Music By Design and Photo Booth
About This Vendor
Your Award Winning Wedding DJ and Photo Booth
Music By Design is a wedding DJ company located in Chicago, IL. A team of entertainment experts is on hand to bring the party to your evening reception. They play an eclectic musical mix that is tailored to your tastes and preferences and guaranteed to keep guests dancing from start to finish. Music By Design has been bringing stellar entertainment to the wedding scene since 1993. So it is safe to say that these professionals know how to make an event memorable and fun for all involved. Whether you love jazz and pop or country and hip hop, your personal DJ will customize a setlist that has all your favorites and then some. With Music By Design, you are not just getting high-end musical entertainment. The team also provides quality equipment such as wireless microphones and ambient uplighting. They also offer photo booth rentals so guests can preserve precious memories of your special day. You can arrange a personal consultation and begin exploring a bespoke package that’s made for you.
Details
Equipment
Audio/Visual Equipment, Sound Equipment
Music Genres
Bluegrass, Bollywood, Caribbean, Celtic, Classical, Country, Dance, Disco, EDM, Flamenco, Folk, Hip-Hop, Indian, Jazz, Klezmer, Latin, Mariachi, Persian, Polka, Pop, R&B, Rock, World Music
Music Services
MC Services, Recorded Music, Sound Equipment
Wedding Activities
Wedding, Ceremony, Reception
Awards and Affiliations
Pricing for Music By Design and Photo Booth
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Music By Design and Photo Booth Reviews
4.9 out of 5.0
338 reviews
5 Star
93%
4 Star
6%
3 Star
0%
2 Star
0%
1 Star
1%
They did amazing! They played every song we wanted and we got so many compliments on the Playlist! Perfect choice!
Working with MBD was extremely easy. They clearly communicated due dates, and their online planning forms were straightforward. Andrew was our DJ, and he did a perfect job playing all the songs we asked for: ceremony through the end of the rece...
ption. At one point during our reception, almost all our guests went outside on the patio. I think Andrew handled it well, because the remaining guests were inside still dancing and having fun, and once I came back in I noticed that a song I asked for was already playing. Overall, he was very professional and personable. We didn't give him a setlist that lasted the full duration of the reception in the planning forms, and he did a flawless job reading the vibe of the crowd and filling in.
MBD is highly recommended.
MBD was wonderful to work with, and we would definitely hire them again. Every person we spoke with was courteous and professional. Any questions we had were answered very quickly. The online portal was a great way to keep track of our music li...
st and it was easy to use. The music library was expansive. There were lists of popular wedding songs that we used when we needed inspiration. MBD was also able to play a Ukrainian song at our wedding that was not in their library. We wanted specific versions of songs during our ceremony, and MBD was able to accommodate that. We also felt like the price was reasonable.
Our wedding DJ was Charlie. He was awesome! We received so many compliments on the music, from cocktail hour to dinner to dancing. We told him generally what type of music we liked and the ambiance we wanted, and he hit it out of the park. Charlie was familiar with our venue, so we did not have to worry about him setting up. He was flexible when we made last-minute changes. Overall, we would not change a thing about our wedding day.
We highly recommend Charlie and MBD.
Any questions?
Steven was an awesome wedding DJ! The process of using the online system for logging information and songs was so easy and helpful! Our guests were dancing all night and many said Steven was one of the best DJs they had seen in awhile! Would hi...
ghly recommend this company and Steven!
We also used the Photobooth service which was super fun!
We are overjoyed with our choice in going with Music By Design as our DJ for our wedding. Jim was our DJ, and he was absolutely phenomenal. He got in contact with us a couple days before the wedding to make sure that our music selection was co...
rrect. They even downloaded the correct songs, so that the right version was playing at our wedding. Jim was incredible. He was truly better than our wedding planner and constantly checked in with us to make sure that things were on track. If something went off plan, he let us know so that we were kept in the loop. He knew the right songs to play and when to play them, as the dance floor was full the entire night. Any songs that we said we absolutely had to hear that night, we heard and could not have had more fun. We would definitely recommend them to anyone planning a wedding that is looking to use a DJ. Thank you so much, Jim!
We couldn't be happier with choosing Music by Design for our wedding day. Our DJ, Charlie, was so kind and so helpful the entire ceremony, cocktail hour and reception. The dance floor stayed packed and everyone raved about the music. I highly r...
ecommend them!
We used Music by Design for both our DJ and Photo Booth! Both were fantastic. The Photo Booth was fun and easy to use for guests. Space for 10 people to fit in there! DJ was great at fading between songs and playing songs we wanted. He went ove...
r pronunciation of everyone’s name at our pre wedding meeting and right before we all did our grand March. So happy with everything!
Excellent and very responsive communication, right on time, great music all night that kept the dance floor going! Their online platform was easy to work with. Kevin with our DJ and he did a great job! We loved working with Music by Design!
Our DJ James was amazing! I filled out a form that asked which songs I wanted and what the timeline was for the wedding. He did a great job keeping our wedding on schedule and he had a great playlist using the songs I requested. He was great at...
handling song requests from guests and he some funny improv songs inbetween speeches.
Music By Design was so amazing! They accommodated our first dance song, read the room and got everyone on the dance floor the whole night! Not one person sat down the whole night.
Great communication and great day off! Would highly recommend!
Andrew was our DJ for our wedding and did a great job! Very professional and our guests loved the music. Music by Design lets you create your own playlist if you have specific song needs! Easy to work with, straight forward, good pricing and go...
od product!
AMAZING! Our wedding was 5/27/23. We had Jim as our DJ, and he was great! Jim played amazing music-perfect for our crowd. We had a lot of older guests and he played a lot of music catered to them. Then as the night went on he played more 90's, ...
