Two rate cards, and a $400 or $500 jump for a separate MC
LI Sound DJ Entertainment in Bohemia publishes the fullest card on Long Island. A one-man DJ and MC is $1,995 for 4 hours with a basic black sound system, and a two-man DJ plus MC team is $2,395. After Hours, with offices in Ronkonkoma, Plainview and Westbury, prices its one-person Basic at $1,800 for 4 hours, rising to $2,000 for 6 hours with ceremony and cocktail hour included. Its two-person Standard runs $2,300 to $2,500 on the same steps. After Hours also states it will match any competitor package of comparable quality.
LIDJ Music, an owner-operated family DJ working since 1999, publishes a wedding range of $800 to $2,400 for a 4-hour party with travel included. On WeddingWire, Legendary Entertainment in Nesconset shows $1,100 starting and Tommy's Tunes in Selden $1,500; that page as a whole runs $1,095 to $2,750. The Knot's NYC-region DJ average is $2,925 and its national average $1,800. There is no published Long Island average. The separate MC is the local norm, and both published cards price it as a $400 or $500 step: $1,800 to $2,300 at After Hours, $1,995 to $2,395 at LI Sound.
Who is standing at the mic is the only question that matters
Long Island DJ companies are mostly multi-op. You book the brand and get an assigned DJ. Tommy's Tunes runs a roster of 30 or more DJs and MCs. Dash of Class Platinum states it handles 400 or more weddings a year. Absolute Entertainment publishes an affiliations page naming 27 catering halls and clubs that recommend it, from Bourne Mansion to the Vineyards at Aquebogue, which tells you how much volume it moves. None of that is a mark against them. It means the contract has to name your DJ and your MC, and you should ask to see video of that person working a room, not a company reel.
A good one runs a planning meeting 4 to 6 weeks out and hands you a written timeline. Legendary Entertainment lists unlimited planning contact before the wedding, by phone or email or in meetings. Studio 27 Entertainment in Massapequa books the MC as a separate add-on to the DJ, so ask if one person or two are coming. LIDJ Music's owner DJs every event himself, which is the other model entirely. A good MC on Long Island is a different skill from a good DJ, and the two-person split exists for that reason.
The facade, the uplights and the cold sparks are where the bill grows
LI Sound's card shows it plainly. A facade upgrade (classic black, rustic wood, all white or mahogany) is $500. Moving-head lighting runs $750 to $1,150 for 2 to 6 units, LED uplighting $600 to $1,500 for 12 to 30 units, a GOBO monogram $350 or $500 in glass, and flat screen packages $1,000 to $1,400. Dance on a cloud is $700. Cold sparks are $600 to $1,800 for 2 to 6 units. Photo booths are $850 traditional or $1,295 for the ring-light GLO, and an audio guest book is $495. After Hours' menu is similar: front boards $300, frost white setup $500, vertical towers $800 to $1,000, wireless uplighting $1,000, dual 65-inch TVs $1,500, percussionist $800 and LED drummer $1,000 for 4 hours.
Then the contract. An analysis of 159,079 signed DJ contracts found most were missing five things. A song-list and do-not-play deadline, stated power and space needs with a load-in window, a named backup performer, an early-shutdown refund clause, and a flat travel fee quoted in advance. Ask for all five. Also note the small print on the published cards: After Hours charges $50 per song for sheet-music arrangements for its string ensembles, and LI Sound's promo code LI100 takes $100 off. Absolute's office is open Monday to Thursday 2 to 8pm and Friday 1 to 3pm, and closed weekends, which matters if you plan to sort things out on a Saturday.
October Saturdays cost $200 more, and some halls ban the sparks you paid for
Toast Entertainment publishes peak-date surcharges: $100 extra for Saturdays in March, April, May, September, November and December, and $200 extra for Saturdays in October. That tracks the state numbers. Suffolk County recorded 1,039 marriages in October 2022, its busiest month, against 333 in January. Nassau peaked in September at 707. Book the DJ as early as the venue.
Cold sparks, CO2 and sparklers usually need venue permission, a permit and a rider on the vendor's insurance, and many Long Island catering halls prohibit them outright. Partners in Sound offers CO2 blasts and confetti cannons. LI Sound sells cold sparks at $600 to $1,800. Confirm with the hall in writing before paying for either. Outdoors on the East End, the noise codes bite. The Town of Southampton's Chapter 235 bars amplified sound outside any premises except from 7am to 7pm, and it has no wedding exemption. The Village of Southampton allows it from 9am to 11pm and added a wedding exception in July 2024. East Hampton Town treats outdoor amplified music after 9pm as a permit trigger for residential events. A tented estate wedding needs to know which side of a village line it sits on.
How much is a wedding DJ on Long Island?
The two companies that publish full cards charge $1,800 (After Hours) and $1,995 (LI Sound) for a one-person DJ and MC over 4 hours, and $2,300 and $2,395 for a two-person team. LIDJ Music publishes $800 to $2,400 for 4 hours. WeddingWire's Long Island DJ page runs $1,095 to $2,750. The Knot's NYC-region DJ average is $2,925, but no Long Island average is published.
Does the DJ package include the ceremony and cocktail hour?
The base package on Long Island is 4 hours and a reception here is typically 5, so the answer is usually no. LI Sound adds $395 for a ceremony DJ and $350 for cocktail hour; After Hours adds $100 for cocktail hour and $200 for ceremony plus cocktail. Ask each company for its 6-hour total before comparing.
Should we hire a separate MC?
It is the Long Island norm, and both published rate cards price it as a $400 or $500 step: After Hours goes from $1,800 to $2,300 and LI Sound from $1,995 to $2,395. Studio 27 Entertainment books the MC as a separate add-on. Whichever you choose, get the MC's name in the contract.
Can we have cold sparks at our venue?
Many Long Island catering halls prohibit cold sparks, CO2 and sparklers outright, so the hall answers this before the DJ does. Where they are allowed, they usually require venue permission, a permit and an insurance rider. LI Sound prices cold sparks at $600 to $1,800 for 2 to 6 units and Partners in Sound offers CO2 blasts, so the money is easy to spend on an effect you cannot use.
Facts read from each vendor’s own site and, where noted, its The Knot or WeddingWire listing, on 3 September 2026. Prices marked “on their site” are first party; anything marked “on The Knot” or “on WeddingWire” is marketplace sourced and may have changed. Run a Long Island dj business? Claim or correct a listing, free.
