When to book
Twelve to eighteen months ahead for peak Saturday dates; six to nine months is workable for most others. Good DJs carry one booking per date — once your Saturday in June is gone, it is gone. If your date is close, ask anyway: cancellations and quiet dates exist.
The questions that actually matter
Skip “do you do weddings?” and ask things that reveal craft: Can we hear a full recorded set? How do you handle a floor that spans four generations? What happens to our do-not-play list if a guest requests something on it? How do you work speeches, cake and the first dance into the timeline? What do you need from the venue?
The answers tell you whether you are hiring a selector or a human playlist. A professional will talk about reading your specific room; an amateur will talk about their standard show.
Must-plays, no-plays and cultural moments
The strongest wedding sets are planned around a short must-play list (the songs that mean something), a hard do-not-play list (respected without exception, including guest requests), and the cultural moments that matter to both families — planned in properly, not bolted on as a token block. A floor that spans cultures deserves a DJ who can blend them into one night.
Red flags
No recorded sets available. Package language that never mentions music (“includes uplighting!”). Reluctance to take a do-not-play list. A single genre presented as the whole offer. And any DJ who cannot explain, specifically, how they would handle your room — vagueness before the booking becomes vagueness on the night.