For over 34 years, Lolli Parties Ltd have been providing mobile disco services and stage hire with professional DJs throughout Hampshire and beyond. In that time they have won the award for DJ of the Year 4 times. Lolli Parties now offer 100% video mobile discos on 2-meter long screens which means they can adapt to any event..

What do you need to know from an organiser in order to provide a comprehensive quote?

For us to provide the best and most accurate quote, we would of course need to know the event date. In addition we would need to know the type of event, e.g. if it's a birthday, what age will the person be? And finally for what duration are we required? These factors will impact the price quoted.

What advice would you give to a customer looking to hire a provider in your area of work?

Never shop on an unrealistic budget. This is difficult if you don't know what things cost but you have two choices - do you hire an amateur hobby DJ or (most likely) you hire a professional. Always talk to the people you are looking at hiring - it's a good way of finding out quickly who are the ones to consider. As a guide, only around 15% of DJs advertising are fully legal, licensed and registered as professional DJs. That's a lot of frogs to kiss before you get to the Princes.
Two other element - see what you are hiring and make sure the person you speak to is the one you will get. Another thing the hobby DJs do is promise a DJ at a silly price and then your special celebration is passed around Facebook DJ groups to find who will do it for the cheapest. If in doubt, go back to the top and hire a professional, experienced and registered company. Not an amateur who does it as a hobby!
Once you speak to people, you'll know who to book and who not to.

Please tell us a little bit about how and why you started the business.

Lolli Parties was created 36 years ago when founding member Richie Wickham completed his training (yes, they used to train DJs!) and started entertaining larger and larger audiences. It was quickly apparent from the huge number of bookings, reputation and fees people were willing to pay that we were doing something right, so we formed the limited company and have entertained a whole host of celebrities as well as us mere mortals over the 36 years we've been doing this. Richie is still DJ-ing and still in huge demand, especially for retro party nights, 80s nights and 50th birthdays

Please tell us about a booking you've had through Add to Event, how did it go? Would you recommend us to others?

We tend to be quite picky about the quote requests we respond to (that's why it's important to put as much as possible on there), as we like to be honest when we're not the right fit for the booking. The bookings we have contacted have been delighted with the service we have provided and have recommended us to others. Add to Event is a great facility for getting quality service providers for your needs