Should Wedding DJs Use a DJ Facade in Front of Their Equipment?

by Chris Brower
Last Updated: March 11, 2024

It’s important that your DJ setup looks professional and clean. A messy setup will, naturally, also make your wedding DJ business come off as messy.

A clean setup has been discussed in another article that I recommend reading: Yikes! Your Wedding DJ Setup Should Look Better.

But let’s focus on one easy way to make your DJ setup look instantly better: a DJ facade. We’ll discuss the pros and cons of one, how to clean it if it gets dirty, tips for use, and more.

For reference, I use the Pyle DJ Booth Foldable Cover Screen*, but many other DJ facades are similar.

What’s a DJ Facade?

Simply put, a DJ facade is portable walls you set up in front of your DJ table/equipment. Sometimes the “walls” are indeed wood, but in many cases, they’re white or black spandex or cloth attached to a frame with velcro. (My DJ facade is white spandex.)

A facade lets you essentially hide your DJ table and any other things you don’t want visible to the crowd. And it just looks more professional.

If you don’t have a DJ facade, your DJ table is likely exposed. That can still work – and some wedding DJs prefer that – but now you have to be more conscious of keeping a clean/organized DJ table. Every piece of equipment on your table, every cord, every bottle of water, plate, etc., is now likely on display.

How to Set Up a DJ Facade

Luckily, it’s super easy. Just simply stand up the facade and angle the walls in front of your DJ table/speaker stands.

If possible, make the walls kind of wrap around your DJ table (this is shown in the photo at the top of this article). This will give you more coverage (as in, the sides of your DJ table can be covered a bit too or any speaker/lighting stands you have on the sides of your table). Plus, it makes the DJ facade more stable. If you place the DJ booth walls in a straight line across, they’re more likely to tip over. Angling the walls makes the facade sturdier.

Remember also that you don’t have to place the DJ facade right up against your DJ table. In fact, I recommend spacing it a foot or so in front of the table. This will make it easier to angle the walls, plus gives you some distance between the DJ table and guests dancing (assuming you’re set up right by the dance floor).

Advantages of a DJ Facade

There are many reasons why you may want a DJ facade for your wedding DJ setup:

Cleans up your equipment appearance. You no longer have to worry so much about how your DJ table looks because it’s now hidden behind a wall.
Your table no longer is a place for guests to set drinks while they dance. When I didn’t have a DJ facade, and my DJ table was instead open, guests would often set their drinks on my table while they danced. So rude! A DJ facade essentially blocks this from happening, unless a guest was particularly bold and reached over the top of the facade and set the drink on your table.
Creates some distance between you and the guests. When you don’t have a DJ facade, guests can sometimes be dancing right next to your table or can very easily lean over the table and chat with you. While you don’t want to be totally away from guests, it can be nice having a little distance.

Ready for the complete guide to becoming a wedding DJ? Here you go.

Disadvantages of DJ Facades

Naturally, there are some disadvantages to DJ facades that are worth considering:

Can be hard to see above if you’re sitting. Wedding DJs typically stand during the dancing portion of the night. However, you may choose to sit down from time to time. As DJ facade walls are often approximately four feet high, it can be challenging to see above them if you’re sitting. Additionally, people on the other side may not be able to see you at all when you’re sitting, making them think you’ve left! One solution is to bring your own chair, something higher like a portable DJ chair, such as the Rockville RDS42, which can potentially let you sit higher up than normal table chairs.
They are big. Make sure you have enough space in your car for a DJ facade. They are often four feet tall and 20-30 inches across, so make sure you have enough room to be able to transport them.
They’re not always sturdy, especially if outside on a windy day. For the most part, my DJ facade has stayed upright, no problem. But when the wedding reception has been outside, gusts of wind have blown it over. Similarly, if people bump into it too hard (such as kids running and playing), it can fall over. This has been very rare, but it’s certainly something to keep an eye on. You may want to weigh it down in the back by placing sandbags along the back of the frame or a bungee cord attaching it to the table.
Guests lean on them/kids poke at them. For some reason, guests love to lean on the top of the facade as they talk to me. Kids similarly get fascinated by the spandex walls and start poking at them. As stated, the facade is normally sturdy, but if people start jabbing at it/leaning on it, it can potentially fall over.

Even with some disadvantages, I think DJ facades are a great addition to a wedding DJ’s setup.

Why I Started Using a DJ Facade

I was resistant to a DJ facade for years. It just seemed like one more piece of equipment to buy and bring along to weddings.

Oddly, I purchased one in 2020 during the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, as a way to create a little more distance between guests and me. While a DJ facade does not function the same way that plexiglass walls do (as in, a DJ facade probably won’t stop the transmission of viruses!), it felt like it gave me a bit of protection, as guests couldn’t easily get as close as they could otherwise.

But then, I ended up liking the look so much, and couples complimented me on it, that I kept it past the pandemic! I also now use it as part of my sales pitch (“Here’s a photo of my DJ setup…”). It simply makes your DJ setup look so much cleaner and professional-looking, which then makes your business seem more professional.

DJ Facade Tips

Here are some helpful tips to improve your DJ facade use.

Keep the box it comes in. Some DJ facades come with cases, but some don’t. If yours doesn’t, keep the box and use that as a case for safe transport. You should have cases for basically all your equipment. Otherwise, it may get damaged.
Angle your facade walls. As stated earlier, don’t set up your facade in a straight line all the way across. Angle the walls around your setup to cover some of the side of your setup, plus make your DJ facade sturdier.
Consider putting uplights behind your front-facing walls to make your setup look even cooler. For example, Evolving Events used uplights set to gold to create an awesome effect, as shown in the photo below. (Note: For their setup, they have two facade walls straight across in front, then one panel on each side of their DJ table.)

How to Clean a DJ Facade

Naturally, your DJ facade walls may get dirty from time to time. Someone dancing may spill their beer on it, etc.

Luckily, you can most likely get the stain out. The following worked for me cleaning the spandex walls of my DJ facade. If yours are a different material, you may need to adjust the instructions.

Fill a bucket with OxiClean and warm water (following the instructions on the OxiClean container).
Remove the dirty spandex wall(s) from the facade frame.
Soak the spandex wall in the bucket for an hour or two.
Remove the spandex wall from the bucket, verify that the stain is gone, and then hang it up to let it air dry.

I’ve found the above instructions to work perfectly the two times I needed to clean off a stain. And I prefer this method over putting the spandex walls in the washer/dryer, where the spandex or velcro could possibly get damaged.

Conclusion

A DJ facade is a great addition to any wedding DJ's setup. It'll make your setup look cleaner and thus make your wedding DJ business look more professional. This simple touch can improve your wedding DJ business almost right away.

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