Hiring sound, a DJ or a photo booth: mistakes to avoid

Almost all the mistakes when hiring sound, a DJ or a photo booth come from the same place: comparing quotes that do not include the same things and not telling the supplier what the venue is like. Equipment designed for a different space, a DJ with no equipment in a venue that has none, or a photo booth with no power socket nearby give just as bad a result as a poor professional. They are avoided by putting in writing what each thing includes.

At the end you have the list of questions we recommend asking.

Mistakes when hiring the sound

• Choosing by power or by number of speakers. More power does not sound better. What counts is how many people there are, whether there is dancing or only speech, and whether it is indoors or outdoors. How it is worked out is explained in the sound power you need for your audience size; you do not need to do it yourself, but you do need to give those details.
• Not saying it is outdoors. Without walls, the sound gets lost, and you also have to allow for the wind and for where things plug in. A quote designed for a function room is no good for a country estate or a town square.
• Forgetting the microphones. Speeches, readings, the toast or the mayor's words are sound too. Say how many people will speak and whether any of them will do so at the same time as someone else, so that the microphones needed are brought.
• Renting the equipment without a technician when nobody knows how to run it. Equipment hire (you collect it or we deliver it, and you run it) is a valid option if someone on your side knows how to set it up and adjust it. If not, nobody will fix a squeal of feedback or a microphone that cuts out. Ask in every quote whether it is equipment only or equipment with a technician.
• Not asking the venue about its limits. Before hiring, ask the function room, the estate or the town council whether there is a sound limiter, what time the music has to stop, where the power sockets are and where the equipment is unloaded. All of that changes the setup.
• Not leaving time to set up and test. The equipment has to be set up and tested before the first guest arrives. If the venue only lets you in an hour beforehand, say so when asking for a quote.

Everything that goes into an event sound service depends on these answers.

Mistakes when hiring a DJ

• Hiring just the DJ in a venue with no equipment. A DJ brings their music and their decks, but not necessarily the sound and lighting for a dance floor. If the venue has no equipment of its own, what you need is a mobile disco; we explain the difference in DJ or mobile disco: which to choose.
• Not giving them a list. You do not need a fixed setlist, but you do need the songs that have to be played, the ones that must not be played and the key moments: the entrance, the first dance, the cake, the gifts or the company song.
• Not agreeing who speaks on the microphone. Some people want the DJ to get the crowd going and others do not want to hear them all night. Say so beforehand, and also say who makes the announcements (the couple, the organiser, the town council).
• Dinner music at party volume. If the same DJ covers the dinner and the party, agree that during dinner the music stays in the background and people can talk.
• Not fixing the schedule. Put in writing what time the music starts and ends, and what happens if the party runs on: whether it can be extended and how that is charged.

Mistakes when hiring a photo booth

• Putting it just anywhere. A photo booth needs a power socket nearby, room for a group to fit in front of it and a spot where people pass by without blocking a door or the dance floor. In a hidden corner it barely gets used.
• Not asking what the guest takes away. A printed photo, a download to their phone or both. They are not the same, and not every format offers the same thing.
• Not approving the design beforehand. If the photo includes names, a date or the company logo, ask to see the template before the event. A typo printed on every photo cannot be fixed afterwards.
• Not asking when you get all the photos. Ask in what format and within what timeframe you receive the full set of photos from the event.
• Not asking whether someone looks after it. Ask whether someone from the supplier will be there during the service to look after the photo booth or whether it runs on its own, and who sorts it out if it jams.
• Booking the hours blind. Think about the point in the party when it makes sense: once the open bar starts it gets used much more than during dinner.
• Confusing it with a photocall. The photocall is the backdrop; the photo booth is the equipment that takes the photos (we explain it in photo booth or photocall: the differences). They can be combined, with the photo booth in front of the photocall. At an event for a village we set up the photo booth that way, outdoors and at night, with unlimited photos and download to phones.

The formats we offer are in photo booth and 360 video booth, and what drives the price in how much it costs to hire a photo booth for a wedding.

Mistakes that come up with all three

• Comparing only the final price. Two quotes with the same figure can include different things: transport, setup, teardown, travel, hours of service or a technician. Compare line by line. In ours, travel is shown in the quote.
• Agreeing things verbally. What is not in writing does not exist when there is a problem. Ask for the quote to state what it includes, what it does not include, the schedules and what happens if something changes.
• Not asking who is going to turn up. Ask whether the equipment and the people who come to the event belong to the supplier or to another company they pass the job on to. At Zenor the technical equipment is our own and we do not subcontract.
• Splitting it between three suppliers with nobody coordinating. If the ceremony sound, the DJ and the photo booth come from different companies, each one arrives at its own time, looks for its own socket and sets up on its own. If they are separate, someone has to coordinate them; if they come from the same supplier, you have a single point of contact for everything.
• Having no plan if it rains. At an outdoor event, ask where the equipment goes if everyone has to move inside and whether that space also has power sockets and room.
• Telling them too little about the venue. Photos, a plan or a few measurements of the space are usually enough to prepare the setup. If you would rather we came to see it, the technical site visit can be done if you ask for it, but it is not included: it is quoted separately.
• Booking late. Ask for a quote as soon as you have a date and a venue, especially if the event falls in wedding season or local festival season. For company Christmas dinners, it is worth booking at least two weeks in advance.

What to ask before signing

This is the list we recommend going through with any supplier, us included:

• What exactly does the quote include: equipment, technician, DJ, transport, setup, teardown and travel?
• Is it equipment hire only, or will someone run it during the event?
• Are the equipment and the staff your own, or do you subcontract them?
• How many hours of service are included, and what happens if the event runs on?
• What time do you arrive to set up, and how much time do you need before the start?
• What do you need from the venue: power sockets, space, access for unloading?
• How many microphones are coming, and who are they for?
• How do I send you the song list and the key moments?
• What does the guest take away from the photo booth, and when and how do I receive all the photos?
• Can I see the photo design before the event?
• What happens if it rains or if we have to change rooms?
• What is put in writing, and what are the terms if the date changes or the event is cancelled?

And on your side, have this ready: type of event, date, venue (indoors or outdoors), approximate number of guests, schedule, venue limits and which services you want.