Disclaimer: I have never booked or used a DJ before, so I have nothing to compare this experience to. Also, with the venue we used, The Monarch Room, we had no choice but to use Platinum KC as our DJ, so even if I did have another choice, I couldn't have used it.
We booked Platinum KC in/around October 2015 for our September 2016 wedding. We met with Sergei as sort of a meet and greet and as he said "to get a feel for us as a couple" so he could book us the right DJ. We discussed the package we wanted at that time, and said we would consider adding a few items like ceremony support (we used New Life City Church just down the block from Platinum KC & the Monarch Room) and downlighting for the reception.
Our next meeting with Platinum KC wasn't until August 2016. At that time Sergei told us he had booked us with Kyle. We met with Kyle and went over all of our song requests and our timeline with him. He had a copy of what we'd filled out online, but we had several changes to it, but he kept talking over me and didn't seem to grasp that I was trying to tell him my version was different. We confirmed with Kyle that we wanted the downlighting and ceremony support. We asked him about being at the rehearsal the night before so we could run through the music and make sure everything was perfect. He said he couldn't be there because of a cheerleading commitment, but that he could find someone else to meet us at the church on Friday.
After that meeting we received our invoice from Sergei. It was just for the DJ at the reception and did not include ceremony support or downlighting. I emailed Sergei about it and he sent me an updated copy right away, but he also indicated that we had never talked about ceremony support (which we had via email because he asked me what kind of mic our minister wanted). I also inquired about who would be at the church on Friday and I was told that was an extra fee! I am already paying for ceremony support, shouldn't that be included? Since my husband, then fiance, and I were paying for everything ourselves, we opted not to pay even more to have someone there on Friday. Well, we should have. KYLE PLAYED THE WRONG SONG DURING OUR BRIDAL PARTY ENTRANCE! I specifically asked for the piano/instrumental version of the song and he played a version with lyrics. I was mortified.
At the reception, Kyle was okay, except he started the music off with stuff we asked him not to play. Eventually he got into better music and the dance floor picked up. I know he told one guest he wasn't allowed to play a certain song they wanted, which we never said, so I went up and told him it was okay. He still never played it.
I don't know if the DJ is supposed to coordinate the timeline with the venue contact, I just kind of assumed they worked together, but nothing at the reception really ran as smoothly as it should. So whether that's on the venue, on the DJ, or both, I don't know. read more