IF PEOPLE LEAVE THE EVENT EARLY BECAUSE THE ENTERTAINMENT ISN’T GOOD ENOUGH — THE COUPLE HAS EFFECTIVELY WASTED EVERYTHING ON WHICH THEY SPENT MONEY TO CREATE THIS EVENT. 
Choosing the right entertainment/MC/DJ is one of the very most important decisions that a couple/family will make for their event. If they don’t understand its importance because they’ve never seen the difference a qualified professional can make, they’ll not place too much emphasis on “the DJ.”
However, any party or special event, especially one as important as a wedding reception, is by its very definition a function of entertainment – it’s an entertainment function. Therefore it must be entertaining, which is the responsibility of the entertainment professional(s).
ANY PARTY IS BY ITS VERY DEFINITION A FUNCTION OF ENTERTAINMENT – IT’S AN ENTERTAINMENT FUNCTION.
Even when spending the absolute most for a DJ, when hiring the very best they can find, saying that “money is no object,” the amount spent is minimal as a percentage of the total cost of the event. It’s an even greater bargain when taken as a percentage of the overall success of the event. Most couples who hire great entertainment will tell you that it apprised much more than 80% of the success of the event. 10% of the budget for 80% of the success of the event is an amazing deal.
Yet most couples will spend more money on favors, ice, veggie trays, flowers, etc., and “save” money on a “cheap” DJ. But the “DJ” will have more impact – good or bad – than any other item a couple and their families will choose for the event. If people leave the event early because the entertainment isn’t good enough to keep everyone included, engaged, entertained, informed, and pleasantly surprised — the couple has effectively wasted everything on which they spent money to create this event, because their guests didn’t stay to enjoy it. Hiring the best entertainment you can afford will ensure you and your guests enjoy the full value you’ve spent for this one and only event.
When the proper importance is placed upon the function of entertainment at a reception or other special event, the event is made more special. Then it becomes enormously important to find the right entertainment choice, which comes down to interviewing and qualifying someone that, not only has the right training and experience, but is also a personality match with the couple and families. This person, more than any other person the bride and groom will deal with, will represent them directly and be a spokesperson on their behalf.
Bottom line: A bride and groom can hold their event at a recreation room in a mobile home park and serve beans and franks, and if they have great entertainment, the celebration will be fantastic and a huge success. On the other hand, they can have it a the Ritz Carlton with 5 star dining, but if they don’t contract the right entertainment, people will politely leave early, muttering, “That was a great dinner! Ya, lovely setting.”
Don’t scrimp on entertainment. It’s the one thing that will truly make or “break” your party. And the most expensive special event DJ/MC you can find is still an incredible bargain if you and your guests have an amazing event and rave about it for years to come.
(from my good friend and mentor, Mark Ferrell)
