Music: DJ or Band or iPod (iPhone)?

burdlee

So I look at these wedding bands, and while they are great musicians, most of them seem pretty cheesy. I know I want professionalism, but I don't know if I want the vibe these bands are bringing. And I can't decide if a DJ will be overwhelmingly cheesy either. Or if a iPod will create issues with us needing to get guests to do temporary emcee moments.

Can anyone give me some advice to help us make this decision? We want music. We want to dance. We want it to be fun. And we want it to be approachable. But do we have to hire 60 year old playing "Mustang Sally" or a cheesy guy forcing us to do the chicken dance? 

gymbugmj2k

depending on how formal/large your event is..... the ipod option might cause you too much worry/stress.  You'd have to control every aspect of the night....and hope that the right songs play. The DJ also acts as the MC for the night -- announcing your cake cutting and dinner and the first dance, etc.  Bands usually do this too.

the DJ we're going with pretty much lets us customize the playlist as much as we want.  we can give him the artists we like and what not to play (like 'celebration' or 'ymca').  we meet with him to finalize all the details too.

Bottom line, explore the options in your city, and don't be afraid to interview a couple places.  Our DJ even hosted an open house, so we could hear what he does!

Good luck

shopgrl3177

Our DJ let's us choose how involved he will be, on a scale of 1-10.  A 1 doesn't do anything other than play music and announce us when we come in.  A 10 brings hats, beads, props and will get on the dance floor and lead dances.  I think a good DJ will be flexible with what you want and only play the music you want him to.  We thought about a band but couldn't find one that we liked for our budget. 

jwdeldotto

I was having the same dilemma as you too...until I came across our live band + DJ.  Our band is a 6-pc band...one of the member is actually a DJ!  So we will get the best of both worlds =D.  Check them out if you wanna get an idea:

http://www.jukeboxsd.com/

A good live band can really create a great ambiance for the dinner reception...but u really need some DJ-ing to get ppl into dancing and having a great party afterwards.

Thats my 2 cents.