What should be on a wedding DJ checklist?
A wedding DJ checklist runs on a timeline. Six weeks out, you lock in the contract, the venue’s rules and a planning meeting with the couple. Two weeks out, you build the crates, buy missing songs and confirm every formality and name. In the week of the wedding, you check and back up the library. The day before is gear, and the day itself is setup, soundcheck and the timeline. The free printable PDF below has it all: page 1 is the checklist with tick boxes, page 2 is a planning sheet to fill in with the couple.
Prepare for a wedding as a DJ
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Six or more weeks before: lock in the basicsSign the contract with date, times and venue. Hold a planning meeting with the couple. Get the venue’s sound limits, curfew, load-in time and power, and the ceremony’s mic needs.
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Two weeks before: build the musicBuild the wedding’s crates, one per part of the day. Buy missing songs, confirm the formalities and their versions, make the do-not-play crate, and confirm every name you will announce.
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The week of: check and back upAnalyze every track, check beatgrids on the formalities, screen the crates for missing, corrupt and explicit tracks, back up, and have a final call with the couple or planner.
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The day before: gearTest the full rig, charge mic batteries, pack spares and a backup drive, and print the timeline and do-not-play list.
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On the day: setup and timelineArrive with time to set up and soundcheck before guests, test mics where they will be used, walk the timeline with the coordinator, and check the do-not-play crate before every request.
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After: close it outExport the night’s history, move the crates to Past weddings, add the floor-fillers to your evergreen crates, and send a thank-you.
Download the free wedding DJ checklist (PDF, 2 pages) →
What is in the printable
Page 1 is the DJ’s checklist: every item from the steps above with a tick box, grouped by when to do it, plus a gear list. Page 2 is a planning sheet for the couple: names and how to say them, the venue and coordinator, the song and time for each key moment (processional, entrances, first dance, parent dances, cake, bouquet, last dance), must-play and do-not-play lists, and two quick rules: clean edits or not, and whether guests can request. Print it on US Letter or A4.
Six or more weeks before
This is where most wedding problems are prevented. Get the venue’s rules in writing, especially sound limits and curfew, because they shape the whole night. Ask how the ceremony works: whether you are providing sound for it, and who needs a mic. And settle two questions many DJs leave too late: clean edits or explicit, and whether guests can request. Both are on the planning sheet.
Two weeks before
Turn the planning sheet into crates. A parent crate for the wedding with a subcrate for each part of the day keeps it manageable: see how to organize wedding DJ crates in Serato. Put every banned song you own, in every version, in its own crate: see how to enforce a do-not-play list. And confirm the exact version for each formality. The wrong edit of a first dance is a mistake nobody forgets.
The week of the wedding
Analyze every track so nothing stalls a deck, and check the beatgrids on the formalities by hand. Then screen the crates: missing files, damaged files and explicit versions are the three things that go wrong in front of a family room. Back up your music and library to a second drive, and bring it. The general routine is in the DJ pre-gig checklist for Serato, and clean versions are covered in how to find clean versions of songs.
Crate Cleaner’s Pre-Gig Check, which is free, does the screening for a whole crate at once: missing and corrupt files as blockers, fake bitrates and duplicates as warnings, and explicit versions flagged, with the clean edit pointed out when you already own one. It runs on your real Serato library on macOS and never changes your files.
The day before and on the day
Set up and test the whole rig at home, with every cable you will use, and charge the mic batteries. Pack spares for anything that can fail: cables, batteries, a laptop charger, and a backup music source. On the day, arrive with enough time to set up and soundcheck before guests arrive, test mics where they will actually be used, and walk through the timeline with the coordinator so you both know every cue.
After the wedding
Export the night from Serato’s History panel as a record of what you played: see how to export your Serato history. Move the wedding’s crates into a Past weddings crate, add anything that filled the floor to your evergreen wedding crates, and send the couple a thank-you, with a request for a review.
Download the free wedding DJ checklist (PDF, 2 pages) →
FAQ
What should a wedding DJ checklist include? The contract and venue rules, a planning meeting with the couple, the music for each key moment, must-play and do-not-play lists, a library check and backup, a gear list, and the setup and timeline on the day.
Is the wedding DJ checklist free? Yes. The two-page PDF is free to download and print, with no sign-up.
When should a DJ meet the couple before the wedding? Six weeks or more before, to agree the timeline, key songs, do-not-play list and music rules, with a final call in the week of the wedding.
What should I ask the couple about music? The song and version for each key moment, their must-play and do-not-play lists, whether they want clean edits only, and whether guests can make requests. Page 2 of the PDF covers all of it.
What paper size is the PDF? US Letter, which also prints on A4 with a little extra margin.
Screen the wedding crates before the day
Crate Cleaner's Pre-Gig Check flags missing, corrupt and explicit tracks across a whole crate, and points out the clean edit when you own one. Free plan on your real library.