2000's music for the younger crowd that stayed. We made a couple of adjustments throughout our wedding and he was so flexible and chill about it. My dad wanted to transition to songs during the father daughter dance and Jim did it beautifully. I wanted our exit song for the ceremony to start at a certain verse and he did it so easily. Jim was great and pleasure to work with. Music by design was so easy to work with as well! My husband and I actually were going to book another DJ who was not communicative with us, told us one thing one time and another thing, another time, had hidden fees. When I was booking with music by design, Music by design actually told me what the hidden fee was for (event insurance). Music by design was the complete opposite, they were straightforward and up front about their policies and procedures. Very reasonably priced and I was able to chat them before my wedding to ask a few questions. Also, they have this website that you input all of your musical selection into-it was so easy.
We had a great experience with Music By Design! Our original DJ had a family emergency and wasn't able to make it, but they had two replacements ready and waiting by the time we got to the reception hall. After a brief intro and questions they ...
were able to run through the schedule that we had planned and everything went smoothly from there. We wanted our reception to have a strong focus on the guests and their entertainment, and as MCs, our DJs were able to smoothly transition between the different elements of our reception and did not pull attention away from the main event. They played the songs that we had requested through the planning tool and filled in the rest of the time with appropriate selections like we discussed. We had a few comments from guests saying that the music and dancing were great and they felt like the music selection got them on the dance floor significantly more than at other weddings. We would recommend them to others!
We loved our DJ Jim! Not only was Jim a great DJ, but he did a great job keeping the night on track. He let us know where to be and when to keep us on schedule, if it wasn't for him we would have been very behind. DJ Jim was extremely personabl...
e and kind. He listened to all of our request and last minute changes. He played great music and kept the dance floor alive.
Our DJ Jim was excellent! We basically said "DJ Choice" on the planning forms and he chose perfectly! He kept the crowd dancing the entire reception! Highly recommend!
My experience with Music By Design was excellent! DJ Jim kept the dance floor going all night and seemed to enjoy the music himself in the process! He helped organize the evening and suggested appropriate edits to make the evening flow more smo...
othly. Music By Design was patient with me throughout the planning process even when my communication on my end was a little delayed due to my crazy work schedule. Their planning forms and easy to access web portal made me feel comfortable doing planning on my own time. They were readily available to answer any questions I had and did not shy away when I asked if a song that I could not find on their site be played. My *favorite* question on the planning form was 'how involved do you want your DJ to be.' We have ALL been to weddings where the DJ gets a little carried away MCing, but Jim followed our wishes exactly and interacted with my guests accordingly. The wedding party's entrance was blocked by some tables, but Jim helped us plot a course prior to announcing us into the reception hall. All of my weddings guests said how fabulous the music was. No one even noticed our controversial lack of line dancing which Jim remained very respectful towards. I truly cannot recommend this company enough. They will work through your contract to make everything feel custom to you and they do not push you to upgrade anything. Communicate your dreams and this company will strive to fulfill them.
Music By Design was not only flexible, understanding, and clear in the lead up to our wedding: they were ***perfect*** at our reception! Our DJ, Charlie, kept things moving literally and figuratively. He communicated with us very well, and I in...
particular was very happy with him keeping us up to speed on time (he coordinated with other vendors like our photographer, and the reception hall very, very well). Very professional and accommodating! Great communicators all around! The day of is full of details, and these folks are detail oriented -- we got comments on how much fun it was, and we truly appreciate that we were able to show up, enjoy ourselves, and let them do their work without needing to interrupt or intervene. Absolutely recommend them!
Music by Design was the perfect choice for us, everything was so easy to plan with their online tool that our music was perfect all night! Jim did an amazing job keeping the party moving and discreetly communicating with us when necessary, high...
ly recommend!
When some dear friends needed to cancel their wedding due to the COVID-19 pandemic, they generously gifted their DJ deposit to us for use at our own wedding. We are so grateful that they did, because we absolutely loved our experience with Musi...
c by Design! Planning and communication was speedy and professional throughout our entire time working with them. We were also thrilled with the DJ that was assigned to us, DJ Pete. The company arranged for a video call with Pete ahead of our wedding so we could run through the details and have a chance to meet each other. We immediately clicked with Pete and knew we were going to be in good hands. On the wedding day itself, our experience with our DJ was smooth from start to finish. Pete masterfully managed the music during our ceremony, and he did an excellent job at keeping a good flow on the dance floor. He made sure to incorporate our “must plays” while also reading the room and adding his own creative flair. The energy on the dance floor was amazing, and we received so many compliments on the music. We cannot recommend Music by Design enough!
Phenomenal. I'd recommend them to anyone. Stephen, our DJ, was very attentive, respected our wishes, and showed that he very much cared about our experience. He was flexible and adaptable to our wishes. I have no reservations and would recommen...
d him and music by design to anyone.
Music by Design was an okay choice for a DJ. They offer a very detailed form to help the DJ understand preferences, however, we did not feel as if it was followed. We felt that we would have been on the dance floor more if the DJ followed our...
preference sheet more closely.
Kevin did an AMAZING job at our wedding, I would recommend him to anybody! He kept people on the dance floor all night. We received so many compliments throughout the night for having such an incredible DJ. The online planning form was a huge h...
elp. We were able to sit down and really think and choose the songs we wanted and didn’t want. We had a great experience with music be design through the whole process.
Music By Design and DJ Charlie were fantastic for our wedding! Charlie kept my new husband and I up to date with the flow of the Cocktail Hour and reception and did an awesome job curating a play list that appealed to our guests and the vibe of...
the night. Sound quality was fantastic and the available music library couldn't be beat!
Jim from Music by Design was great! We coached us on the timeline ahead of time as well as made sure our bridal party had clear direction on reception lineup and speeches! He also kept our dance floor full all night! Thank you Jim for helping u...
s keep the partying going all night!!!
