I'm mainly a wedding DJ with over five years and a dozen weddings to my name at this point. I specialize in smaller, budget weddings, to accommodate couples who would rather spend more on their honeymoon than the wedding.
I shadowed under a Carlsbad church pastor, Justin Windham of Faith Community Church for a few years or so as well as the head of the company Dancing DJ (Will ChitWood) for a few months and have an Associate's Degree in Music Technology, Digital Media, and Sound Reinforcement. Essentially, I'm the complete package at almost half the price of other "professional" DJ's. *Disclaimer* Currently I only DJ the reception for weddings, NOT the ceremony.
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Price Range: $200.00-$1,000.00 USD
Gig Length: 120 - 360 minutes
Languages: English
Insurance: $1,000,000 - Single Day Insurance
I deal, primarily, with the planning and provision of DJ and MC services at wedding receptions. At this time, I deal exclusively with wedding receptions as I'm only one person, and having multiple set ups for both the ceremony and reception site are beyond my current bandwidth. I'm actively working on rectifying that logistics issue and should have a solution by the end of 2021.
Where I stand head and shoulders above most wedding DJ's is my understanding of the external issues surrounding all the scenarios before, during, and after a wedding. Things such as:
1.) Is there a noise ordinance that must be adhered to despite guest requests?
2.) Is there single day insurance required from the venue director to all vendors?
3.) Does the DJ understand the venue coordinator/owner has final say in decisions regarding events held at their location?
4.) Does my DJ understand he'll need to interact, actively, with the wedding party, family, bride, groom, and any wedding coordinators on site for a successful day/evening?
5.) Does said DJ understand electrical safety, crowd safety, local laws and regulations in regard to how he conducts himself and uses his/her equipment on site?
Most DJ's couldn't answer even half of those questions, nor even realize they need to be addressed, specifically the sole proprietor business owner DJ's who, like myself, have their own business and equipment and aren't part of a larger company.
You shouldn't have to worry if your choice of DJ understands all this. You shouldn't. I can and do and will bring everything I see as a potential issue up to you and yours weeks before the day even arrives.
*I do not bill clients for time spent before the wedding day!*
Yes, you heard me correctly. Any and all time spent before the wedding day in planning, meeting, phone conversations, texts, Skype/Zoom meetings, etc are not billable and will not be. I'm here to help you and your significant other and that's the bottom line. Most professional companies or "big name" DJ's bill by the hour, for ANYTHING related to the current event/wedding set up, planning, tear down, etc.
I want you to have a spectacular wedding without breaking the bank, period. This is what I can bring to the table in regards to one of the most moving and majestic days of your life. I won't disappoint you!
Degrees: Associate's (with Honors) in: Recording Arts, Music Technology, Sound Reinforcement
Years as a Wedding DJ: 3 years training (shadowing under other wedding DJ's), 3 years active
Total Weddings and Events completed to date: 15+ (in addition with graduations, birthday parties, scholastic events, church A/V team, etc)
If you're looking for not only a DJ with immaculate musical tastes, but someone who understands the nature, science, and intangible qualities of what makes a wedding go from ordinary to spectacular, look no further.
A phenomenal wedding DJ needs three qualities that I have in abundance and can humbly advertise as true statements.
1.) A People Person: I've seen it time and again where a DJ for a wedding has little to no crowd participation, barely makes intelligible announcements, and stands in a corner the entire evening. Before your big day even comes around, I've already been through your questionnaire, contracts, and in person meetings so you know exactly what to expect, what not to expect, and who I am to a comfortable level. I have no issues talking to anyone and everyone at your wedding (if desired) as if I was a guest there myself. The entire point of the service I'm offering to you and your significant other is to partner with and alongside you to create and experience a sincerely magical day....not be a foreign presence that shows up every now and again.
2.) Know Your Gear: I have multiple degrees in various fields of Audio Engineering and Recording Arts and as such, understand things the average wedding DJ has never even heard of. Speaker height and placement based on room acoustics, feedback suppression for speeches and music, equalization of music and vocals for the opportune clarity for your guests, and above all troubleshooting if anything should go awry. I go through two full equipment set ups and calibrations before the week of your wedding and do multiple dry runs with the music you've selected. There will be NO hiccups for your big day when I'm in charge, simply because I have a degree to my name that states I'm more than competent in live sound and digital media as opposed to someone who went out and bought 10K worth of gear and can turn it on. You don't want the "turn it on" DJ, trust me.
