Vancouver is a great city with a variety of venues, services and options for your events and weddings. But as anyone knows who has lived here, Vancouver is an expensive city. Everything from the cost of living to going out is going to set you back some cold hard cash. So here are a few tips on how you can think about saving on your DJ pricing when looking to book for your function in Vancouver.
One of the places to start considering how you might manage the cost of your DJ in Vancouver is the choice of the venue. From a Vancouver harbor cruise option to 5 star venues such as The Fairmont Pacific Hotel or Canada Place, each of them may have challenges for your DJ which will have to be added into the pricing. For instance, does your venue have stairs but no elevator. It is a tough job physically to load heavy speakers and equipment up and down stairs. This definitely is going to add to the cost as it is not only extra time, but a lot of extra work for your DJ. Some clients may offer to help the DJ load in and out and this may work to reduce the cost, but more than likely, the help has disappeared by the end of the evening when the DJ is ready to load out and the DJ has to do it himself . An experienced DJ is aware of that and often will not accept that proposal. A nice smooth, easy load in with the ability to roll equipment into the venue on a cart with no stairs will help to keep pricing down.
Some other venues such as Vancouver harbor cruises are also difficult to get equipment into. From wobbly docks, no load in area and narrow stairs to load equipment on the top deck as well as expensive parking… all add to DJ costs.
Many hotel venues downtown will provide parking for your vendors as well, but you must ask them as they won’t offer it up on their own. You can always mention this to your DJ to help keep costs down. Parking can be expensive. For example, parking on the docks at Canada Place or to get into The Fairmont Pacific is close to $40 for more an a 8 hour duration.
Another area is the amount of time you book the DJ. A nine or ten hour event is quite a long duration. Keep in the mind the DJ has to travel to and from your venue, load in and load out at the end of the night. In the Vancouver lower mainland, this can easily be a thirteen or fourteen hour day for them with an event that is nine or ten hours long. The DJ will charge accordingly. If you can keep your hours in the seven hour range, which is more normal, the pricing will be much better.
If you are having a wedding, and you need ceremony music, ask if the DJ has a small rental PA where you can do the music yourself. If that is not possible, try to schedule the wedding ceremony so that the time dovetails with the reception. Having the wedding ceremony in the same room as the reception so that only one PA setup is required will also help. The same holds true for any events you are having where the reception area is separated from the dinner and dancing room.
Finally, ask yourself what you actually need in the way services. A smaller, yet adequate, system may work just as well as a larger, more elaborate set up for some of the smaller venues around Vancouver. If unsure, discuss it with your possible DJ and see what sounds feasible for you and your event.