You have a lot of choices when it comes to hiring a professional for your wedding, corporate event, or other special event. You need to evaluate your needs and work with the budget you are comfortable spending. We get it! When we first started out, we were charging $300 for a 4 hour gig. But as we grew and our expertise became more refined, our clients talked about us, we quickly realized we needed MORE! MORE equipment, MORE insurance, MORE services, MORE employees. The hard part was, I don’t like to skimp (cost without value is not value)! So we had to buy the best equipment and bring on the most charismatic and professional talent. As you can imagine, as my experience, personal investment, demand, and the cost of running my business has changed, so has my own pricing. Today, a 4 hour event with Boone’s Professional Events starts at $695 and can exceed $4000 based on the comprehensive nature of our business as you’ll see below. So, as with any service, when booking a DJ for your next event, first consider your budget, and then research to find your best-fit vendors at that price point.
When booking an event entertainment company, I often tell my customers to approach it the Tiger Woods Way. The first question he asks his caddy is “where is the pin?” Effective planning requires both forward thinking and backward thinking. Tiger identifies where the pin is, then formulates a plan to get there with the least amount of strokes and obstacles with the end result of dropping the ball in the hole. Hiring a professional Event Entertainment Company can act…to continue golf euphemisms…as the wind at your back and the applause from the gallery!
Pricing for Event Entertainment can vary widely based on the specifics of the event, the company’s experience, and additional services provided. It’s important for me to consider the event’s duration, location, and whether there will be extra expenses, such as lighting and sound equipment resources. Factors that will influence pricing include:
Location of Event – Does your venue have sufficient resources there (sound, lighting)? Is it indoors or outdoors? Is it local or will travel time & possible overnight accommodations apply? Additional equipment for sound coverage and lighting and the labor to set it up will affect pricing.
Day of event – Saturdays are high demand days. Higher demand days and times (Friday / Saturday) will always have a higher ticket price than lower demand days (Sunday – Thursday)
Complexity of Event – The length of the event dictates part of the cost, with longer events naturally costing more. Additionally, events that require more complex DJ services—like a full lighting setup, special effects, or additional staff—will lead to a higher rate. Complex services extend beyond the basic play of music and involve a comprehensive, tailored audio-visual experience for the event.
Type of event – Weddings are the most time demanding job you can hire me for, followed closely by corporate events. Planning out the intricacies of your wedding day or identifying the typical age group and make-up of a large, corporate all-employee meeting take a lot of resources and hence, command a higher price tag.
Additional Services – Obviously, if you hire us just to be your DJ/Emcee for your special event, our pricing would be lower than hiring us for one of our DJ/Photobooth/Lighting packages. Over the years, we’ve been asked to provide services that people have seen at other events, such as custom monogram lighting, dancing on a cloud effect, cold sparklers and more, which we’ve added to our services lineup. When you bundle these services into your package, we offer additional discounts and work with you to stay within your budget AND receive the best service possible for your special event.
Number of Guests – A small corporate event with 30 people vs a wedding with 250 guests is going to have different price points. The more people in attendance, the more people to be entertained. Factors like sound coverage, lighting, staff on-hand come into play which would affect pricing.
In conclusion, as with many things, higher price doesn’t always mean better. For over 15 years, we have provided impeccable service to every event we are invited to perform at. From pre-planning & song selection to early arrival & set-up to having back-up equipment and staff on-hand, our mission is to provide the best experience and an unforgettable event for you and your guests. We work closely with our clients to make planning a breeze and remove any stress. You will have an online music selection platform which not only allows you to choose the best songs for your event, but also gives you recommendations for the most popular songs for your event such as father daughter dance, bride/groom first dance and more. In addition, we have worked with almost EVERY venue of all sizes around the Tampa/St. Pete Area. We know the venues, have established strong relations with these businesses and staff and they know when they recommend us, you will not be disappointed.
Hopefully, this article provides you with some valuable insight which will help you in your search for an Event Entertainment company. You have a lot of good companies out there to choose from. Just make sure you know what you’re paying for…Don’t be afraid to ask questions. Our contract provides everything that is included in our service to you including performance length, set up and break down times, as well as our insurance coverage. I make sure that the contract specifies the total cost, cancellation policy, overtime charges and what’s included, such as emcee services, photobooth, lighting or additional equipment. Lastly, check reviews! Online reviews have almost as much power as word-of-mouth-referrals. Check out what other people say about your prospects. Almost EVERY business has online reviews, whether on Google, Yelp or Social Media. If they don’t have reviews, beware! That usually means they are very new to the scene, are fly-by-night ‘gypsies’, or are just plain BAD and are suppressing their online reviews.
Feel free to contact us with any questions! You can also fill out our contact form and we’ll get in touch with a detailed pricing quote for your special event!
Best!
Jeff Boone
