DO NOT say....

Ewwww you kissed her. On the lips. You do know what her nickname used to be back in college right?!?!

+1 on this thread

ha! i guess we should a DO NOT SAY list as well

we should ADD a DO NOT SAY list as well

Do not call the bride or groom by a different name!! Got mixed up during one show, cause I pulled a double that day and called the bride by the other bride's name (earlier wedding).

I had a 5 second brain fart when i was introducing the bride and groom... that was a LONG 5 seconds

ha nice...the only time i did goofed up big was when i was doing intro's some kid came up to me and yanked my arm and said thats my camera can i take it, and i accidently yes you can take it, on the mic...everyone got a good laugh out of it, but none the less it was embarassing

No matter how much I read the names of the bridal party before I introduce them, I always stumble on one of them.

and dont follow that up with .....but wasnt the girl you were with when i met you the other night named ______ other brides name

i say confirm how to say each person's name with them before doing the intro... then when it is time for the intro i dont try to pronounce is as i read it, i just look at it to remember the order and say the name how they had told me... so as long as i have a good memory i'm good...

tell jokes on the mic.
ask the groom if he like fishsticks.

fishsticks lol

if your going to use that one make sure you keep a sample of a rim shot(no homo) in your sampler

I can see some "You Dj so bad jokes" right here lol....but back on topic please.
In NZ the Dj rarely MC's its usually up to the Bestman so i guess im lucky lol.

Maybe I'm slow, what does that mean? Fishsticks? Are there any other good jokes to get the crowd warmed up for you?

i was having this convo with a friend who does weddings just the other day. he leaves it to the bare minimum and doesnt try and create anything other than the right music and atmosphere during the night. (background music early on / party after the buffet etc)

announce the important things (that you find out before you start) and then leave it to them. the day is about the wedding and the guests, the entertainment should just be there to compliment the evening.

weddings are a tough gig to get right in my opinion. its not like you can do it again next week like in a club. you get one shot at it and thats that. scary! :)

serious... i've been to weddings where the DJ talks way too much... says dumb shit.. IMO a wedding should be nice, special.... but fun

some DJ's seem to try to take the spotlight, and at a wedding thats just lame

lol funnily enough I've just been asked by this girl at work to dj her wedding and me being the smooth operator I am asked..

When is it?
2nd July
I thought you were putting on weight. You getting married before the bulge really shows?
I'm not pregnant you twat. Its July next year!!!
Oh ok. So what's your budget then?

whoopes...

Same here. I hype while the tosses are going on, and do a little ribbing of the best man during the toasts, but other than that I leave it simple, and at the end of the night I get compliments about how I 'made the night all about them' and 'kept the focus on them'.

But seriously, you actually get away with saying 'find yourself an MC'? I'd have to charge pennies in order to get a gig like that. Most people hire wedding DJs to do the full emcee/DJ thing here in San Diego. If I even tried to say, 'I don't talk on the mic' the next thing I'd hear would be a dial tone.

I know this is an old discussion but... here we go... I agree with the above comment. Here in TN when a client hires a wedding DJ, they expect them to perform MC duties at the reception. So I would definitely recommend getting comfortable on the mic if your looking to start doing weddings.
I've done hundreds of weddings and I can honestly say keeping it simple has always worked better, and I've received better feedback. Your just there to compliment the evening (as someone mentioned above) your not there to take the spotlight. Be informative but fun about it.

Most weddings I've done if I didn't inform the B & G what was next they would of been standing there real awkward. Some couples will depend on that direction, and that information from the DJ.
I try to just be informative all the way up to the tosses, and then I'll project a little more energy when calling all the single ladies up to the dance floor. And when the bride and all the single ladies get out to the dance floor don't just leave them hanging, let them know, "this is how it's going to go down, I'm going to give you a countdown from 3 and one lucky lady is going to get that bouquet, so let's keep it clean and let's keep it classy ladies." I've said that so many times and it always goes well. Just loosen up and practice on the mic at home.

As long as we are reviving this discussion, I'll offer a tip on this that I think may help a lot of people:

When writing down the names of wedding party/sponsors/family/couple for introductions, try this alternate idea... Do NOT write down the names spelled correctly!

Fact is, nobody listening to you on the mic is going to care one bit about whether you spelled a name right on your list, they are only going to care about what they hear. So, write down the names in a way that tells you how they are pronounced.

Also, every monosyllabic word has one syllable that is stressed, and you need to know which one it is in order to pronounce the names correct. So what I do is write the stressed syllable in ALL CAPS.

Example #1:

Correct spelling: Ashleigh Graber and Sean Reilly

You write: ASH-lee GRAY-ber and Shon RY-lee

Example #2:

Correct spelling: Cara BeauChamp and Devereaux Renault

You write: KAIR-uh BOW-champ and DEV-row Run-ALT

Simple, right? Now when you glance at them, they are easy to say.

Hope that helps!

DennisJ

Whenever you crack the mic do not start with Ladies and Gentlemen every time.

Saw the cheesiest wedding DJ the other day... not only did he talk incisively on the mic about the stupid dollar dance, but never once (the whole night) addressed the bride & groom by their names. He only referred to them and "the bride & groom". It's like he forgot who they were and just went with a generic response to everything.

Also, he played every horrible, cliche wedding song ever known! Yikes

hello,

What would be an alternate phrase of "make some noise". Saying this is not wrong but when overused can be annoying.

Saying put your "hands together" implies an applause so definitely not that. Looking for more cheering phrases.

WYS!!! Here in Louisville is the same way. The DJ is the Entertainment. A Wedding is not a concert. Make regular announcements like “Ladies and Gentlemen you may now satisfy your hunger”, “Ladies and Gentlemen I would Like to introduce to you” anything that people need to here about what is going on. No rapping, no singing, no jokes. Don’t jump on the dance floor for any of the dance songs like cha cha or Cupid shuffle. Just do your job professionally. Do it like you are a PRO, not a hood rat. And never ever get drunk. I hav people offer me a drink and I just say maybe later, I working for you right now. I usually drink a beer or two at the END. You are not there for the party. You are the to be the party, but not be individually noticed. Trust me you will not get business if you do the opposite.

"Show some love for..."
"Give it up for..."

double check the pronunciation of names with the bride and groom at one of your meetings beforehand and write it down phonetically.

"Now somebody, anybody, everybody scream!"