Below is a list of FAQs (frequently asked questions). Click on any to view the information, but please do not hesitate to contact us without any obligation whatsoever if your question isn’t answered here or elsewhere on our website… we’d L-O-V-E to chat with you
General
Corabar Entertainment operates mainly in Hertfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire / Cambridgeshire borders, East Berkshire, North Middlesex, West Essex, and South Bedfordshire as well as North and Central London (ie within a 50+ mile radius, or an hour/hour and a half travelling time from our base of operations in Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire), but, with good road links close to our base, we can travel further afield upon request.
It’s always best to book as early as possible, especially for popular dates like weekends and holiday seasons. We recommend booking at least 6 months in advance, but popular dates are often booked a 12-18 months in advance. However, we’ll always try to accommodate last-minute bookings if we’re available.
We occasionally offer special promotions. Be sure to follow us on social media to stay up to date with any offers, or check the ‘Special Offers’ category in our Articles section on this website. In addition, we have a permanent, automatic 10% discount when you book more than 1 of our main services (eg: a DJ & photobooth booked for the same event)
Either give us a call (FREEPHONE 0800 0282 110) or complete the ‘Request Info & Quote’ form on this website. We will respond asap (almost always within 24 hours) either requesting additional information / clarification, or with a quote and additional information about the service(s) you have enquired about.
At this point, if you would like to have a meeting with us to discuss your event before making your final decision, we recommend either a face-to-face meeting at your venue or your home, or a video meeting – all without obligation.
If after our meeting you decide you would like to go ahead, we will send you a contract for signature and information about how to pay your non-refundable deposit. If is only after we have confirmed receipt of both of these that your booking is confirmed. However, we will not give your date away to someone else without warning you during this whole process: so long as you keep us informed, we can usually hold the date for you for some time.
Your non-refundable deposit (usually around 15% of the total fee) is required to secure your booking, along with your signed contract. This can be paid by bank transfer (our preferred method), or by Paypal, credit or debit card via our secure online payment system. You will be given full details when we send you your contract for signature.
The remaining balance is also payable by the above methods at least 14 days prior to your event, and we will send you an invoice and reminder at the appropriate time.
Please note that we cannot accept debit or credit cards in person or over the telephone.
We take our responsibilities seriously and always try to have a backup plan to just about any imaginable scenario. If, for any reason, we’re unable to attend your event (e.g., illness, emergency), and we are unable to provide replacement staff from in-house, we are part of a local network of professional event suppliers and will do our utmost to source a replacement to ensure your event goes ahead without any disruption.
Portable Appliance Testing (or PAT for short) is actually now called Inspection and Testing of Electrical Equipment (ITEE) or Electrical Equipment Testing (EET), but old habits die hard, and everyone still calls it PAT. It is a set of periodic electrical safety checks which are strongly recommended by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and form part of the maintenance program conducted by most reputable mobile discos to ensure the equipment being used is safe and comply with legislation. Many venues insist that any entertainers coming on site produce their PAT results as a condition of allowing them to perform.
Public Liability Insurance (or PLI for short) is an insurance taken out by most reputable mobile DJs to protect themselves, the venue, you and your guests in the event of accidental damage or injury. Like PAT, many venues insist that all outside contractors produce their PLI Certificate as a condition of allowing them to come on site
Yes. We are covered by a comprehensive £10M PLI policy and all of our equipment is PAT Tested regularly. You can view and download copies of our current PAT and PLI (along with many other documents that you or your venue may require) from the Documentation page on this website.
We understand that plans can change. Unfortunately, your deposit is non-refundable (but we can often put it towards another date if you are just postponing), and if you cancel closer to the date of your event then you may owe further monies. Our full cancellation policy is detailed in our contract. Please refer to that document for details about refunds, deposit terms, and cancellation deadlines. A copy of our contract terms and conditions can be viewed / downloaded on the Documentation page of this website.
We believe it’s our attention to detail. We pride ourselves on providing a personalised experience with exceptionally high customer service, quality equipment, and passionate staff. We work closely with you throughout to ensure your event is memorable and fun, tailoring everything to meet your unique needs. We may not be the cheapest, but we are certainly not the most expensive either, and we truly believe you will not find better service or value for money than we offer.
DJ & Music
Whilst there are some specialist events that we wouldn’t cover, we will always tell you if that is the case. Generally, we can provide our services for all types of events – from wedding ceremonies and receptions; birthday, anniversary & engagement parties; Christmas & New Year Parties, fancy dress and James Bond themed parties; charity and corporate events, etc; right through to rock and alternative nights; Steampunk Events; and Masonic Ladies Nights.
Absolutely! We actively encourage your input via your online client portal – including eras & genres you do / do not want played, plus provide a list of particular songs you do / do not not want played. In addition, you can even have your guests submit requests in advance, if you like. On the day of your event, our DJ will work with you to read the crowd and play the perfect music for the vibe you want.
