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Wedding Computer Help

Getting started as a DJ or band

Entertainment vendors have a tight technical schedule on a wedding day: you need a specific setup window, a soundcheck before guests arrive, defined set times, and a clear end time. If the venue bumps your soundcheck by 30 minutes, your whole day shifts. Getting your requirements into the shared run sheet — and protecting your time in a contract — is the most important thing you can do before the first note plays.

Step 1 — Complete your profile

Section titled “Step 1 — Complete your profile”

Go to Settings → Profile and fill in:

  • Business name — your DJ name, band name, or entertainment company
  • Category — select DJ or Band
  • Location — your base city
  • Bio, website, Instagram — link your demo mixes, live footage, or EPK (electronic press kit)

Why: When a couple is looking at their wedding workspace, they see every vendor’s name and profile. A link to your demo or live footage is the fastest way for a couple — or a planner recommending you — to understand what you sound like before they commit.

Step 2 — Build a music-specific enquiry form

Section titled “Step 2 — Build a music-specific enquiry form”

Open Forms → Enquiry and customise the questions. For DJs and bands, key questions are:

  • Wedding date
  • Venue name and address (you need to know the stage area, power availability, and load-in access)
  • What parts of the day are you covering? Ceremony music / cocktail hour / reception / all of the above
  • Set times requested — what time do you start, what time do you end?
  • Dance floor size (relevant for PA sizing)
  • Style preferences: top 40 / classic hits / 80s-90s / RnB / country / open format
  • Are there any must-play or must-avoid songs?
  • Do they want MC services?
  • Do they want a photo slideshow or tribute video displayed?
  • Expected guest count at reception
  • How they heard about you

Why: Venue and set time information determines your equipment needs before you quote. A reception for 200 guests in a large ballroom needs a different PA than a cocktail hour for 50 on a terrace. Getting this information at enquiry stage means your quote is accurate and there are no surprises when you see the venue for the first time on the wedding day.

Every vendor account also includes a free inbox at yourhandle@wedding.computer (claim your handle under Settings → Business settings if you haven’t already), so you don’t need a separate email client to work a music enquiry. Open Emails in the sidebar for your Inbox and Sent tabs — every message you send or receive there logs itself automatically onto that contact’s record, alongside their form answers, notes, and invoices.

To reply, open the contact in your CRM and click Draft email (Pro). The draft is built from that contact’s own record — their venue, set-time request, style preferences, and any must-play or must-avoid songs they gave you on the form, plus your notes and pipeline stage — so it reads like you wrote it, not a template. It covers the routine cases: a warm follow-up, a “we’re not available that date” decline, or a referral to another DJ or band. You always review and edit before it sends.

Why: A form with detailed venue and set-time questions is only half the job — turning that detail into a fast, specific reply is the other half. Answering “can you avoid playing X” or “do you have power for a full band rig at our venue” from a blank email takes time you don’t have when you’re juggling enquiries for the same date from multiple couples. Drafting from the enquiry itself keeps your response time short without making every reply generic.

Step 3 — Configure your default contract with equipment and timing protections

Section titled “Step 3 — Configure your default contract with equipment and timing protections”

Go to Settings → Contracts and write your default services agreement. Wedding Computer keeps one default service contract and copies it onto each new invoice; edit that invoice’s copy when a booking needs different terms without changing earlier invoices. For entertainment vendors, critical clauses include:

  • Set times — the contracted start and end times, with overtime rates if the reception extends
  • Soundcheck window — the time you require for setup and soundcheck before guests arrive (typically 1–2 hours for a DJ, 2–3 hours for a band)
  • Equipment provision — what you bring vs. what the venue provides (PA, microphones, stage, lectern for MC duties)
  • Song request policy — do you take requests on the night, or is the playlist set in advance?
  • Force majeure — what happens if you’re ill or unavailable (substitute, refund policy)
  • Cancellation terms — especially relevant given lead times involved in securing equipment and travel
  • Noise curfews — acknowledge any curfew the venue has set, and that you’re not responsible if the venue enforces an earlier end time than contracted

Why: “The reception ran over and the DJ stopped at the contracted time” is a common source of conflict. Setting overtime rates in the contract before the wedding means everyone knows what happens if speeches run long — the client opts to extend and pays the agreed rate, or the music ends at the contracted time. No surprises, no arguments.

Step 4 — Set up invoicing

Section titled “Step 4 — Set up invoicing”

Open Invoices → New invoice and create an individual invoice for the wedding. Add the relevant line items, booking fee, and payment schedule.

A typical DJ or band invoice structure:

  • Deposit (25–50% at booking)
  • Balance — due 2–4 weeks before the wedding, or on the night before you start

If your default contract was configured before creating the invoice, its terms are copied onto the invoice automatically. On the booking page, the couple types their full name and email address and confirms that they agree. Wedding Computer records that typed acceptance against the invoice. This is not a drawn signature, and it does not create a downloadable signed PDF; the confirmation email includes a text copy of the accepted contract.

