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Wedding Ceremony & Reception Music Discussions
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can't afford dj

Doodles21Doodles21
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in Wedding Ceremony & Reception Music Discussions
My fiance and I had decided on not having any dancing at our reception mainly because of space concerns and a limited budged. Now we have changed plans and wont be having a sit down meal so we have plenty of floor space and many of our guests have expressed that they think we should have dancing after all. The issue now is that we just don't have the money for a dj and we don't know anyone in the area who could give us a discount. Should we stick with no dancing or do you think we could pull off doing our own music with an ipod and speakers or a computer? Obviously if we go with an ipod or something we would carefully plan out a playlist...
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Re: can't afford dj

  • kls114kls114 member
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    edited December 2011
    I would say go for the DJ! Have you asked your local board about budget friendly vendors they can rec??

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  • jeaniegjeanieg
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    edited December 2011
    I will probably end up doing an ipod wedding.  I have been to two now and they were both a blast!  Seriously, there was no difference from a wedding with a DJ, except for that fact that they saved tons of money...no one was even paying attention to the fact that there was no DJ.  If you can't afford it but still want dancing, don't beat yourself up, just create a stellar playlist and rent or borrow some speakers.  You will have an awesome time and won't have to go  over-budget for it!
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  • FutureMrsRyanFutureMrsRyan
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    edited December 2011
    look on craigslist - i've found some pretty good deals for dj's who need experience/get their name out.
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  • shroombombershroombomber member
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    edited December 2011
    We are planning on the good old iPod. But that's because we have an extremely wide range of music and I don't know if anyone would be willing to play what we want.
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  • kaynix21kaynix21 member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    Just do an ipod reception!

    You'll have the music you want and people will stay entertained!
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  • TurtlesAllTheWayDownTurtlesAllTheWayDown member
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    edited December 2011
    You'll likely still have to rent equipment to play the iPod, so many girls have mentioned that it doesn't end up saving you money in the long run.
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  • stacelace22stacelace22
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    Go for the ipod....the songs will be ALL hand selected by you and you will be able to better enjoy yourself knowing you didn't spend money on something you can't afford.

    I would test out the sound system ahead of time and make sure it sounds nice with the ipod.
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  • katiewaringkatiewaring member
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    edited December 2011
    I am going the ipod route too! I just don't have another $800 to spare..
    My only question would be, should I have someone announce us? What about announc our first dance? Thoughts?
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  • jsinclair18jsinclair18 member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/special-topic-wedding-boards_first-dance_cant-afford-dj?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Special%20Topic%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:29Discussion:b30dd919-886b-4f21-b1dc-bbfab3cbbfd9Post:d7ec1e2e-bc26-4c29-952a-f6c422b0934d">Re: can't afford dj</a>:
    [QUOTE]I am going the ipod route too! I just don't have another $800 to spare.. My only question would be, should I have someone announce us? What about announc our first dance? Thoughts?
    Posted by katiewaring[/QUOTE]

    We rented the Quebbie DJ in a Box as we could not afford a DJ either. It has over 8000 songs and even had pre-programmed wedding announcements. It does not replace a DJ but blows away using a IPOD. My new brides grandparents we happy as they even had Polkas, which made my night all the better.Call your local party rental center, thats where we rented ours.
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  • JMU_Bride09JMU_Bride09
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    We're doing the iPod wedding, and I am so excited for it!  Not only will you save the money, but you get to play exactly the songs you want.  Here is what you need to do for an iPod reception:

    *Gather all of the songs you'd want to play
    *Put them into playlists according to the part of the reception, i,e, Cocktail Hour, Dinner, Dancing, First Dance, Father-Daughter, Mother-Son, etc.
    *create a backup on another ipod or computer
    *check with your reception venue to see if they have a hookup or if you'd need to rent one
    *do a sound check to make sure that it will work before the day
    *ask someone to make the announcements that a DJ would normally do, such as your entrance, dinner, various dances
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  • anne.azanoanne.azano
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    I wouldn't do an ipod reception... do an Itunes reception.  Have 2 laptops, one as back up with the same playlists.  The advantage of itunes over an ipod is there is no dead air time between songs.  You just have to turn on cross fade.  (edit-preferences-playback and tick crossfade, then play around with it until it sounds right).  One song will fade out as the other fades in. You shouldn't just play your music out of a computer though.  Rent speakers or borrow some.  And have separate playlists for cocktail hour, dinner, dancing and first dances.  Ask a friend with a big personality to make any necessary announcements.  we're gonna skip most of those though, since we want it to be a party and less "look what the bride and groom are doing now!", which makes us feel uncomfortable.  I think it can definitely work, but do your research.  If you google Ipod wedding, you'll find lots of advice, but don't let those cranky djs discourage you!  They'll see all sorts of horrible things about an ipod wedding, when most of their objections can be sorted out with a bit of planning.  Have fun!
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