DJ Wedding Checklist: Everything You Need To DJ Weddings In 2025

DJing at weddings is an excellent way for DJs to earn money on the side, entertaining the guests and taking special requests throughout the reception.

It also requires careful planning, from coordinating with the bride and groom to assessing the venue and creating fun playlists to keep the dance floor active.

To help keep everything on track, we’ve created a DJ wedding checklist that covers everything you need to do when planning an upcoming wedding.

The Importance Of A Wedding DJ Checklist

Becoming a wedding DJ is one common way to make money as a DJ with regular clients and a simple formula for managing the event’s schedule.

Creating a wedding DJ checklist ensures you can be fully prepared to manage this schedule and tackle any potential issues if they arise.

A wedding DJ checklist also helps with

• Clarifying the music genres, the clients are interested in hearing and specific song requests for key moments, such as the first dance song.
• Verifying the setup at the venue, so an appropriate list of DJ equipment can be referenced to prepare for the event.
• Preparing a timeline for the day, including time spots for speeches, announcements, and other key moments.
• Implementing a system for collecting and managing any song requests that need to be integrated into pre-determined playlists.

DJing at a wedding requires a degree of flexibility compared to DJing in clubs, and this wedding checklist provides the framework needed to succeed.

DJ Wedding Checklist: Everything You Need To DJ Weddings In 2025

With potentially several playlists required for different periods of the day and a high degree of coordination required, a wedding DJ checklist can help track the important details.

Let’s begin this DJ wedding checklist and break down how you can work through each stage logically so you’re fully prepared for the wedding date.

1. Consult With The Clients

Before you can start working on playlists of wedding music and planning your big day’s schedule, you first need to consult with the clients.

This allows you to clarify a few facts before you create a wedding DJ worksheet, such as the bride and groom’s favorite songs and their approach to wedding planning.

You can inform the client beforehand about your core services by sending them a DJ proposal outlining your services and related fees.

Through consultation with the bride and groom before the wedding party, you can work out the details and come to a satisfactory DJ rate for the invoice.

It’s also a good opportunity to check with the clients and see if any songs might be sensitive to their friends or family and can be added to a do-not-play list.

2. Build A Track Selection

Once you’ve consulted with the clients and learned about their taste in music, you can start building up a selection of tracks to play throughout the wedding day.

There are tips for making good playlists, which can help craft compelling sequences of songs that keep the guests entertained all night long.

While the bride and groom may have provided a song list for you to reference, try to avoid simply replicating this on the day and mixing things up with other tracks.

A quality DJ knows how to integrate suggested songs and perform wedding reception music that all guests will find unpredictable yet highly enjoyable.

Having a variety of optional songs is also a great way to approach the DJ set with a degree of flexibility that allows you to switch up the playlist based on the crowd’s reactions.

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3. Choose The Key Songs

A wedding DJ checklist must include a subcategory of songs required for key moments throughout the wedding reception schedule.

These songs include the father-daughter dance song, the bride and groom’s first dance song, and a final song to finish off the evening in style.

It’s common for clients to have songs for these key moments in mind, but you can help them decide by selecting song recommendations for your meeting.

You can also research the most popular wedding songs in advance and find out what many DJs are including in their playlists for professional wedding gigs.

Once these have all been chosen, you can organize your DJ playlists according to when they will be played during the wedding reception.

4. Coordinate With The Venue

Coordination with the wedding party venue is also an important step to include on a wedding DJ checklist, covering a range of crucial factors in advance.

Different venues have certain rules about conduct and noise levels that you must know to keep your volume under a specific threshold.

Other important details that coordination with the venue’s manager covers include awareness of where plug sockets are located and what equipment they already have.

While some venues have a dedicated DJ booth with a controller and speaker setup, others may require the DJ to supply this equipment for the wedding reception.

If you’re a professional DJ with the equipment to use, this will increase how much you can make when supplying these essentials for the occasion.

It can also potentially lead to establishing a relationship between yourself and the venue manager, potentially leading to lucrative ongoing wedding party gigs.

5. Determine Additional Services

You can determine any additional services that complement the core wedding DJ package through your consultation with the venue owner and discussions with the clients.

Some wedding DJs offer additional services, such as DJ lighting and smoke machines, to add visual interest as the music plays in the background.

Others include additional extras, such as photo booths, where guests can take fun passport-style photographs to commemorate the special occasion.

The client may also want you to manage announcements following the wedding planner, which can also be an add-on service.

Once these additional services have been agreed on, they can be added to the final invoice, breaking down the individual costs for the clients.

