfect. My business is built on referrals from my very satisfied customers.

Remember Quality Isn't Expensive It's Priceless!