I recommend booking Andrew from Music By Design for your wedding day! I had dreamed of a fun and classy DJ and I got just that. Andrew took all of my requests and helped plan my day down to the minute and then executed everything perfectly. He ...
had the best and most timely announcements and was personable but never too much for the crowd. He always kept the dance floor FULL AND PARTYING and he made my wedding dreams come true! I am so thankful for his intentionality and his fun spirit. 100% the best ever!
Our DJ Jim was incredible! During the initial planning process and talks over the phone, my husband had an easy time communicating what we wanted for our wedding and Jim was responsive to all of our wishes. They chatted for about 20-30 minutes ...
making sure we were both on the same page regarding the music and timeline. He worked with us for both our ceremony and reception, and we are very thankful for his timing and accuracy with our ceremony choices.
Before our introductions, he took the time to verify everyone's names and correct pronunciations, giving our bridal party a nice moment to also get to know him and feel comfortable. He timed our intro music perfectly, followed by our cake cutting, and when we were seated during our reception he was attentive to what we wanted as well as making sure we gave the OK for additional speeches/music requests. Before the speeches and the first dances, he spoke to us to verify who our speakers would be so that he could then go and talk to each person individually. It was incredibly courteous and professional, and it helped our maid of honor and best man get an idea of what to do before coming up to speak.
Finally, I would be remiss if I didn't mention how well Jim did during our dance hours. We had a lot of songs chosen for the planning website, and he hit all of our songs perfectly. We tried to give a good amount of room for him to play with, and for any song we didn't personally request, he maintained the theme of our playlist and chose songs that suited our taste and guests perfectly. Our dance floor was packed the whole time and we have only heard positive comments from our friends and family about the music.
It's pretty obvious we only have good things to say about Jim, so we definitely recommend Music by Design and Jim to anyone who is still looking for a DJ!
Stephen and Music By Design did such an amazing job at our wedding! He did such a great job of customizing the music to our requests and playing a mix of songs that everyone loved. All of our guests have commented on how great the music and dan...
cing was. So thankful to have them at our big day!
Steven was our DJ and he was outstanding!!! People say a DJ can make or break your wedding, and he absolutely nailed it. Everyone was dancing and having fun the whole night thanks to the great tunes. Flawlessly executed day of and easy to conta...
ct throughout process. Felt very confident from start to finish with this company and Steven particularily. Throughout the event he was right there with all the timeline cues and keeping everyone on track and prepped. Thank you so much for helping make our wedding dreams come true!! Perfect master of ceremony! YOU ROCK!!
I can't say enough great things about Music By Design!! Just wow! We had our wedding at Hotel Baker in St. Charles last weekend, and our DJ, David, absolutely rocked it from start to finish. Our guests can't stop talking about how great he was....
He knew how to read the dance floor perfectly; there were tons of people out there the whole night. He absolutely nailed the music for our ceremony, introductions, and the dinner music. He played our many requests, even the obscure ones. We're so impressed!! He was also extremely professional and polite, and even came to talk to us to check in throughout the night about various details (if it was okay to play explicit music we requested, if our parents were present before starting our first dance, etc.) So amazing.
Communicating with the company was stress free, clear, and efficient as well. If music is super important on your big day like it was for us, absolutely hire this company!
This review is LONG overdue as a NYE bride, but Jim knocked it out of the park. We wanted to kick or dance floor part of the evening off with Carnival or La Hora Loca. In our prep call with Jim, we shared ideas with him for this part of the eve...
ning and we had so many guests tell us that they have never seen a dance floor fill faster. Jim was also mindful about the fact that our wedding was New Year's so we had some very important songs to pick, the one that plays as soon as midnight hits, and the last song of the night around 1am. We were married almost 8 months ago and people still bring up our dance floor to us when we see them. Our goal of the day was 1) get married (of course) and 2) throw and awesome NYE party. Jim helped with that second goal of the day and made it amazing.
Steven was fantastic! He kept the floor full all night long. Everyone had an absolute blast and the company was super easy to work with. Their system helped us to express our desires and target audience without a hiccup. It truly felt effortles...
s. Would recommend them to any family or friend. People came up during the reception asking for their contact info and how we heard about Music By Design. We are HUGE fans! Rates were incredibly reasonable too.
Our beginning experiences with the company were great. Very quick to reply and answer any questions we had. Our first red flag was the week to our wedding we had a final phone call meeting with the DJ in which he was very dismissive towards us....
We tried to brush it off and remain optimistic. During that meeting, he asked if we approved of guests having the ability to requests songs in which we gave the approval. We told the wedding party they could request a song during the reception if they wished. On the day of the wedding, the DJ was extremely rude towards us when we told him he was incorrect about the sequence of events in which I had already provided 14 days prior. He tried to push us into a sequence that was against our wishes. We stood my ground, in which he rolled his eyes and threw up his hands. Furthermore, we got feedback from several bridesmaids and guests about how rude the DJ was to them. Telling them to “get away from his booth” when they attempted to request a song. A maid of honor and mother of the groom requested to display a screen with a video clip during one of the songs. The DJ had to do zero work in the set up of that besides play a song from the playlist at a certain time. He refused to let us use the screen when it was not his place to do that. To top it all off, he played the last song at 11:18 (contract went until end of the night, 12AM). After we approached him about this, he groaned and played one more song. He was in the biggest rush to pack up and leave our event. We are absolutely embarrassed and appalled to receive feedback from our loved ones at how they were treated by a vendor at our wedding. Would not recommend this company.
Response from the Vendor on 08/24/2022
We apologize that you are not happy and wish you had a better experience. Many facts of your review are not accurate and exaggerated. We don't want to sound off-putting, however, these are simply the facts of the situation. After checking multi...
ple sources, it seems your wedding was a blast and your dance floor was packed! It sounds like you had a great night. Maybe a one star review is not warranted.
