How Your Wedding DJ Can Set the Mood For Your Wedding Day

What should our readers know about you?

Hey, wedding couples! We're the owners, Chris and Heather. Mystica Entertainment started 6 years ago with Heather's enthusiasm and Chris's expertise and experience. Chris has been DJing since 1989 and taught Heather everything he knows. We have 4 additional fabulous DJ's on staff, all personally trained by Chris.

Our goal is to bring the party to your wedding. We want you and your guests to have a fun and memorable experience at your wedding. Our clients connect with us, and we want to help take the stress out of planning your wedding music while making it fun. Wedding planning isn't easy, and we want to help take some of that stress away.

We're based out of Edmonton and we travel Alberta-wide for your wedding. Your vision is important and we really want to connect with couples on a personal level to bring that vision to life.

Describe what you love the most about being a DJ?

"We love playing music for people and watching them dance together in a happy and fun experience."

Our job is the best! We get to create an experience between 2 families that are usually meeting for the very first time. We get to wipe those nerves away and bring people together through music. We love playing music for people and watching them dance together in a happy and fun experience.

It's a really creative job where we have the opportunity to read the dancefloor and create a music playlist that speaks to you and your guests. Every night is a different and unique experience that we get to be a part of. We love weddings. Being included in your special day is amazing for us. Even if you hire a wedding planner, your DJ is your backup planner. It comes with the job. We know all of the ins and outs of your wedding day and help coordinate the flow of events.

When is the best time to book a Wedding DJ?

1+ year out is the best. We're one of the first vendors you want to book for your wedding. There is a lot of planning that goes into the music for your special day and we really collaborate with all of your vendors. DJ companies book up open spots super fast.

We highly recommend reaching out to entertainment companies sooner, rather than later, when planning for your wedding day. The last thing you want is to scramble to find a good wedding DJ a few months or weeks out from your wedding.

Do you act as the emcee and make all of the announcements, and what is the additional charge?

Absolutely, we emcee! That is something we love to do as well. It takes a lot of planning for us to emcee as we connect on a new level with our couples and their families, so more planning is involved prior to the wedding.

This is particularly a great service if there isn't anyone in your family that is comfortable speaking in front of people. As your emcee, we also do not drink at weddings, so you don't have to worry about any embarrassing stories!

As your Emcee, we get even more involved with the flow of your evening and the coordination of the evenings' events that you have planned. We do charge an additional $100 for emcee services, but the money is well invested as it takes the pressure off of you finding an appropriate person to be your emcee. In some cases, we are hired because your friends and family all want to be your emcee and this reduces hurt feelings amongst them.

What do you do to motivate the crowd if nobody is dancing?

Our style is partly planned before the wedding with the bride and groom as we can reflect on their must-play-list and do-not-play lists.

The next thing we do is read the crowd, we really want to entertain every guest there, and that means an age range from 2 years old to 100 years old sometimes! It's a big reason you want a DJ.

If no one is really dancing we have 2 fool-proof strategies, the first one is to jump on the mic and ask for requests. The second is that no one can resist interactive dances. If they do, I'll dance! Sing along songs are also a great way to break the ice and once we get people singing the dancing usually follows naturally.

What was the most memorable wedding you worked on?

Honestly, there have been so many good ones! We really do our best to work with our clients and we want to click with you. You have to spend your entire wedding day with your wedding DJ, it's a big deal. If you asked us for the top 5 over the last 6 years, we could answer that! Ask us in person, we'd love to tell you about them, as we could go on and on.

Every wedding ever with a slideshow that is a "surprise". These take planning and proper equipment, which isn't always available if it isn't considered in the planning stages. While the memorable ones for us are the good ones, that doesn't mean we haven't had moments of "Oh, s--t".

Everything and anything will happen at your wedding, but it'll still be the best day ever if you want it to be. Even we have forgotten something that we had to make a new plan for, but the great thing is that you won't know that until after your wedding because we can problem solve and often have a contingency plan or backup equipment.

How involved should a couple be in selecting music for their wedding?

A couple should be 100% involved in all of the songs that are for special dedications from your Grand Entrance to your First Dance. Leave the dinner music and party to the DJ, they can read your crowd and are experienced in different settings.

However, we would like to know the main genres of music your guests will like. If you're a country crowd, please tell us. Hate the chicken dance? Also, let us know and we won't play it. You have your choice of leaving all of the music to our staff or you can give us a complete list of songs that are to be played and we'll pick and choose from there.

How can couples find good wedding DJs?

"Meet with them! That is the best answer we can give you."

Meet with them. That is the best answer we can give you.

The most important thing is that you click with your wedding DJ. You guys get along and laugh and enjoy your time together and they care about your wedding as much as you do. A DJ that wants to be involved means it's more than a job to them, this is their passion. Make sure your wedding DJ has legitimate paperwork and licenses including a business license, music license, insurance, and references/reviews.

In your words, what do you consider that Wedding DJs are supposed to do when they are on stage?

A wedding DJ is there to create an unforgettable experience for you and your guests through music or emceeing. They bring together people from different places and allow them to connect with each other. A wedding DJ is also there to make announcements and interact with your crowd.

They also ensure that a schedule is followed for your special dedication songs and keep the events running smoothly with easy transitions between songs.

If you could ask one thing of the grooms and brides that would make your job at their wedding easier, what would it be?

Ask questions and communicate with us prior to your wedding day. We're happy to help out. Also, please ask your guests if they are planning to do a "surprise" slideshow to connect with your DJ! You can provide our contact information to the other vendors you have hired so that we can all work together and have your big day run seamlessly.