About this vendor
Professional Mobile Disc Jockey (DJ) Music Service
Sound Decision Mobile DJ Service is a professional DJ service, owned and operated for over 15 years by Paul MacCarrick, a local native of the Finger Lakes region in Central New York State.
We believe one of the most important aspects of our job is to keep the guest's attention on the couple, wedding party and families, not on us. We work to make the music you've selected create an atmosphere that best represents the two of you.
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Sound Decision Mobile DJ Service is a wedding entertainment service based in Ithaca, NY.
Details
Equipment
- Sound Equipment
Music Genres
- Classical
- Country
- Dance
- Disco
- Hip-Hop
- Jazz
Music Services
- MC Services
- Recorded Music
- Sound Equipment
Wedding Activities
- Wedding
- Ceremony
- Reception
Pricing
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Reviews
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4.7
out of 5.07 reviews
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Paul did an incredible job at my wedding this past weekend! My husband and I were so happy we went with him. He was able to do the music for our whole day (ceremony + reception) and we had no complaints. He did everything he could to make sure our day went smoothly! I would definitely recommend Paul to anyone needing a wedding DJ.
Paul was so professional, showed up early, and was so so so helpful our entire wedding day! He helped us keep on schedule and communicated with us clearly prior to the wedding to figure out what we were looking for. He made us feel special, at ease and played such fun music all night! Almost all of our guests told us it was the most fun they had ever had at a wedding.
Paul played the music that wanted perfectly for the ceremony and introductions! However, some of my friends and family said they tried to request songs and he didn’t know who they were. I also requested a Morgan Wallen song and he couldn’t play it because he didn’t know who he was. It was also a very slow moving reception as he didn’t start playing dancing music until 8:30pm and I had given a long list of songs that I wanted to be played and only a couple of them were played. I also mentioned that I wanted to have the show game played. He never emailed me ahead of time to ask what that was or tell me to create questions for it. He came up to me when the game was supposed to be played and asked if I had a list of questions for it. I didn’t realize I had to come up with those. So I had him ask my matron of honor to make the questions. I just feel like that’s a popular game that’s played at weddings these days and if I had known ahead of time we could have had that handled. Also, if he didn’t know my music I wanted, he could have downloaded them ahead of time or told me he couldn’t play those songs? (Idk what it’s like to be a dj but I just thought that was strange, and they’re weren’t even bad songs, just some country music and some pops songs, fun wedding music I had looked up). He also charged me $50 to move his table 40ft so he could be closer to where I was having my ceremony. People were also called very slowly to get their food. He asked me before dinner how I wanted that to be done. I’m busy enough on my wedding day, this discussion should have happened in an email or phone call a week before the wedding or when he receives the paper work that he requires to have sent on with the timeline of the day already on it.
Response from the Vendor on 11/12/2023
Hello Carly,
I'm sorry see that you were less than 100% satisfied with the service I provided. I assure you that I did everything I could to address the difficulties we faced in a professional manner.
Yes, you did provide two pages of musi...
c that I tried to work as many of those songs in, along with guests requests, with the limited time we had work with for dancing. I am definitely familiar with the artist Morgan Wallen and had just played one of his songs when the request came in for another one of his songs. I had said "I don't know if I had that particular song and would look for it" not that I didn't know who Morgan Wallen was. Well over a dozen songs from your list were played along with many requests from guests.
The pace was slow, but due to the caterer showing up late. It would have been difficult to work through all the pre-dinner activities and then have everyone sitting there waiting for dinner so I spoke with you about extending the cocktail hour a little until the food arrived. Then we could get through the activities while the caterer was setting up. When dinner was ready, I asked the caterer if they had staff to call tables and they said "No" so I offered to help with that as well. Guests could only get food from one side of the buffet, which made things slower, then two tables got up without being called, creating a huge backup of guests waiting at the buffet. The food service delayed everything and I did everything I could to help get back on the timeline you gave me.
I've done over 400 weddings in the past and many have asked for the "Shoe Game" however I've never had someone request it and not know what the game entails. If you had asked for help to explain it in more detail, I would have been happy to. When I found out that you were unsure, I quickly worked with your Matron of Honor to make it happen.