After verifying facts with your wedding venue, your wedding was scheduled to end at 11:30pm. Your venue allows guests 30 minutes to exit the building, which in your case was midnight. So all external services (DJ, Photography, Photo Booth) must end 30 minutes before exit time. After checking the time stamp on your DJ's laptop, the last song was played at 11:23 pm. Your last song was approximately 5:24 in duration. We apologize as most songs are over one minute in duration and your venue does not like it when we play a song past the ending time...so we respect the wishes of the venue.
We do apologize if your DJ was seemed rude. Many of your guests were extremely intoxicated and overbearing (as verified by venue staff and other vendors). In fact, one particular person was so intoxicated that when she spoke, she slurred her words so much that spit hit our DJ in the face. That can happen at weddings and we apologize if your DJ did not properly handle that situation with grace.
Your DJ did not roll his eyes or throw up his hands at any time during your wedding. Your comment is a fabrication as your DJ has been a staple at Music By Design for many years. His professionalism has been documented and verified in hundreds of online reviews.
We asked our DJ about the video screen that you mentioned. To be clear...you did not request to use the screen...one of your bridesmaids asked to use the screen. Your DJ did not say no, but suggested to ask the banquet hall and definitely tried to influence the bridesmaid not to use it. Your DJ did this for three main reasons. First, the bridesmaid was intoxicated and handling that screen can be cumbersome (we do it all the time). Second, it was 10:30pm and your dance floor was packed. Your DJ thought it best to discouraged emptying your dance floor for an impromptu slideshow. We always have our couple's best interest in mind and your DJ thought this was not a great idea. In retrospect, our DJ should have asked you if this is what you wanted. It turns out that because the bridesmaid was so intoxicated, he didn't feel it was worth pursuing. We apologize if this was a poor judgement call by your DJ. Third, it was the banquet hall's screen and we always try to look out for the venue's property. It's a vendor and venue relationship thing...we look out for each other and thought an intoxicated bridesmaid handling an 80x80 projector screen with a full dance floor was a bad idea. We do apologize about this, however, we do our best to make the correct 'on the fly' decisions at weddings. Sometimes the best decision isn't clear so our DJ's do the best they can in each situation.
We do apologize that you are not happy and wish you all the best. Maybe...next time you are unhappy with a vendor, it might best to call them and express your displeasure to see if anything can be done after the fact. We do understand weddings are finite in nature but sometimes a conversation can create clarity and help the situation.
Music by Design was referred to us by a friend, and they showed up on time, our DJ called us before the wedding, and made sure that all of our final details were set. They played most of our requested songs, but not everything we would have lik...
ed.
We used MBD for our July 16 wedding. The pre-planning was done via an online form that allowed us to choose our music for our ceremony, cocktail hour and reception. They did not have any of the ceremony music we wanted in their database, but th...
ey had it for the day of our wedding. Charlie was our DJ. He was great! He called us a few days before the wedding to make sure he had all the information we needed. The ceremony music was perfect. He played all of our must play songs and made announcements we asked him to make throughout the night. We had asked him not to take requests from guests unless he cleared it with us and he made sure to do that. Everything went off without a hitch! We loved having MBD (Charlie) as our DJ!
I really liked the online planning tool. It helped put my mind at ease that everything was organized and taken care of. Pete, our DJ, was absolutely fantastic! He did a great job - just what we wanted and played our requested songs. The dance f...
loor was packed all night!
Music By Design was great to work with! Their platform was extremely easy to use and they were easy to communicate with. Our wedding day DJ, Jim, was great at reading the room - we got so many compliments on the music and everyone was on the da...
nce floor all night! 100% would recommend!
Our DJ Kevin was INCREDIBLE! He met with us the week of the wedding and discussed all details and expectations. Throughout the night, he kept the dance floor packed and would smoothly transition songs if it felt as if people weren't into them. ...
He asked Brett and I about specific requests throughout the night and did a great job communicating. The only reason I giving 4 stars is the planning form website was a bit outdated. I was able to add in the timeline, names, must plays, and do not plays pretty easily but it was just a bit older. I would still absolutely recommend Music by Design!
We could not be more happy about our experience with Musicbydesign. The entire planning process was painless and super easy. They were so pleasant to work with and catered to all of our specific requests.
Charlie Vasseur was our DJ and he w...
as absolutely amazing. He gave us a call a couple days before to go over details. We gave him a list of requests to fill an hour or two of the reception. His picks for the rest of the time fit perfectly with our preferences and our wide variety of guest ages. Our guests are still talking about how amazing Charlie was. The dance floor was packed the entire night. He even played “Firework” by Katy Perry during the Navy Pier fireworks show visible from our venue.
The photobooth was a hit and came with a lot of props and a photo album to take home. Thank you Ani for making sure our guests knew how to use the booth and for putting our album together.
We had a wonderful experience using Music By Design. The planning tools were easy to utilize Pete, our DJ, was the best. He was professional, organized, kept the crowd dancing, and was an overall positive addition to our day. Highly recomme...
nd.
Music by Design and our Dj, David were fantastic to work with. We were able to customize and choose all the songs we wanted played and an entire list of songs we didn’t want played which I loved. David kept people engaged and kept the event r...
unning smoothly. The photobooth staff was amazing as well!! The props were adorable and the book they send you home with is amazing! The photos are hilarious to look back on. Music by Design are truly pros at what they do. Thank you!!
Jim was our DJ and he was awesome! Great personality and very easy to work with. The online planning tools were easy to use: we loved that we got to create our own playlists for the ceremony, cocktail hour and dinner. The entire planning proces...
s was very easy, and all of our questions were answered promptly. Would definitely recommend!
We used Music by Design for our April 2022 wedding, and they could not have been more wonderful! The company itself was so easy to work with setting everything up (and they were great about working with us moving from 2021 to 2022). Jim was ou...
r DJ and he was amazing - he really got the vibe of the wedding we were going for, and we had people on the dance floor the whole night. We're so appreciative about how wonderful they helped make our wedding!
