How much does a wedding DJ cost in Canberra?

EDITORS’ CHOICE: In this article, I’m going to take a dive to how much a wedding DJ should cost you for a standard Canberra wedding, and what to look out for in your planning stages.

Average DJ Cost for a Canberra Wedding

If you're in the middle of planning your wedding, you've probably noticed that different DJs charge different amounts. While you don't want to go over your budget, you also don't want to hire the cheapest DJ and ruin your wedding.

How do you know which wedding DJs in Canberra are the best value when there are SO MANY to choose from? What is the price of a professional wedding DJ?

Wedding DJ Pricing Guide

A standard wedding DJ typically costs around $1200 for their performance fee, but this doesn't account for the wide range of costs you'll probably run into when organising your event. DJ services typically charge between $500 and $5000 for their wedding packages, according to the local market & demographic.

Budget-Friendly DJ

Investment range: $500 – $1000

While this might be acceptable when purchasing a wedding cake, it might not be the best idea when selecting a DJ, who will play a key role in the success of your wedding. After all, music plays a huge role in your wedding day, and a wedding DJ is much more than just a DJ - they are the sole provider of your guests entertainment.

Of course, things change if your friend, a professional DJ, is only charging you $1000 as a favour. However, wedding DJs in this price range are frequently new to the industry, unknown to the general pressures of a wedding.

Professional Full-Time DJ

Investment range: $1500 - $5000

Professional DJ, Callum Gracie performing at an Alto Event Space wedding.

There is a good reason why full-service, full-time, professional DJs earn this much money.

They are gifted, seasoned, and fully committed to ensuring that the weddings they play at are as close to flawless as they can be. For a 5-hour wedding, they typically put in 5 to 10 hours of preparation - Now THAT is commitment! They can MC like a boss, are available for questions, organised and have a tonne of song recommendations. These DJs have seen it all and treat your wedding with the upmost respect, with the shared vision of igniting your dance floor and having everyone in the room talking about how amazing the DJ was and how sore their feet were the next day.

BUYER BEWARE

Keep in mind that the cost of your wedding DJ will vary if you choose to add on extra services like ceremony and cocktail hour sound coverage, uplighting, dance floor lighting, or a photo booth to your package.

Some DJs primarily provide the necessities with add-on services available for a fee. Other DJs might provide an all-inclusive package with services that you might not find useful. Make sure everything that is included in the price they give you is made clear when you request quotes.

Once you've obtained several quotes, be sure to compare and evaluate the DJs prices and included services. This enables you to make an ‘apples-for-apples’ comparisons and obtain the overall best value. You’ll also be able to easily identify opportunities to save money without settling for an average and lame DJ.

To determine whether a potential DJ will be a good fit for you, it is crucial to have open conversations about your concerns, or what it is that you hope to achieve for your special day.

The typical wedding DJ generally charges about what they are worth. But do you actually want a DJ who is "average"? A professional DJ's experience involves many steps that novices and amateurs do not take and being married only once (we hope), it may be worth spending that little bit more to ensure the best party of your life becomes a reality, sharing a memory of a life time!

REACH OUT

If you are a Canberra based bride or groom and are looking for a professional DJ to ignite your dance floor, speak with award winning Canberra DJ, Callum Gracie and share your vision and ideas with him. With over 10 full time years in the wedding space, Callum has managed over 1800 events with the successful  launch of the ACT and QLD branch of the biggest entertainment company in Australia, Baker Boys Band. 

For more information, get in touch with DJ Callum via his website or Instagram. We wish you all the best with your planning. I’m sure it’s going to be one incredible celebration! 🧡

DJ Callum starting a conga line with wedding guests at Sirromet Winery in QLD.