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Maximum Music translates a passion for quality service and professionalism into a soundtrack for Toronto nuptials

Rod McMahon, Owner & Allison Mossman, Booking Manager of Maximum Music DJ Service

Maximum Music DJ Services is a name that many brides, hotels and caterers already know and love - particularly in the Toronto, Muskoka and Niagara regions. Owner and DJ, Rod McMahon, has designed his company to offer music services that are professional, reliable, and very focused on weddings. Working alongside his Booking Manager, Allison Mossman, Rod says, "We're not a production company or a club music company. We are a DJ company. We can do youth parties, bar mitzvahs, holiday parties and picnics et cetera but our primary focus is weddings. We provide quality DJ services at competitive prices to local brides and grooms."

From the day the Maximum doors opened, Rod has built his company around the idea of going above and beyond what he knew other DJ companies to be doing in the market at the time, so he set out to offer great music for events, to make promises and keep them, to work with only the highest quality DJs, and to provide quality services up to and on the wedding day.

detailsdetailsdetails ● You should book your date with Maximum Music approximately 6 to 12 months ahead of time, though you can book as soon as 3 years in advance (and some people do). ● There is a deposit of $400 for Saturday weddings between May 1 and December 31. A $300 is needed for off-nights or off-season bookings. ● Your balance is due on or before the day of the wedding. ● With more than 5 months notice, you can get your deposit back should you decide to cancel. ● GST tax and gratuities are not included in package prices.

Inotherwords... "Hi Rod. The evaluation is on its way (straight 5s!), but I just wanted to send you a personal note to thank you for all of the hard work that you and your staff put into making our wedding great. Paul was a professional and did a great job, your office staff is great... overall, we could not be more pleased. Thank you SO much. We will recommend you to anyone who needs a DJ!" - Jennifer McQuestion "Hi Rod, Matt and I were married at Oakview Terrace on Saturday, May 10th, and Paul Hutchison was our DJ. I wanted to send you a note letting you know what a fantastic job he did! First of all, he was always very prompt about responding to our emails, and we very appreciated his professionalism in that area. This was lacking with other professionals we dealt with, and Paul was ready at the drop of the hat to step in and help us. Two days before our wedding we heard that our live musicians may not be able to play due to the temperature, and being concerned about the ceremony music especially, I emailed Paul I to ask if he would be able to play music with speakers in the chapel... Paul was so reassuring, and would have gladly arrived early to help out. It turned out to be just fine with our musicians, but Paul's quick response and willingness to help was so calming! We also had many compliments about the music that night! ...As I said to Paul, and I'm sure you're used to hearing this, but we would not hesitate to highly recommend Paul and Maximum Music overall to anyone we know who is getting married. The entire process was easy and fun, and you obviously have great staff who are willing to go above and beyond what's expected of them!" - Pam Noel

Who they are...

Maximum Music is a DJ services company that's been in business for over fourteen years. Based out of Toronto, they serve clients from the Niagara Region to Muskoka and everything in between. Of the 550 events they set the tone for in 2007, 450 of them were weddings.

Maximum Music is a member of the CDJA (Canadian Disc Jockey Association) and attributes a lot of their success to their team of DJs and office workers. "Our staff is our biggest strength," explained Rod, who works with a team of fifteen in-house DJs on a regular basis just to meet the demand of the engaged couples and corporate clients that come into their downtown studio storefront. "Our DJs work primarily with Maximum Music. We do not sell our bookings to other, independent DJ companies. As the face of Maximum Music, we ensure our DJs have strong technical training and exceptional people skills." Rod believes that good DJs have to have people skills first. "Then we teach them the DJ skills. They're all fully trained before they're able to do an event in our name on their own..." He says it's this attention to quality and professionalism that sets them apart from many other disc jockey services.

What brides and grooms want

If you ask anyone at Maximum Music what type of event they love to play for most, they'll likely answer quickly - "Weddings." Rod says it's because it's fun and because, "... we get to make people happy and be part of a celebration. All of our DJs like doing weddings. The wedding dance brings the widest variety of people together."

If you've ever spoken with a past bride of Maximum Music or looked through their portfolio of references, it sounds like the feeling is mutual. Brides already seem to know and love the Maximum Music name, and from what we can tell, there are a lot of really good reasons why...

The Library: To begin with, if you're planning your own wedding music and are interested in what songs are played and when, this DJ company has you covered. Maximum Music offers a large library of fully licensed songs including both Canadian and multicultural play lists. Every Maximum DJ brings this database of tunes with them to each event.

The DJ: Rod says you can count on their DJs being professional - they dress for the occasion, they control the volume (keeping it loud enough for dancing yet not so loud that it discourages conversation) and they don't use the mic unless it's appropriate. "Our main job is to play the music. We don't tell jokes or lead conga lines. We won't overstep the line of professionalism with inappropriate comments or conduct at the risk of embarrassing you, guests or Maximum Music," they explain. Instead, "Our DJs show enthusiasm, take and play requests, and do their best to stimulate a fun-filled evening of music and dancing." Paul says the typical wedding entails setting up, announcing the bride and groom, playing through dinner, announcing the cake cutting, garter and bouquet tosses, and playing through to the last dance. If you want your DJ to act as an emcee also, then they're happy to do so as well, and the DJ selected for your wedding will be based on that requirement.