Jim was AWESOME!!! He kept EVERYONE on the dance floor the entire night! Even the OLD people! Haha! If I ever have another event where I need a DJ I will be sure to hire him again!
Stephen was great to work with! He always responded quickly to any questions we had and was very detail oriented. The dance floor was full all night! I would definitely recommend this company!
Jim was such an awesome DJ! He played all of our requests and was able to adjust songs on the spot as needed. All of his transitions were great and he really made the night flow perfectly. Music By Design as a whole is just a great company to w...
ork with, my husband and I were big on not having too many phone calls and felt comfortable being able to add songs and instructions on their platform on our own time. Such a great company!
Charlie was excellent! We appreciated how organized he was, how he kept our dance floor filled the whole night and how much he communicated. We feel that the DJ is an essential part of a reception and Charlie made our day go smooth!
DJ Jim was fantastic from our initial conversation, to our ceremony, cocktail hour, and reception! We didn't have a wedding planner, but everything at our ceremony ran seamlessly. His professionalism was top notch, and he kept the dance floor p...
acked all night. He played our requested songs, took requests from our guests, and flawlessly chose additional selections that the crowd loved. Our guests had a great time at our wedding, and we credit DJ Jim for keeping the energy high-level all through the night.
Jim was very attentive, thorough, and went above and beyond to make sure our wedding reception was exactly what we wanted. He went over everything the week of and even gave us his phone number in case. He was able to gather everyone for the int...
roductions and made sure he was pronouncing every name correctly. We would 100% book Jim for future events.
Our DJ, Stephen, was extremely easy to work with, very professional and kind, and we got a ton of compliments on how great the playlist was!
DJ Jim made our special day perfect. He worked with my music-obsesssed requests and fit in all that I asked for. Cocktail hour to reception, he even did the "shout-outs" I asked for to dedicate songs to friends and family. And he made my custom...
music fit in, too. He even spent an hour with me on the phone the week before the wedding to make sure everything was communicated correctly. It was an absolute pleasure and I recommend him to everyone I know in the area! Thanks, Jim!
Jim was the best dj I have ever seen. Kept everyone dancing all night! Very outgoing and answered every question we had and even added in our shoe game at the last minute!
Music By Design recently DJ'd our wedding and it was a blast! We originally planned to marry in 2020, but postponed until 2021 due to COVID-19. Throughout the postponement and planning process they were responsive and flexible. My husband and I...
are huge music buffs, so we loved that we could customize playlists via their online portal and ensure some of our favorite songs would be played. Jim was our DJ the day of and he did a fantastic job keeping the mood energetic and fun! I can't recommend Music By Design enough, if you're looking for a DJ service this is it!
We had a wonderful experience with Music By Design. The planning process was super organized and their online tools made it really easy to pick your music and plan the timeline for the event. Our DJ was Charlie, and he was awesome! He made the ...
event run so smoothly and kept people dancing and having a great time! We did not have a formal day-of coordinator for our event, so Charlie was amazing in helping the whole timeline go as plan and taking control. Highly recommend!
We are so glad we hired Music By Design for our wedding! The planning process and communication was fantastic! Our DJ was friendly, flexible and understanding. He did a great job with cocktail hour and dinner music. When the dance floor opened ...
up some of the songs played could have been transitioned faster to music that got everyone out on the dance floor. All in all I would highly recommend. They are very flexible and easy to work with! Great company!
Music By Design was super easy to work with from the start. I was a little hesitant due to the fact that we would not find out our assigned DJ until the week of the wedding, but that ended up not being an issue at all. Their online module made ...
it super easy to give them all the necessary information and requests. Any questions we had were answered immediately. On the day of our wedding, our DJ Kevin was so amazing. He introduced himself as soon as he could without interrupting anything going on, and he kept us updated throughout the night. He made announcements through the night to keep the guests in the loop of how the night was going, and he really knew how to read the room and see what the guests liked. We really appreciated that he took our last minute requests, including a request to end the night early since we were exhausted! I would definitely recommend the company, especially Kevin, to anyone looking for a great affordable wedding DJ!
We went with this vendor when our friends' used them at their wedding in 2019. Music by Design provides a great planning tool and was very helpful with questions throughout our entire planning. Our dj Andrew made everything run smoothly with no...
sound hiccups whatsoever. He kept us in the loop the whole night as events were unfolding like speeches, first dances etc. He was very flexible when our timeline got pushed back a bit. We had no worries the entire day and were able to fully enjoy the moment.
We booked Music By Design for our September Wedding at Seven Bridges Golf Club in Woodridge, IL. We chose Music by Design based on customer reviews as well as pricing, and we were not disappointed. The process from signing the contract to day-o...
f was simple and efficient. The online portal was easy to use to select music, as well as provide vital information to the DJ (e.g. schedule of events, bridal party names, etc.). Jim was our DJ and he was very kind, friendly, organized, and did a great job keeping the party going all night. Jim made sure we kept to our schedule and helped when any small issue arose. Music By Design has the DJ contact you the week of your wedding to verify the schedule and details. Jim made sure he had the pronunciations of our bridal party correct and reviewed music selections with us to ensure our day went as planned. Additionally, Jim was responsive to texts later in the week when I remembered there were some details I had forgotten to mention.
Overall, the music was fantastic (we never left the dance floor!), the set-up was perfect for our uniquely structured venue (music and speeches could be heard during the dinner service which was in a separate room than the dance floor), and we appreciated Jim helping make sure our day occurred as planned. We definitely recommend Music by Design. Thank you, Jim!!
Elizabeth was incredibly sweet and easy to work with. The name in lights was perfect and she pronounced everyone’s names correctly which is very difficult! I would highly recommend her to any couple as she was on time, professional, and fun!
