Feedback re: iTunes wedding

goobersinlove

We are on a budget and seriously considering doing our own music to save $$$, especially since our venue has a sound system that we can use. Since we're big foodies, we're blowing our budget in that category. =]

Our wedding will be an intimate one - roughly 30-50 guests. Outdoor ceremony in early October 2012, with the reception to be held in the rustic barn on the property.  I'm going for a homey, country feel.

Though I could be wrong, our guest list isn't much of a party-hard crowd and we dislike most dance-party music anyway.  The music will be mostly country.

Because of the casual setting, the small size and the style of music... I'm thinking we can get away with an iTunes wedding. We are also pretty choosy about our music, and if we can make our own playlists it seems to take care of that problem.

Also, our day-of coordinator at our venue said that she has done iTunes there before, and she could cue the special songs, etc.

CLIFF NOTES (for above): My reasons for considering DIYing our music.

Are there any married ladies out there who DIYed their own music? How did it turn out? Any planning advise in that respect? Did you regret doing it this way?

Likewise, anyone else ever been to an iTunes wedding? What is your feedback on that?

I want to consider all the pros and cons about this. I would love to save the $$$, but I will reconsider the DJ if I think it would be a mistake.

ElisabethJoanne

I went to an iTunes wedding. I've been to several weddings where a non-professional friend DJ'd (same friend doing many friends' weddings). Once he even helped with the music for a wedding in Oklahoma when he was attending one in Oregon. (The guy is a golden soul and a saint.)

They've all been great. For the DJ-free wedding, it was cool when the groom told us HE chose this song, and how he almost nixed the song that had just played. I liked seeing/hearing about planning those details.

For the friend-DJ weddings, also great, but the friend's experienced by now. If your site coordinator is acting as your day-of coordinator, I think having her cue the songs would work. If she's just the site-babysitter who knows how to run the sound system, I might appoint a friend/groomsman.

I don't like weddings where there's this DJ no one knows talking bunches. I love how among my friends, there's always that friend sitting with his computer, running the music, pretending to be stressed but having a blast. So it's been among us for 10 years now (and some of these friends have known each other since they were toddler-age).

ElisabethJoanne

PS - At the no-DJ wedding, only one couple apart from the bride and groom and the duty dances danced. But I don't know that the bride and groom really wanted/hoped for lots of dancing. The wedding was on a deck, so it's not like we were staring at an empty dance floor. We all mingled and ate and got sunburned. It was nice.

wendelyn40

We are doing our own music on our iPod with the iHome.  This will pretty much just be a party, not much if any dancing done.  Didn't see the point to spending the money on a DJ.  Just need some background music.

CFM102012

My best friends had DIY music.  Like PP, very few people outside of duty dances got up to dance.  Course they had personalized playing cards for their favors so that didn't help either

elfrangercg

I am doing an ipod wedding, and it has been an adventure creating the playlists.  Our reception site has an ipod plug in for their sound system, and that was one of the big reasons why I did it.  If they didn't do that I would feel weird about having a random couple of speakers somewhere.

RNMOMTO3

I'm considering an IPOD music reception too with someone appointed to be in charge of it. Not many of our gang dances much either but there will be some slow country music mixed with a few upbeat songs if the younger crowd wants to dance. We mostly just need some good back ground music.

MagdalenaDVaughan

This may work for you - it is called "What I Want You to Know" by JKD. It's on iTunes (here's the link to preview it)
http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/what-i-want-you-to-know-single/id468474106
I believe it was actually written by a dad for his daugther for her wedding day.