Behind-the-scenes of your wedding musician & DJ
Updated: Aug 27
When you see a wedding musician or DJ on the night, they usually look slick, relaxed, and ready to party. What you’re seeing is the tip of the iceberg. For a premium wedding vendor, the real work starts days (sometimes weeks) before your first guest even thinks about getting dressed up.
If you’ve ever wondered why professional wedding entertainment costs a bit more than just plugging in a phone, here’s a quick peek behind the curtain at what it takes to make sure your day runs flawlessly.
Days before: Rehearsals & curation
The days leading up to your wedding aren't spent just packing cords into bags. I spend them obsessing over your runsheet and music brief. Organisation removes anxiety. No anxiety means my brain is free to execute the grand plan and actually get to enjoy the party!
Rehearsing your tracks
If you’ve picked a special song for your walk down the aisle or first dance, I spend hours rehearsing and tweaking the arrangement, lock down the vocal delivery, and run through it until it sounds absolutely perfect live.
Curating the DJ set
No two weddings are the same, so I never just hit play on a generic playlist. I spend days building a custom setlist based on your exact tastes, your "absolutely do not play" list, and the vibe of your crowd. There’s still plenty of space to read the room and pivot when needed, but I get your music selections in order so that I’m never scrambling.
Special moment songs Grand entrances, cutting the cake, the first dance, farewell song, etc. These moments need split-second timing. I organise every song beforehand so that on the day there’s no awkward searching while people sit in silence (cringe).
On the day:
Multiple locations, multiple rigs
Most weddings I play at don't just happen in one room. If your wedding is in Melbourne, the Yarra Valley, Mornington Peninsula or anywhere else for that matter, it’s more than likely you’ll have your ceremony on a lawn, cocktails in a courtyard, and the reception inside a rustic barn or warehouse.
That’s why I bring multiple sound systems to every single wedding. Long before your first guest even steps onto the property, I’ve already set up and sound-checked:
Rig 1: A portable battery-powered setup for live acoustic music at your ceremony.
Rig 2: A second similar system for cocktail hour, if it's in a different location.
Rig 3: The main premium speaker system for DJing and/or live music, suitable for up to 200 guests. This rig also includes my live music set up (guitar and pedals ready to go), pro lighting for good vibes on the dance floor, and a wireless mic for your MC and speeches.
This means the music flows seamlessly from one part of the day to the next with zero awkward gaps or heavy lifting in front of your guests.
First to arrive, last to leave
At every wedding, I arrive early enough so that I’ve still got time to take a breather before guests arrive. This is when I load in heavy gear, run cables safely so no one trips, test wireless mics, and adjust the sound to suit the acoustics of the room. And when the house lights come up and your guests are heading to their cars or the shuttle bus - that’s when the pack-down begins, usually wrapping up well past midnight.
Why this matters for your wedding
When you hire a professional wedding musician/DJ, you aren't just paying for someone to sing some songs or press play. You’re paying for peace of mind. You’re paying for the days of behind-the-scenes prep, the backup gear, the professional lighting, and the logistical planning, which means you don't have to worry about anything other than how much more time you get to spend on the dance floor!
Thanks for reading "Your wedding musician & DJ: Behind-the-Scenes"
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