Stephen was awesome! He did a great job of lining us all up and giving us cues for keeping smooth transitions. He kept everyone on the dance floor and everyone complimented on how great he was. Thank you Music by Design! :)
We had the best experience with Music by Design. At the beginning all of our questions were answered and we felt very comfortable with booking. We originally booked for October 2020, and had to reschedule due to covid. They were so helpful and ...
understanding. Come our new wedding date, our DJ Charlie was fantastic. He followed our do and do not play lists perfectly and made the night so much fun. There was a hiccup with a video we wanted to play during the event but these things happen sometimes and Charlie did absolutely everything he could. Even after they reached out to apologize again and rectify the situation. I would absolutely recommend Music by Design and would definitely use them again the future. Fantastic experience with everyone involved!
We could not have been happier with our experience with Music by Design and specifically our DJ, Jim.
The way their website is setup to allow you to provide details as you plan them was incredibly helpful. The way you select your preference ...
was very easy and ensured that the songs we did not want to hear weren't played and the ones we love weren't forgotten.
I had a call with Jim the week of our wedding to finalize our details and felt very comfortable after our call that the music would turn out great.
There was a slight hiccup with the audio for the toasts, the venue had very high ceilings and there was some echoing, but Jim was able to adjust and get everything cleared up. The dancing portion of the night was outstanding, and we have had multiple guests comment to us "the music was so YOU!".
We also ordered up-lighting through MBD and it looked fantastic.
The pricing was very reasonable for everything that was included, we had a wonderful evening, and would highly recommend Jim and Music by Design to anyone looking for a DJ!
We had an online questionnaire to fill out all of our details before the big day which was super easy to access and use. Kevin was our DJ and he was very professional and punctual. Everything flowed smoothly and he did a wonderful job keeping ...
the dance floor full!
Everything was perfect! Our DJ didn't miss a beat, was great at pumping up the crowd without being over the top or obnoxious, and everyone we talked to loved the music.
I kept waiting for a song I didn't care for to come on so I could take a ...
break to rest, but it never did and I danced all night!
Music By Design assigned Elizabeth as our wedding DJ and she was awesome! She knew exactly what kind of music we would enjoy at our wedding and there was not a single song played that we didn't like. She had a fun personality that meshed really...
well with our personalities which made it super easy to communicate with her.
We used Music by Design for our wedding as they are a preferred vendor of our reception venue. Music by Design was great to work with from the first call to our wedding day. They are very responsive, competitive on pricing and made the planning...
process easy with music. David, our DJ, was so fun to work with. He understood what we wanted to hear and kept the party going! Thank you for creating such a fun and memorable experience for us on our wedding day!
What an incredible experience using music by design! From the introductions all the way to the last dance they were prompt and professional but most importantly a great time! Jim was calm and eager to have fun and keep the dance floor alive. Ou...
r photo booth attendant was amazing as well!
Jim (James) was our DJ and he was 5 stars!!! Communicated well in our meeting the week of the wedding and also night of. He had the great energy we were looking for and nailed the song choices! We had so much fun thanks to the music he played. ...
Dj was one of our most important vendors and he delivered!
Like one of the many COVID brides out there, we were finally able to have our reception on May 15, 2021. We originally booked Music By Design a year and a half ago and they have been great to work with, despite changing our reception date 4 tim...
es! We had Kevin as our DJ and he was awesome! He kept the dance floor going and he also was accommodating with last minute song request and set up changes due to rain. We wouldn't have wanted anyone else! Thanks so much Music by Design!!
Our DJ was so professional and responsive! I never once had to worry about making sure everything would be on time, and that the music we wanted was played. Our DJ would come up and make sure that our intros went smoothly, speeches, the whole 9...
yards. He did a fantastic job. He also knew how to read a room, if he played a song that people weren't into he instantly knew how to change the room with a song that would get everyone to dance! My only thing that I would say is that I love Ariana grande and requested that at least three of her songs were a must play at the wedding. My husbands cousin had to ask that he played an Ariana grande song for the bride (the bride being me) because I love her so much! So at least one song got to be played towards the end of the night. Other than that, we over all very pleased.
We were introduced to Music By Design through our venue, and I'm so glad we chose them to do the music for our wedding. Jim was outstanding! During our pre-wedding call, Jim was knowledgable, friendly, and professional. He was able to talk us t...
hrough our schedule and all the main events during our wedding, so on the day of we felt prepared. Jim handled the ceremony music as well, and it was perfect. My husband and I are a little too laid back and didn't provide a ton of direction, but Jim was able to read the room and play the perfect music during dinner and throughout the night. Intros were perfect (and we had some difficult names to pronounce!) and every guest was having a great time. Jim himself is so personable, fun, easygoing, and respectful and I am SO glad that we booked him to do our wedding. I would 100% book him again myself and recommend him to anyone looking for music for their special day.
Music by design went above and beyond our expectations! Their online portal made planning DJ services very easy. Jim was our DJ and he kept the dance floor bumping all night! Highly recommend MBD for your wedding!
Super easy to use, select your songs and book all online. Very happy with my DJ-was incredibly friendly and made my event run smoothly as possible!
We used Music by Design for our New Years Eve wedding and could not say enough great things about them! Throughout the entire planning process the staff was extremely helpful in explaining how the process worked as well as being very supportive...
and accommodating after our plans changed not once, but three times during the crazy year of 2020!
Leading up to the wedding the platform was extremely user friendly and we were able to easily search and add songs to our “must play, “play if you can” and “don’t play” playlists. In addition, ALL of the songs we requested as additions that weren’t in the system already were found by our DJ, including our first dance song which he was able to find and we were so happy about! The week of our wedding our DJ, Kevin, called us to confirm the outline as well as go over some of the details such as name pronunciation for the entrances and other last minute details.