We do have battery-powered equipment which means that we are able to set up in areas where there is no mains power. However, the duration of the event will be limited to the battery life.
Providing there is no chance of rain, we are happy to set up without any cover for a short outdoor ceremony or drinks reception. However, for events of a longer duration, for safety reasons, we do require cover of some sort (eg: a gazebo with sides) as the British weather is so unpredictable, and electricity and water do not mix!
Please feel free to chat with us about your particular requirements.
This depends on several factors – eg: How close to where the DJ will be setting up can the van be parked? What is access like – are there stairs? What type of set up are you having (minimal or a big light show)? Are you having additional services such as uplighting or additional PA in another room? Whenever possible, we like to set up well in advance and, for most straight–forward events, the DJ will usually arrive up to 2 hours before your event starts. This allows time for everything to be set up, sound checked, double checked, with breathing space built in in case of any issue like tracking down a faulty lead. However, if you need us to set up quicker (eg: during a room turn-around between a meal and the evening party) then we request a minimum of and hour.
Once we have all the information about your function, party or event, we will be able to give you more specific information.
Please don’t forget that we will also need a similar amount of time after your event finishes to dismantle the equipment and remove everything from the venue, so please make sure that your venue is aware of these times and are happy: we will not be able to play until 11.30pm if the venue management require the premises to be vacated by midnight!
To be comfortable, to accommodate our most-used rig, your DJ will need a minimum space of approx 4m wide x 2m deep x 2.4m high (13ft by 6.5ft by 8ft). If you would like a larger show to cover a larger area we can easily accommodate this. If you believe that the room available for the DJ and the equipment will be less than this, please make sure you tell us at the earliest opportunity, and we can discuss various options for providing you with a smaller show.
Absolutely! Our quotes are fully inclusive with no hidden extras. We will supply everything required for a quality show. We will discuss everything with you beforehand and put together a personalised show for your event – even down to writing a lighting program incorporating colours to match your theme / décor. The only thing we require from you or the venue is the space and 2 x mains power sockets close by.
If you require the equipment to be set up earlier in the day, just let us know and we will gladly do so. However, due to the additional work, time and costs involved, this service will incur an additional charge which will be clearly shown on your quote.
The other option would be to book us to start earlier and to provide background music during your meal, which would also give you mics for speeches, and someone there to make any announcements over the PA.
We are sorry, but no. The equipment is very sensitive and expensive, and only employees or representatives of Corabar Entertainment are trained and insured to use it. If this is something you require, then please hire our DJ to cover the background music as well (this would also give you mics for any speeches, and someone to make any announcements over the PA). You may be surprised at how cost effective this option is.
If you want to use the DJ’s microphone at any point during his performance for a speech or announcement, you are welcome to do so. Please note however that our DJ almost always uses a leaded microphone (as opposed to a radio / wireless one). So if you require a long lead to be brought along, or a wireless mic, please let us know in advance.
We will need access to 2 standard 13A mains sockets to power the equipment, and these should be located close to the DJ’s working position. If it is not possible to locate the DJ relatively close to power sockets, please let us know so that we can discuss the available options (eg: extension leads).
If your event is being held in a marquee and power is being supplied by a generator, please note that the generator must be of a type suitable for running sensitive sound equipment and the power we will require will be approximately 10kva for a standard show. We have had a couple of instances where the generator was running both our equipment and the catering equipment and the power was insufficient for the purposes: it was capable of running one or the other…. but not both at the same time!
Our DJs carry socket testers and RCD plugs to protect our equipment from faulty wiring and power surges. Please note that mains sockets will be tested before any equipment is plugged in, and if the socket fails the safety test then we will be unable to use it under any circumstances. You will also appreciate that if there is a surge in the electrical power supply, this will trip the RCD plug and cut off power to the equipment and interrupt your entertainment. This is extremely rare, but obviously completely beyond our control and down to the power supply at the venue.
We understand that it is a condition of the licence of many venues that a sound limiter is installed and we are happy to work with 99% of them. Nevertheless, in most cases (in our experience) it is not usually the volume of the music which trips the sound limiter – it is the crowd singing or clapping along! Obviously, there is nothing we can do about this other than ask you all to stop enjoying yourselves so much!!
Absolutely! We work alongside other wedding and event professionals to make sure everything runs smoothly on your big day. In fact, we ask you to provide us with contact details for all your main suppliers so that we can contact them and liaise with them beforehand to ensure seamless transitions throughout your event.
As almost all of our work is at private functions (weddings, birthdays, etc) this is not usually possible: after all, you wouldn’t be too happy if we invited strangers to your event, would you? However, we can supply you with snapshots and short video clips from recent events, together with reviews from previous customers. In addition, we are more than happy to meet with you (either in person or via video call) so that you can chat with the DJ – even before you book and without obligation… In fact, we actively encourage this to make sure we are a good fit for your needs.