Why: Entertainment booking fees are often non-refundable once you’ve turned away other enquiries for that date. Make sure the couple has accepted your contract before that commitment is made. When Stripe is connected, the booking-fee instalment can be paid through Stripe Checkout; record later instalments when received.

If your pricing has add-ons, consider a quote calculator instead of a fixed line-item list. DJs and bands often quote a base package plus optional extras — an extra hour of coverage, uplighting, a photo booth, ceremony sound. Under Quote Calculator → New calculator, set a base price and add each extra as an Add-on, Upgrade, or Hourly option. You get a public link (wedding.computer/quote/your-token) you can embed on your website or drop in your Instagram bio — couples pick their options, watch the total update live, and can submit an enquiry straight from the result. It lands in your pipeline the same way your enquiry form does.

Why: A fixed enquiry form works well once you know exactly what a couple wants, but “how much for an extra hour” or “what does uplighting cost” is a question a lot of couples want answered before they message you at all. A calculator lets them price it out themselves and self-select into an enquiry already scoped to the add-ons they want, instead of a back-and-forth over email to get to the same number.

Step 5 — Add your timing requirements to the run sheet

Section titled “Step 5 — Add your timing requirements to the run sheet”

When you join a wedding workspace, go to Timeline and add your critical items:

  • Load-in / setup start — the time you need to arrive and begin setting up
  • Soundcheck window — when you need the room cleared or quiet enough to set levels
  • Soundcheck complete — when you’ll be done and the room is ready for guests
  • Ceremony music start (if you’re covering ceremony)
  • Cocktail hour entertainment start/end (if applicable)
  • Reception doors open
  • First dance — the couple and their planner will likely add this; confirm the timing aligns with yours
  • Key reception moments — speeches start/end, cake cut, formalities end
  • Dance floor opens — when the floor opens for general dancing
  • Last song — your contracted end time
  • Pack-down / load-out start

Set your load-in, soundcheck, and pack-down items to vendors visibility. The venue and planner need to see these; the couple doesn’t need to.

Why: Soundcheck is the single biggest source of on-the-day tension for entertainment vendors. The venue needs a cocktail setup done, the florist needs access to the reception space, and you need 90 minutes of quiet. All three of those need to not overlap. A shared timeline makes the conflict visible before the day — and solvable with a two-minute rearrangement — instead of discovering it at 3pm when everyone arrives at once.

Step 6 — Add song and playlist notes per wedding

Section titled “Step 6 — Add song and playlist notes per wedding”

Use the Notes section of each wedding workspace for that wedding’s specific music brief:

  • Must-play songs (with the specific version if it matters)
  • Must-avoid songs or genres
  • First dance song and any specific version
  • Father-daughter / parent dance songs
  • Bouquet toss or cake cut songs
  • Any cultural or religious considerations
  • MC script notes if you’re doing the announcements

Set these notes as Private so only your account can see them — the couple doesn’t need to see your working notes.

Why: When you’re juggling multiple weddings, having the specific music brief in the workspace means you’re not searching through email threads on the morning of the wedding. It’s in the workspace next to the run sheet, venue address, and your timeline items.

Step 7 — Set your availability

Section titled “Step 7 — Set your availability”

Open Calendar → Availability and block every booked date. Under Settings → Availability sharing, choose Public if couples should be able to check dates before enquiring. Most entertainment vendors work one wedding per date — if you have multiple acts in your company that can work simultaneously, manage that manually.

Why: Enquiries for booked dates cost everyone time. An accurate public availability calendar routes enquiries to dates you can actually take.

Step 8 — Connect your calendar safely

Section titled “Step 8 — Connect your calendar safely”

Open Your profile → Your wedding calendar to create a private personal feed. Choose Subscribe in Apple Calendar, or copy the link into Google Calendar or Outlook.

With Pro, open Settings → Calendar & contacts → Create calendar connection for a business-calendar feed or CalDAV account. Create a separate connection for each app or device so it can be revoked independently.

Why: Wedding events and permitted timeline rows can include their saved locations, so navigating to an unfamiliar load-in is faster. Calendar connections are read-only: changes made in the connected app do not flow back to Wedding Computer. Treat every link or credential like a password and revoke it if it is shared accidentally.

You’re ready when:

Section titled “You’re ready when:”
  • Your profile has links to demo mixes or live footage
  • Your enquiry form asks about set times, venue, and coverage scope
  • You’ve claimed your @wedding.computer handle and know where Draft email lives on a contact record
  • Your default service contract includes soundcheck window, set times, overtime rates, and cancellation terms
  • Each invoice has its own line items and deposit/balance schedule, with the default contract copied at creation — or you’ve set up a quote calculator if you price with add-ons
  • Stripe is connected
  • Your availability is accurate and Public
  • Your read-only calendar feed is subscribed

What to do right now

Section titled “What to do right now”

Open your next booked wedding workspace and add your setup window, soundcheck time, and contracted set times to the shared timeline. Then check the timeline for any conflicts with the venue’s other setup requirements. A five-minute check now prevents a phone call at 3pm on the day.

Go deeper

Section titled “Go deeper”
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