On the day of Kevin was nothing short of amazing!! He was professional and had everything set up and going by the time we arrived at the venue! He took all of our requests into consideration. He was also very considerate to the fact that we allowed guests to do requests and anytime there were requests he would come find us to make sure it was okay (which we appreciated!). Some of the requests were even very specific and he was able to find them on a very short notice which was awesome! He also was very energetic and made the night run seamlessly! Given it was a NYE wedding and someone's birthday at midnight he made it very special by having a countdown and a special shout out which made it great!
Overall we HIGHLY recommend Music By Design as it made the planning process so easy and the actual day of could not have gone better!
Elizabeth was amazing! She kept us on schedule but was also flexible, adapting to the flow of conversation and letting us finish dessert before the first dance! She was so sweet and calm and I knew she would orchestrate a great soundtrack for o...
ur event, start to finish.
PSA - I would not recommend hiring unless you plan to have a small gathering or wedding at or less than legal state limits. We are not able to have our reception and was told that we will not be getting any of our paid if full money. I will gif...
t away this credit before I have to deal with such a rude owner. Until things are fully open I would not give Music By Design anything more than zero stars. Of all the vendors we worked through everything with this year this was our worst experience. Legal action considered to recoup anything over our deposit.
Response from the Vendor on 09/28/2020
We are so sorry you feel that way. Covid makes things difficult for small businesses. It is easier for a multi-million dollar real estate company (your venue) to give a refund than a small business. A small business with over 380 cancellations...
is a different situation. We are not being inflexible at all. We are just handcuffed by the current environment. Customers that have used our service can attest to our flexibility, attention to detail, and amazing customer service. We are the Highest Rated Most Review DJ Company in the Chicagoland Wedding Wire Network.
Music by design saved our entire wedding. Our other dj dropped out two months before our wedding and I called music by design who was recommended by a friend, they immediately accommodated all of my needs and wants. The online planning forum al...
lowed me to plan all of my music which turned out perfectly. Jim was AMAZING. Such a highlight of the night, great personality and so fun to work with. He gave us such a great party. We’ve all been to those weddings with a horrible dj and when my original dropped out last minute that was my fear.. well I LUCKED OUT. My wedding venue heard we were using music by design and they said WE LOVE THEM!! now I can see why! 10/10!
Andrew at Music by Design was awesome at our wedding. He played great music that kept everyone dancing all night. He also did a great job helping us keep everything on time and on track for the night! Thank you to Andrew for making our night a ...
blast!!!
We had such a wonderful experience working with Music By Design. They were extremely communicative and helpful throughout our research and planning process. Their easy-to-use software made it a breeze to choose our must-play and DO NOT play son...
gs. Our DJ called us the week of the wedding to chat through specifics, and was so easy to work with. We had so many compliments from guests about how great the music was, and we cannot thank Music By Design enough for their great work!
Our dance floor was full the entire night! When you hire Music by Design you do your planning online up to a month before your wedding day on an online database. Then a week or two before your wedding you are assigned a DJ. This originally made...
us nervous but turned out great the day of. We were able to make last minute changes to our music and requests through the company and they let Dillon know. He provided the music for the ceremony and reception. I would 100% recommend Music by Design to anyone for an event.
We had a great experience with Music By Design and our DJ Jim! The planning tool made choosing songs for our wedding ceremony, cocktail hour and reception extremely easy. We appreciated that we spoke with Jim a few days before our wedding to go...
over everything and make sure we were all on the same page. Jim did a great job incorporating our requests along with adding in what he thought would go over well with our guests. We would highly recommend Music By Design to anyone who is looking for a wedding DJ!
AMAZING AMAZING AMAZING! We had Jim for our DJ and he was great! For us, booking a DJ was the easiest process of the whole wedding planning. My sister and two of my cousins used Music By Design for their weddings so we had first hand experience...
of how awesome they were! Jim made sure to have down all the details of how we wanted the night to flow. He helped make sure our timeline ran smoothly and that we were ready and on the dance floor as soon as possible after finishing dinner! I cannot recommend them enough! We have had multiple people since our wedding as us who our DJ was to recommend Music By Design to others for weddings! You have complete control over what gets played and they make the planning process so easy!
Music By Design is awesome! They were exactly what we wanted in a DJ for our wedding day. Their website is awesome and it made it so easy to let them know what was important to us and what songs we wanted at our wedding. I will recommend Music ...
By Design to anyone planning their wedding!
Music By Design and Photo Booth were amazing!!!
Our DJ was Jim and he gave us the best music ever and our dance floor was constantly full! Following the wedding, so many of my guests complimented the music and how much fun they had as a result...
of the party on the dance floor!
In addition, the photo booth was so much fun and it made for a super memorable and sweet guest book.
Hire them! You won't regret it!
Jim was awesome!! This is the perfect, no-frills, cost-effective DJ company you've been looking for. They were highly organized and flexible, and the online portal allowed us to upload all the songs we wanted ahead of time. Jim was able to work...
with all the last-minute changes we had and collaborated well with our other vendors. Music by Design was just perfect!
Excellent company to work with! They had so much music to choose from and helped coordinate all our quirky music requests. Had everyone on the dance floor!
Pete was our DJ for our wedding and he gave us a great experience. He checked in with us a few days before the wedding to understand our wants for the wedding day and ensure he understood the specifics. He did a great job the day of the wedding...
to ensure everything happened seamlessly and also mixed our music tastes into the day of the wedding.
Jim was prompt, friendly, & fun! He was very well prepared for our in-person meeting and day-of!! For our entire event he did an awesome job and kept the party going!!! We couldn't have asked for a better DJ for our special day! Thank you, Jim...
!!!
We felt that the price paid was affordable. We also felt that our first meeting with the company was great! Could tell that our time was valued and that they weren't trying to hard sell us. We appreciated that very much considering another company had no regard for our time and tried to hard sell. Having a Wedding is a huge expense and so much time and money goes into it and I felt like Music By Design really understands this concept! Keep doing what you are doing!!!
