DJ and band contracts have pay-to-play clauses that double the quoted price

Wedding entertainment contracts routinely include hidden fees — overtime at $500/hour billed in 15-minute increments, mandatory meal provisions for 2-4 crew members at $75-$150/plate, "ceremony setup" charges separate from the reception, and equipment "delivery fees" that appear nowhere in the initial quote. A $2,000 DJ package regularly balloons to $3,500-$4,500 on the final invoice. Couples only discover these charges in the fine print after signing, and by then they're 2-3 months from their date with no leverage to renegotiate. This persists because wedding entertainment is booked through referral networks where venues get kickbacks from preferred vendors, so there's no incentive for transparent all-in pricing, and couples comparing "base rates" across DJs are comparing meaningless numbers.