6. Gather Essential DJ Equipment

Now that you know what the venue covers and the client’s expectations are, you can assemble all the essential DJ equipment for the wedding party.

This can start with a basic list of headphones, a microphone, and a USB drive of music if the venue already has a fully kitted DJ booth for you to use.

On the other hand, a complete mobile DJ setup may need to include everything from a DJ controller and mixer to a complete set of speakers and lights.

It’s also essential to take spares of DJing accessories and any other backups to help resolve an incident at the venue that causes issues.

This equipment can then be noted in a separate section of your DJ worksheet and referenced on the day when packing your gear for the event.

Before leaving the house, clean your DJ gear, so it looks presentable to the party guests and is less likely to fail on your mid-DJ set.

Related reading: How much does a wedding DJ cost?

7. Review The Wedding Reception Timeline

Preparing your playlists and tagging all the key songs that need to be played requires reviewing the wedding reception timeline to help manage the event.

You can acquire a copy of the client’s wedding reception timeline and use the color-coded tagging feature that is common in DJ software to make it easier to find the relevant songs.

The timeline will also give you a heads-up about when certain announcements need to be made and when the father of the bridge and best man are delivering their speeches.

Some of the notable highlights of a wedding reception timeline to be aware of include:

• Photos with the guests
• First introduction
• The Grand Entrance
• Bouquet toss
• Cocktail hour
• Games and activities
• Cake cutting
• First dance song
• Father-daughter dance song

Adopting the appropriate decorum during certain phases of the wedding day is an essential aspect of wedding DJ etiquette and presenting yourself as a professional DJ.

Expect the timeline to be fluid on the day if essential guests arrive late or other unforeseen problems put a spanner in the works.

You should also factor in guest requests and last-minute changes to the itinerary that the bride and groom make on the spur of the moment.

8. Acquire The Right Clothes

While club DJs have plenty of flexibility regarding what they wear at a gig, wedding DJs are expected to adhere to more formal standards of attire.

This usually means wearing a tuxedo to match other attendees or, at the very least, a smart suit and tie to blend in with the event.

If you don’t already own a suit for wedding occasions, you can look into rental options and hire an outfit to wear on the day.

Speak to the bride and groom beforehand and see what they expect from you, so you don’t spend money on clothes unnecessarily.

It’s also worth researching the dress and style of famous DJs who have performed at weddings, such as Snoop Dogg’s performance at a wedding in Bel Air.

This will give you insights into how you can mix up your wardrobe and bring a touch of individuality to your appearance while still appropriately dressed for a wedding.

The more wedding DJ gigs you perform, the larger your wardrobe of gig-friendly outfits will become, giving you more options for future events.

9. Manage Song Requests

All professional DJs have to handle song requests at some point in their gigs, which need to be properly managed in the case of wedding DJing.

Song requests from drunken guests are inevitable, but protocols can be put into place to streamline the process early on and avoid creating headaches.

This can begin with handing out song request forms at the beginning of the wedding day or leaving them at table places for guests to fill in at their leisure.

They can also be taken before the event, with a section on the RSVP wedding invitations where each guest can add a song they’d like to hear.

Some DJs even use dedicated song request apps, such as RequestBox, where guests at events can submit requests online for the DJ to review during the set.

Once all the requests have been submitted, the DJ can browse the selection and select those that best fit the overall playlist.

While there should remain room for spur-of-the-moment changes and requests, this process will help satisfy many wedding attendees.

It’s an effective way to ensure that DJing a wedding is an enjoyable experience for both the DJ and the client’s guests, giving air time to a broad mix of music.

10. Promote Your Wedding DJ Services

Lastly, a DJ wedding checklist should include steps to promote the wedding DJ’s services at the event, which will attract new clients and grow the business.

While this should be approached tactfully, there are several opportunities where wedding DJs can share their branding and wedding business information with the guests.

This can be done by handing out business cards or flyers or putting copies on each table, provided you have the client’s permission.

It can also include using a promotional banner in front of the DJ booth, with your wedding DJ business logo and website printed on the design.

Word of mouth shouldn’t be overlooked, so creating a strong overall impression and engaging with the guests can go a long way to earning referrals.

Always aim for the soft sell, letting your professionalism and quality of music speak for itself and avoiding being pushy if someone shows some interest.

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Summary

Whether you’re an experienced professional DJ who has performed at dozens of weddings or a newcomer to the field, a DJ wedding checklist is an important resource.

By modifying this wedding DJ checklist, you can optimize your preparation and ensure everything runs smoothly on the bride and groom’s big day.

Gathering glowing reviews from past clients and entertaining the guests will help you build a portfolio that allows you to consistently land new clients and develop a career.