Our venue came with several options for music, including having our own Spotify playlist played through speakers, to eliminate the need for a DJ or a live band. We decided to go with a DJ from DNA Entertainment, which was a superb decision on o...ur part (if I do say so myself)!
First, why a DJ over a live band? - we have a really wide, eclectic taste of music that ranges from Japanese hip hop to punk rock emo. We wanted all aspects of our music tastes represented, which would have been tricky with a live band. Then, why a DJ over using our own playlist? - simply put, our DJ was invaluable in keeping us on schedule, making announcements to corral our guests for events like cake cutting and first dances. Don't underestimate the value of having someone with a schedule that can check in with photographers, your venue and caterers, and the bride and groom to make sure things go as planned! Working with DNA Entertainment was seamless from the start. Anthony responded extremely promptly to our initial inquiry - even going as above and beyond to give us a call when we missed their email as it got sent to our spam inbox instead. The initial phone call went over basics, and we were encouraged that they were open to having a lot of input from us on music selections for cocktail hour/dinner instead of insisting we stick to their premade playlists or genres. We were given a very thorough worksheet/template to fill out with our wedding ceremony timeline, song choices for processional/recessional/first dance/etc, as well as the all important DO NOT PLAY list. They even have a list of common/top wedding songs to help those of you who aren't as particular about your music as we were. Then about a month and a half before our wedding, we reached out. Again the response was prompt, and our DJ was CC'd on the email. They let us know that they'd be in touch about a week before the wedding, which is more than enough time to touch base with your DJ prior to the wedding. We submitted our completed worksheets and sent our Spotify playlists over to our DJ, who reviewed it thoroughly with us via phone call in the week prior to the wedding. Now, a word on our DJ. DJ Christopher was fantastic! He introduced himself to us at the venue and checked in with us through the night. His help during the ceremony with microphones and speeches was truly seamless - no awkward skips or volume issues. He was flexible and accommodating, letting us finish up saying hello to our guests before keeping us on track with the schedule with speeches. He played every song we requested and none of the ones we asked him not to. As a fellow Pitbull enjoyer I was really happy with his song choices all night. He even got my shy mother-in-law on the dance floor for a song, which is not an easy feat! I can't thank DJ Christopher and DNA Entertainment enough for all their help. If you have an event, I highly, 100% endorse the whole team. Thank you for everything!