The Knowledge: Rod considers it the mission of his company and their DJs to offer a selection of music that will appeal to all musical tastes, and more importantly, to know which music selections are appropriate to play at which times. They recognize that the wedding dance is the single longest event of the day. Rod says that's why the entire team at Maximum considers it their personal responsibility to offer great music and great service all under one roof.

The Equipment: Rod says that all Maximum Music equipment is state-of-the-art, as is the necessity in the DJ business. This includes the extras such as intelligent lighting (patterns of light that dance to the beat) and dry ice (usually used for the first dance). Overall though, Maximum Music doesn't seem to focus on the techno-style 'bells and whistles'. They say that fancy lights and fog aren't always appropriate, which is why they leave that decision in the hands of their couples. Their real focus is on offering a fun wedding dance that engages all of your guests.

The Back-ups: To alleviate one of the biggest concerns many couples have, Rod also says that they've got backup DJs and equipment available - just in case. That back-up is usually Rod himself. This may just mean coming to lend a hand, to switch out equipment if needed, to chat with the staff at the venue, or essentially do whatever is needed.

The Check-up: Taking their company mission to the next level, Rod also makes it regular practice to spot visit as many of the Maximum events as they can on any given Saturday night. "We're just there to make sure that everything is perfect. Your wedding reception is important to us."

Choosing the DJ for you

One of the most common questions Maximum Music is asked by couples is, "Can we choose our own DJ?" Rod and Allison say, "Yes. We take requests, but we won't make a promise we can't keep." Normally DJs are assigned to events 30 to 60 days prior to the event. "We always try to accommodate requests..." Maximum DJs are assigned to events based on personality and need. They are very flexible and can cater to ethnic weddings as well. "We would send a DJ that not only knows the music, but he or she knows your traditions, culture and music." They ask their couples to trust them to find the right DJ for their wedding.

Walking you through it

To get started, couples can call or email Maximum for wedding date availability. It's Allison that handles all of the bookings and will most likely be your first contact. If you choose to stop in at their Mimico Avenue location in Etobicoke, you would likely be speaking with Rod. Email or phone is recommended to make sure that enough time is set aside to help you with your questions and music plans.

First off, all couples are given the Maximum Music 'wedding music planner'. This fantastic guide makes Maximum Music an open book, putting their promises into print and outlining what they can do for you and how they'll do it. Music planning sheets inside cover the many details that begin when your wedding day does, and ends at the last dance.

A lot of the music planning, including selecting your play list, can be done online as well. If you need a little guidance, Maximum staff can also act as music tutors if you want an outside perspective – giving advice on choices, and helping you with the 'banned list'. Stacey and Kirt Leber had pre-ceremony, ceremony, reception, dinner and dance music provided by Maximum Music on August 17, 2007, and enjoyed the options that were give to them, "They had lots of freedom with the choices of music. You could completely hand pick the song list, or simply choose a category for them to play from... It was great to hand them a list prior to our wedding with song choices and information, and not have to worry on our wedding day."

The Maximum Music office will contact you to run through and recap all your last minutes details and make sure everyone is on the same page. Rod says it's a smooth process because it's one that they've been refining over the course of the fourteen years they've been in business. Every step is designed to ensure you get great music with minimum stress on your part. And if at any point from booking up to the wedding you have any questions, you have access to the Maximum Music office staff by phone and email.

Rod says that at your wedding, you'll have a professional, reliable DJ who knows how to run the evening's music smoothly and who won't overstep his or her bounds. He or she will know what to play and when to play it.

Pricing & packages...

Maximum Music recommends that couples choose their DJ company according to who can offer the best possible price without sacrificing professional quality. Rod says the old saying 'You get what you pay for' definitely applies in the disc jockey business.

In an industry that charges anywhere from $800 to $1400 for an evening of music, Maximum fits in quite nicely, charging $1275 for up to eight hours of playing time (until 1 am) on Saturdays from May 1 to December 31. They offer music for $925 on 'off-nights' or 'off-season', meaning any day other than Saturday or weddings that take place on Saturdays between January and April.

For weddings with guests who want to really dance the night away, Maximum charges an additional $100 per hour after 1 am.

Including the extras

DJs from Maximum Music usually set up and run a sound check one hour prior to your wedding's official start time. This hour is not billed for, but treated as an extra measure to make sure the night goes as planned.

Your music package can include music for both the ceremony and reception, cocktail hour or dinner music – essentially anything you need at no additional cost, as long as the events take place at the same location and within your 8 hours of service.

Reaching Maximum...

All your questions for Maximum Music DJ Service, including checking their availability for your date can be directed to Allison at allison@maximumDJ.com by email or by phone at 416-255-2910, locally and 1-800-392-1181, toll-free.

Another way to book is to make an appointment to visit them at 4 Mimico Avenue in Etobicoke. They have 'early hours' to serve their clientele during the day - they are available for inquiries from 7:30 am to 3:30 pm Monday to Friday, and are also available by appointment only during the evenings and on weekends.

To read more about the company, check out the Maximum Music website at www.maximumdj.com.

- The Staff at TheWeddingRing.ca

* Prices are all approximate and are subject to change and verification by authorized staff and management of Maximum Music DJ Service.