I did "know" your music and had almost every song in my library. I have subscribed to "Top Hits USA" since 1999 and my old library goes back through the 50s. I bring all that music with me to each event. In preparing for your reception, I put together your music playlist on a new list to include other popular music that are commonly requested as well as ripping your requests onto my hard drive. As I mentioned above, due to the caterer arriving late, we just didn't have time to play all the songs you had written down on your list.
Regarding equipment setup, you designated a table for me on the back side of the tented area. The ceremony was held 30 feet away from the tent, on the front side. Because it was raining, the tent had sides put up. My main setup takes 1 1/2 hours to setup and has to be ready to go prior to the start of the ceremony and reception. I could not see and cover the ceremony from the location you had designated. Because a second system was needed, I asked for $50 to cover the additional setup and breakdown of that additional system, which was clearly covered in my quote information originally provided. I also noted in the contract that a 110 volt "grounded" AC outlet was required. When I arrived, the only power available was by generator. Instead of causing a problem, I decided to try and work with the generator, however I experienced issues throughout the night due to the power source. Because I bring backup equipment I was able to get through the day, but had to replace a PA amp because of it.
Again, dinner moved slow and disrupted the timeline because the caterer arrived late. The caterer did not provide anyone to call tables, which is part of the "food" service, not DJ service. And it was complicated by tables going to the buffet before getting called, creating a significant back up. Not to mention, there was a steady rain all day that complicated things even more!
I'm sorry that your special day was anything less than perfect, however please know that I worked very hard to help in every way I could.
Best wishes,
Paul MacCarrick
Sound Decision Mobile DJ Service
Any questions?
Paul was just incredibly wonderful to work with. Our wedding was in October in Ithaca, and we were not in Ithaca. In fact, we were all over the place and really awful at planning in general, but Paul came to the rescue! He was not at all phased by our disorganization and helped us to organize not only the music, but also the flow of the event. He kept checking in with us about different pieces and remembered everything. I don't think it would have been nearly as smooth without him. On top of it, he is just an incredibly nice person. We are so, so thankful to Paul for making our wedding a success. I would highly recommend him!
My husband and I recently had our wedding on September 18th, 2021 and Paul was amazing. Our wedding was out of town so we only corresponded over the internet so I was a little skeptical but it was the best decision we could have made. He had paperwork that we filled out which worked perfectly cause we had no idea what we were doing. He not only had everyone dancing through the night he worked with us every step of the way making the night run smoothly. Our wedding was in the middle of no where and he made it without any problems. Some of our guests requested songs and he had them at the ready. We couldn’t have gone with a better DJ.
Response from the Vendor on 09/25/2021
Thank you Amanda and Nick! It was a pleasure being part of your special day! Best wishes!
My wife and I recently used Sound Decision Mobile DJ Service for our wedding in June 2021. We are so glad we did! Paul is a very professional and laid back guy who clearly has a ton of experience keeping a party going. For the planning process he has a flow sheet to fill out with what events and type of music you want. This was important because I hadn’t thought about the kinds of music we would want for the cocktail hour and dinner. He asked for 6-10 songs that represent the types of songs we wanted to dance to. Initially we didn’t think this would be enough, but Paul knew exactly what we were going for and kept the dance floor full for almost 3 hours! Many of our guests said it was the most dancing they had ever done, and I have to agree!
More than his DJing capabilities he was a great person to have around. He provided microphones and speakers for the ceremony and speeches, he made announcements when needed, and was generally helpful keeping the flow going throughout the wedding. This was the vendor we used for the wedding that we both agreed was definitely worth it!
Response from the Vendor on 07/09/2021
Thank you David and Jennifer! It was a pleasure working with you and helping with your special day! Best wishes!
These guys were great, I was able to do everything over the internet. They were cheap and good quality.
Contact
Finger Lakes Region of Upstate New York
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Meet the team
Paul MacCarrick
Owner
I started DJing for a friend who worked as a DJ for me in a restaurant/nightclub I was managing. When the property sold to a hotel chain, he asked me to help cover some extra gigs, and it seemed like a fun way to fill some time on the weekend.
I soon had my own equipment and my own DJ business. Since then have personally helped over 400 couples enjoy their wedding day! I strive to provide a traditional disc jockey service that keeps the focus on the couple, not on me, and work to be their resource throughout the day to help fulfill their wishes.
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Starting Cost: $$ – Affordable
Paul MacCarrick
OWNER
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Sound Decision Mobile Dj Service
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