We hired Music by Design through a recommendation and it did not disappoint. They have an online portal that you enter in all your details into from must play to do not play to which songs to play at which points. Leading up to the wedding Pete...
was assigned and reached out to understand what we were looking for... which was non-traditional wedding music, lots of indie and rock, and Pete delivered. Our dance floor was PACKED all night, truly never seen so many people rush the dance floor after the conclusion of dinner. Pete played bop after bop and the dance floor was packed until the venue kicked us all out. I can't speak on behalf of all the DJ's but we were really impressed by Pete. Thanks!
We booked both our DJ and our photobooth through Music by Design and I can confidently say it was a great choice! I loved the online portal to pick music and it really was a confidence booster knowing that the reception was fully planned. Our D...
J called us before our wedding to confirm details and did a fantastic job emceeing our evening. Our nieces LOVED the dance floor so he even played a few fun songs just for them. To this day, their favorite memories of our wedding was all the dancing.
Our DJ David was awesome. He was very nice and helped everything move along smoothly all night. It was very easy working with Music by Design to get things setup and their online portal to choose our music was very convenient. There were only a...
few small hiccups with music for the day but luckily nothing wedding ruining worthy. Overall we had a good experience working with them.
Jim and the Music By Design group are wonderful to work with! Jim was AMAZING as a DJ and he really kept everything on track and kept the energy just right all night!
The online portal through MBD might need to be updated. It is not the most ...
user friendly and up-to-date with music choices. Regardless, Jim made sure he had everything we needed for our reception though!
I'm so happy we chose MBD to be our DJs for our wedding! The online portal was easy to use, but before that the initial phone call convinced me that this was the company for me. A few days before, our DJ, Pete, called to ask more questions and ...
get a feel for the type of music we wanted played when, etc. He even tried to accommodate a request we had to play a video at the end of the night (didn't work out because I forgot to ask the venue what I'd need to do to make this happen; no fault of MBD). Pete also took care to ask how to pronounce the names of people giving speeches which I know was appreciated and ask how we wanted to be introduced. He was so flexible when we had to make last minute changes to our timeline. Although some of our guests weren't really the dancing types, everyone commented on how amazing the music selection was. Thank you again, Pete!
Our DJ Jim was fantastic! He was able to keep the dance floor full and was so easy to work with. He was able to adjust to last minute changes and made everything run smooth. I highly recommend!
When we started planning our wedding, we knew from the beginning we wanted Music by Design to be our DJ. Them offering us a Photo Booth package was a double bonus! Our first meeting with Jim went great. From the beginning, I felt 100% comfor...
table with this vendor. After our conversation with him the a few days before our wedding, I felt even better about our decision to have Jim. For our reception entrance song, we were a little specific as to what parts of the song we want played while so and so was making their entrance and Jim blew us away. It was perfect! He was full of energy and kept people on the dance floor all night long. We would highly recommend Jim, Samantha and the Music by Design team to everyone we know needing a DJ. Thank you for a fantastic evening!
Terrific! We hired Music by Design to DJ our August 2019 wedding, and we would highly recommend them to other couples. They were organized and easy to work with, their online planning platform is very fun and easy to use, and Carl (our DJ) was ...
fantastic! He was friendly, professional, and super easy and fun to work with, and the dance floor was full all night. Several guests commented later at what a great DJ we had! Highly recommend!!!
Our venue had an exclusive partnership for DJ’s with Music by Design, and I can see why… They are amazing!! They were easy to communicate with from start to finish, provided an easy website to add songs to our wishlist, and provided a timeline ...
template to make sure everything we wanted to do on our special day happened. We worked with Dylan and he was great! Was easy to work with and has a good personality with working with the crowd. Would recommend Music by Design!!
Our DJ James was excellent and kept the party going. James was very professional and fully prepared. We could not be happier! James completely exceeded our expectations! Highly recommend this company!
Music by design was great to work with! They made picking music very easy with the platform that they use, and were very prompt to responding to any questions that I had. Picking a DJ was one of my hardest decisions and took me the longest beca...
use there is so much uncertainty when you pick one, especially because I didn’t want any games, or line dances, or gimmicks to get people on the dance floor which a lot of DJs I was looking at were promoting. Music by design did a great job by understanding our envisions and we were so pleased that we picked them!
We had Carl as our DJ and he was great! We had a lot of specific ceremony music requests and some songs that weren’t on their library and he was able to easily accommodate everything. Everything with the music went smoothly! Our dance floor was packed all night and everyone loved the variety of music that he played and we didn’t want it to end!
Music By Design was in the running to be our DJ. The thing that ultimately turned us away was how pushy they were. We got about two calls a month and countless emails. While speaking, we told them numerous times we were still looking. We were...
told they would put it in our records and stop calling us as often. It didn't happen.
Response from the Vendor on 09/03/2019
Hello Erica,
We apologize that you are upset with our marketing.
A summary of all emails, phone calls, and any/all correspondence is tracked in our CRM database. Below is that summary:
You entered our marketing system in March following you...
r attendance at the bridal expo where you asked us to contact you. We corresponded as requested with phone conversations and email marketing. On 6.28.19 we spoke and you mentioned your venue was not yet secured and to not call as often. As requested we waited about a month until 7.24.19 and we left you a voicemail. Our next conversation was on 8.7.19 at which time you asked us not to call you until January of 2020. We honored your request to not be called and on 9.1.19 we received your email that you hired a DJ at which time you were removed from our CRM and email marketing system.
Given your correspondence history, we are not sure why you are stating you received phone calls after 8.7.19 - you did not. We apologize that you are not happy with our marketing and further apologize that Music By Design will not be your wedding DJ.
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Music By Design and Photo Booth