I want to be a wedding DJ. How do I start to do it. Does it pay well?

just buy the equipment... it takes absolutely no skill whatsoever.. just lots of stolen music.

You'll have to get paid per hour or paid per night, probably not a good pay no as it's not really often you get many people marrying and the amount of DJs out there that will probably be known before you do.

if you want to do that anyway then get some business cards and put them about a bit at least your name is going about not only that but maybe they know someone's birthday is coming up and they need a DJ?

You need to think about buying all your equipment though to make it good, lights etc, then maybe someone at that party will want you too. if you make a poor first impression nobody there will use you and they'll never use you again, if you are good they will ask you the year after maybe !

Planner is right on.

You also need to study the wedding traditions of as many cultures and religions as you suspect you will encounter. There are many different events that can take place during the "reception" that you may be expected to announce and guide.For instance, in a Filipino reception do you know how to handle the sponsors? At a Conservative Baptist wedding do you know you are only providing background music and not encouraging dancing? In a Greek wedding do you have the traditional songs and know when to announce which dances? Have you ever called square dancing? (Don't laugh, it's trending at some weddings, although they're usually second or third weddings!)

Depending on your experience you can make some pretty decent money. Keep in mind your only working weekends, as weddings almost never take place on weekdays. Basically, have a good day job and do this as a hobby.

First, pick your date or at least a time of year. Then, look in the phone book under "wedding." A lot of reception sites, caterers, bakers, florists will be listed there. Otherwise, look up the individual entries of "banquets", "caterers", "florists", etc. Then, call the places and book appointments. Start with the ceremony location and reception site, depending on which one is more important to you (if, for example, you already know where you want the ceremony to be, start there so you can ensure your date). Compare the services of each one, keeping in mind that not everything is equal. Location, appearance, packages, etc. will all vary, and you will have to decide what is most important for you. Then arrange food, photography/videography, dj, transportation, florists, and cake in that order. Florists and bakers can do more than one wedding a day, but photographers can't so they need to be booked first. Once you have the vendors, then focus on the details like programs, favors, centerpieces, etc. The vendor search can be a little overwhelming at first because it's a lot of phone and leg work, but once you get the hang of it you can overlap planning the details with planning the big stuff. The Knot has a lot of wedding planning ideas. They also have a handy checklist that you can customize to feature the things you want to include in your wedding. There is no reason why you need a wedding planner, and they often get you to spend more than you otherwise would want to. If you want any more detail, contact me directly. I loved planning my wedding!

to become a wedding dj requires a great deal of time and effort and some money as well. you would need to have your own sound equipment for those venues which don't have sound, and you have to have a huge selection of music in all genre's from oldies to contemporary to rap to country to the classics. you need to be able to stay up with all the latest popluar tunes and you need a great outgoing personality because you will be expected to get the party started and to keep it rolling.

you need to be able to speak clearly when introducing the wedding party and bride and groom's family members during the grand entrance and you will need to be able to carefully follow a timeline so that all of the events at the wedding come off on time...the first dance, father/daughter dance, mother/son dance, dollar dance, cake cutting, garter and bouquet toss, and the bride and groom get away. etc.

the dj is also normally the master of ceremonies so the ability to speak and to direct the timing of everything is essential.

if you possess all these skills, the best way to start is to build up a portfolio by doing a few weddings and other events like anniversaries and birthday parties, bat or bar mitzvah's etc. for family and friends for free. ask for photos of each event you do and make sure you are in some of them. they need to be photos of the guests dancing and having a great time to your music. that is what you will show prospective customers when they ask about previous experience.

you should keep any cards or notes you get from clients thanking you for a great time and have some people who are willing to be references for your work.

the pay depends entirely on the market you are in. if you are in a small city where there are not a lot of dj's you could do very well, but remember it takes time to build up a business like that since most of what you do will be by word of mouth reference from satisfied customers.

most wedding dj's get about 100 to 150 per hour, but the receptions normally last for only 3 or 4 hours so you can expect to make about 400 or 500 per wedding. more if you also do the ceremony music. so inorder to make enough money to actually live on it, you would need to be doing 5 or 6 events a month just to live.

most wedding dj's also have weekday jobs and just do weddings, etc. on the weekends.