Photo Booth
The booth itself measures 2.3m wide by 1.3m deep and 2.0m high (approx. 7ft x 4ft x 6ft). However, we will need additional space around the booth to enable us to construct it. In addition, in order to keep things moving as smoothly as possible, we would like to set up a props station on one side, and an album signing station on the other (if your venue isn’t able to supply tables for these, please let us know so that we can bring some folding tables with us), plus sufficient room for anyone queueing for the booth. Therefore, in total, a space measuring 4.4m wide x 3m deep x 2.1m high would be ideal. Access to a standard 13 amp mains socket close by will also be required to power the equipment.
We need an absolute minimum of an hour to set up, once we have all the equipment in the room, but this leaves us rushed and doesn’t build in any extra time for unforeseen circumstances, so ideally we would like and hour and a half to 2 hours.
We will set up before you and your guests plan to use the room. Setting up needs additional space to lay all the parts out and would be very disruptive to do whilst you are in the room.
Ideally, we would ask that your venue provide 2 tables (one for the props and one for the guest book photo album signing station). If this isn’t possible, let us know, and we will bring some folding tables with us.
We require 1 x 13amp mains socket near to where the photo booth is to be located.
4-6 people (depending on the size of the people!) can fit inside the booth
Absolutely! We have plenty of props for visitors to the booth – including many themed for the type of event taking place, plus personalised ones designed and made especially for you.
You have the choice of a red velvet backdrop, or a green screen backdrop which allows you / your guests to choose backgrounds to be superimposed onto the photo. These backgrounds can be tailored specifically to your wishes.
A standard booth booking allows 1 print for each visit to the photobooth.
this isn’t part of the standard booking, but you can upgrade for a modest fee to allow guests to print off additional copies.
Absolutely! We create a personalised album for you and a print of every photo taken in the booth is placed inside by our booth attendants. The guests in the photos are also encouraged to write a message alongside each photo by our staff.
Most definitely. You can choose the number of photos taken on each visit to the booth (1, 2, 3 or 4); the backgrounds for the photos; the background for the prints; as well as the wording / logo / names / message on the prints.
Yes! After your event, we will upload all images to a private gallery on our website, where you and your guests can view and download them. (We don’t enable uploading during the evnt, since, in our experience, the wifi at many venues isn’t good enough to sustain this option.)
After choosing props, your guests step into the booth and use the touch screen (with on-screen instructions) to start their session. Photo(s) will be taken after a countdown. Prints are produced outside the booth after only a few seconds. In addition, our staff will be on hand to assist and explain if anyone is having difficulties.
Of course! Every photobooth booking includes 2 booth attendants who are on hand to help; keep the props in order; place copy prints in your guest book photo album; and encourage guests to leave you a little message in the album alongside their photo.
Decor / Other
Yes. All items are priced inclusive of set up and break down. Depending on how far from our base your venue is located, there may be a minimal charge for delivery and collection (First 20 miles are free of charge)
Delivery is chaged at 50p per mile travelled outside of our 20 mile free delivery radius, but bear in mind that many items will require both a delivery and collection – eg: a postbox hired for a venue located 30 miles away from our base would mean we would be travelling a total of 40 miles over and above our 20 mile radius, and so would incur a delivery / collection charge of £20.
We’re afraid not. We are not insured to have members of the public at our premises, plus many of the items require specialist knowledge.
This really is like asking how long is a piece of string! – and the answer is, probably longer than you’d imagine.
Obviously some things take longer than others, and your venue layout can have a big impact too. Items that take the longest are things like festoon lighting affixed to trees, or chair covers and sashes (we generally estimate 15 chairs per person per hour for these). Draping can take some considerable time too – depending on the style, but things like the wishing well and post boxes are pretty quick. All we can really say is that we will discuss with you how long it is likely to take for your event when we have the details.
We usually return at the end of the event (so often in the middle of the night) to dismantle and take away hired items. The exception to this is the lawn games: these will be collected before dusk if set up outside.
The only items usually used outside are the lawn games and flower arch (and even then, only if inclement weather isn’t forecast).
We do take a security deposit on some items. The amount will be based upon the value of the item(s). Please refer to our contract for further details of our policies and circumstances of what, where and when you may be charged. A copy of our contract terms and conditions can be viewed / downloaded on the Documentation page of this website.
Assuming items are returned in the condition they were provided, and on time, any security deposit charged will be refunded to you without delay.
Of course. We appreciate that you may not have numbers at the time of booking, so quanities for items such as chair covers and table centrepieces may be amended up to 1 month prior to your event.
Yes, that is not a problem, but please let us have these details at least 2 months before your event.