3.) I'm Married: There's no way I can accurately communicate to a couple that I "know what you're going through" or comprehend the gravity of having everything on your wedding go well if I wasn't married myself. Until you've gone through a wedding ceremony yourself, and experienced the life changing wonder of it all you can't honestly tell a client you grasp the enormity of their big day if you've never been through it. The mission statement of my company, no exceptions, is that I care because I've been there. I celebrate a commitment to love one another more than anything in the world, and such will bring to bare everything I can to ensure it goes off without a hitch. Other DJ's who aren't married can't and don't understand the weight of such a moment in life, and, respectfully, can't try and express they understand how much it means to you and your significant other. I can, and I do.
All in all, I'm here to provide an affordable alternative to an industry that as of late has become almost criminal in the prices they charge the average person for their wedding. A wedding should be as stress free as possible. Through the soul moving, perfectly selected music I'll bring as well as a degree of professionalism, education, and life experience that is hard to beat, there's no reason we can't join together to make your wedding day a marvelous and unforgettable experience.
Sincerely, Jake Wengronowitz.
The single biggest point of interest, understandably for a DJ, is adequate voltage/amperage/power for my equipment. If the venue of said wedding/event DOES NOT HAVE a standard, 15 amp three prong receptacle/outlet, then by default I'll have to use a generator.
A generator, although a portable solution to a power problem will always emit a decent amount of disruptive sound to venue regardless of noise suppression grating/insulation or distance. If the venue in question truly does require me to utilize a generator, then said charge will be added to the conclusory bill before the wedding day.
Other than that, my equipment list can be requested if clients are truly that curious. My set up is adequate enough for everything up to a 200 person wedding event.
Music played is discussed and 90% agreed upon via the questionnaire and contract before the wedding. Every wedding is different, and every style and flavor of music can be represented at request. Conversely, I ALWAYS give clients a chance to create the "do not play" list.
I also have a clause in my contracts that explain I specifically do not play explicit music, unless the clients in question deliberately ask for it. I'm for the families and the children who are also at the wedding, not just the few young folks who want me to play rap and hip hop for five hours straight.
I can find and play virtually any form of music known to man via my subscription services, online databases, and personal music library. If I can't find a song, I'll find a way to "acquire" it for your big day in any way I can find. The answer "no" is not in my vocabulary as far as music acquisition.
The inception of my business, "DJake Weddings & Events" came about actually through two circumstances overlapping. I had recently graduated college with my music degrees and knew my love of playing exactly the right song at exactly the right time to give people joy was going to be a life long passion. How could I turn it into a business though? That was the question.
I had been shadowing a church pastor in Carlsbad for some time, a one Justin Windham of Faith Community Church. He had been my mentor for a number of years and had told me (based on my degrees and years of sound board operating for the worship team) I was ready for the "big leagues" and he would give me some referrals if needed. I wasn't sure I was ready for the subsequent step, but the second circumstance I spoke of occurred that pushed me to take the plunge.
I was at a friend's wedding who had truly been through some horrific trials in his life leading to said wedding. All of us in attendance were beyond touched he had pushed past his adversity and gotten to the day where he would marry his sweetheart. I had known him a long time, since high school, and couldn't wait to enjoy the festivities with him. The only problem was, of course, the DJ.
Throughout the ceremony and following reception, this man (who will remain anonymous as a professional courtesy) was the epitome of the disinterested, apathetic, borderline rude DJ. Barely played the correct music on cue, was constantly on his phone, even yawning openly at several points throughout the evening. Played an awful, haphazard, broken jumble of songs from every genre, every tempo, every decade....nothing worked and the dance floor was basically empty most of the evening. It was terrible to watch.
As I stood on the deck of said country club overlooking the lake, I decided I wouldn't let another year go by when I had a chance to offer DJ services at a fair price to people getting married. They deserve someone who understands music theory, the crowd's body language, who actually cares about the couple getting married and their friends and family, wouldn't charge an arm and a leg to do it.
Hearing my long time friend had been charged (no joke) upwards of a $1,000 for a four hour reception and ceremony where no one even dance was appalling, and I vowed to use that indignation coupled with my love for weddings and music to begin my business and change lives for the better.
Standard 15 amp, three prong outlet/receptacle.
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