Thomas Erni

Thomas Erni is a DJ and event host in Lucerne who plays weddings, company events, birthdays and parties, and whose home page opens with "Seit 20 Jahren Ihr DJ", your DJ for 20 years. He runs the business as Thomas Erni Media, a sole proprietorship founded in Lucerne in 2013, from Littauerboden 1 in Lucerne. The DJ page title names Lucerne, Zug and "Zentralschweiz" (central Switzerland) as his area. Unusually for a wedding DJ, he publishes a full equipment rental price list. The site is in German.

Background: radio, TV and the microphone

The "Über mich" (about me) page gives the history. After training as a primary school teacher, he worked in various roles at radio and TV stations, including as a sports reporter for Swiss television. Alongside work as a presenter for Radio Pilatus, the central Swiss TV station Tele 1 and FC Luzern, he has worked for years as a DJ and host at business events, weddings and birthdays.

That matters for a wedding because the site offers him as an "Eventmoderator" as well as a DJ. The home page says he brings "langjährige Erfahrung als Eventmoderator", long experience as an event host, for panels, talks and events that need a speaker. A couple who want one person to run the evening's program (introducing speeches, games and the first dance) and then play the party music can ask for both roles. The site does not describe what his hosting at a wedding typically covers, so that is a point to agree in advance.

The DJ service

The DJ page addresses couples directly: are you looking for a DJ for your wedding, company event or birthday? He describes his experience as a club and event DJ, and says his repertoire is broad and adapted to the client's wishes. The genres he lists are charts, club hits, house, R&B, party tunes, Latino, dance, the 70s, 80s and 90s, Schlager, oldies and rock, plus electronic music.

He brings his own sound and lighting, described as a professional system proven at many events, and the page adds that the system and its microphone can be used for performances and speeches. That answers a common question for a wedding: guests giving speeches do not need a separate PA.

The page describes the booking as "Alles in einem Paket", everything in one package: the couple pays the DJ fee and the equipment, and does not have to organize anything else on the day. He says the equipment is up to date and that the package works out cheaper than renting the equipment externally on top of a DJ.

Equipment rental, with prices

For couples who already have a DJ, or want to run their own playlist, the same page rents out the equipment. Prices are per day and are pickup prices. Examples from the list:

• Denon Prime 4 DJ controller, CHF 140 per day; a Pioneer 350 DJ set, CHF 140
• Pioneer CDJ-350 player, CHF 40; Pioneer DJM-350 mixer, CHF 50; Pioneer DJM-700-K mixer, CHF 70
• Yamaha MSR 400 speakers, CHF 50; Yamaha MSR 800 subwoofer, CHF 80; Yamaha DXR8 speakers, CHF 50; Yamaha DXS12 subwoofer, CHF 80
• a small Yamaha Stagepas 300 set for speeches and background music, CHF 70
• a BeamZ Showbar light set, CHF 60; a set of 4 Renkforce PAR spots, CHF 100; single spots from CHF 20; a fog machine, CHF 30
• Sennheiser wireless microphone, CHF 50; Sennheiser cable microphone, CHF 40; Shure headset, CHF 40

On request, the equipment is delivered, set up and collected for a surcharge of CHF 350. That covers the Lucerne agglomeration up to 25 kilometers of travel; beyond that, each extra kilometer costs CHF 1.

Where he has played

The reference list names venues for "diverse Hochzeiten, Geburtstage und Geschäftsanlässe", various weddings, birthdays and business events. In Lucerne it includes Hotel Château Gütsch, Hotel Schweizerhof, Hotel Palace, Hotel Seeburg, Hotel Hermitage, Hotel Des Balances, Hotel Montana Luzern, Hotel Beau Séjour, the KKL and Seebistro LUZ. Around the lake there are the Parkhotel Weggis, Hotel Vitznauerhof and Hotel Flora Alpina in Vitznau, Hotel Alpenblick Weggis, Campus Hotel Herthenstein, Villa Honegg in Ennetbürgen and the Bürgenstock Hotels, plus three lake boats: MS Diamant and MS Switzerland on Lake Lucerne and MS Rigi on Lake Zug. Further afield the list reaches Theater Casino Zug, the Lorzensaal in Cham, Wasserschloss Wyher in Ettiswil, Restaurant Schwyzerhüsli in Engelberg, Hotel Wetterhorn in Hasliberg, Hotel Villa Orselina near Locarno and Hotel Matthiol in Zermatt. A separate list names Lucerne clubs and bars and local parties and balls. The site also has an "Agenda" page and offers aerial filming ("Luftaufnahmen") as a separate service.

Contact

The contact page gives a phone number that also works on WhatsApp, 041 520 64 94, the email address info(at)thomaserni.ch and a form asking for name, email, phone, subject and message, with the promise of a reply as quickly as possible.

What the site does not settle

The DJ fee itself is not published. The rental prices give a sense of equipment costs, but the price of the all-in package depends on a quote. The site gives no standard set length, no deposit or cancellation terms and no lead time. The delivery surcharge and per-kilometer rate are stated for rentals; the site does not say whether the same travel rule applies to a DJ booking at a venue outside the Lucerne area, such as the Zermatt or Locarno hotels on his list.

The site is in German only and does not say whether he hosts or DJs in English. For an international wedding where the host role matters, the language of announcements is the key question to ask.

Who it suits

Thomas Erni suits couples marrying around Lake Lucerne, in Lucerne or Zug, who want an experienced DJ who can also host the evening, and who like having the sound, lights and speech microphone handled by one supplier. His reference list covers many hotels around Lake Lucerne and several lake boats, so a couple may find their own venue on it. Couples on a tighter budget, or with a friend who DJs, can rent the equipment alone at the listed prices. The caveats are the unpublished DJ fee and the German-only site, which leaves the English question open.