DJ Vs Ipod

KHollyTX

Hey Ladies~

Is it worth the effort to try to set up speakers and an ipod and take the time to put together lists of music for every aspect of the wedding/reception, or should we bite the bullet and hire a dj. 

Thoughts?  Recommendations of good/affordable djs?

Thanks!

bsn1752

For me - I bit the bullet and hired a DJ.

For you - it depends on the vibe and reception you want.  Do you want low key, background music - or do you want a hosted party?  That's where your answer lies.

KHollyTX

I'm feeling like we'll have to bite the bullet, I'm just hoping someone might say 'oh no, its so easy to do it yourself!  We did and it was great!' 

lexxxyyy

I'm having the same issue. I'm on a tight budget. But i would hate for everyone not to have a good time. Any djs that are good and not cheesy and are affordable? i would consider paying a little more if it included lighting.

LoverBean27

I would suggest bite the bullet.. IMO doing your own reception music would add unnecessary stress to your big day.

fallbride1109

A DJ does so much more than just play music.  He will keep your reception flowing, make any and all announcements, and maintain and maximize the energy to a level that will keep the reception going as long as possible and make adjustments as necessary.

Unless you just want more of a dinner party vibe with background music, my advice is to bite the bullet.

AshJohnson30

I'm using a DJ for exactly the reason PP mentioned BUT how do you decide what DJ to use? Photographers and venues are easy cause you can see their work. Anyone have suggestions on how they picked their DJ?

fallbride1109

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_texas-dallas-ft-worth_dj-vs-ipod?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local Wedding BoardsForum:102Discussion:d6700deb-9000-4caa-a80e-8433250131f3Post:74a494d4-df9e-48d0-85c2-2c9d6323d61f">Re: DJ Vs Ipod</a>:
[QUOTE]I'm using a DJ for exactly the reason PP mentioned BUT how do you decide what DJ to use? Photographers and venues are easy cause you can see their work. Anyone have suggestions on how they picked their DJ?
Posted by AshJohnson30[/QUOTE]

I had meetings with 3 DJs.  I looked here and on Wedding Wire for recommendations.  I also browsed websites--I knew what kind of vibe I wanted and found that looking at their actual websites helped alot.  We ended up booking the first DJ we met with because we liked him so much and it was the right choice.  But it's usually recommended that you meet with 2 or 3 to get a sense of whether or not they are on the same page as to how you want your reception to go.

MarieSD

AshJohnson -- I had a DOC and asked her for a DJ recommendation. Thankfully, the person she recommended was fantastic. That was before I discovered Weddingwire and these forums -- there are lots of good recommendations and reviews out there.

Lexxxyyy - have you looked at our vendor site for the list of who girls on this board have used? If you search this board on Melody & Memories, you'll also find a ton of old threads where people asked recommendations for inexpensive DJs. Figment Productions, Melody and Memories, and the new company Glenn is affiliated with ... those are the 3 that stand out in my memory as excellent under 1k. (Well, I am pretty sure the first two I mentioned are under 1k. Not 100% sure on the last one.)

As for the DJ vs. Ipod decision: my experience was that I'm so glad I paid someone else to pick the music. I only had 3 songs on my "must play" list. They were recent top 40 hits. For two of them, the dance floor (which was packed all night long thanks to my DJ) completely emptied out besides H and I. Here I thought I "knew" my crowd ... but I didn't know what they liked to dance to, and my DJ totally got it right. In retrospect, I actually had to go ask him to play one of those "must play" songs and wasn't sure why he hadn't already played it ... well, I figured it out the minute the dance floor became a ghost town. He knew my crowd a ton better than me.

professorscience

I think serlace used an iPod and it was fine for her.

Personally, I'm glad we have a DJ.  As for picking one, you just have to do interviews.  Who makes you comfortable, who looks like they'll give your crowd a good party.

LoverBean27

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_texas-dallas-ft-worth_dj-vs-ipod?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:102Discussion:d6700deb-9000-4caa-a80e-8433250131f3Post:c7d14c39-344a-4d6f-b1e4-fc5f3746d697">Re: DJ Vs Ipod</a>:
[QUOTE]In Response to Re: DJ Vs Ipod : <strong>I had meetings with 3 DJs.</strong>  I looked here and on Wedding Wire for recommendations.  I also browsed websites--I knew what kind of vibe I wanted and found that looking at their actual websites helped alot.  We ended up booking the first DJ we met with because we liked him so much and it was the right choice.  But it's usually recommended that you meet with 2 or 3 to get a sense of whether or not they are on the same page as to how you want your reception to go.
Posted by stephiehall[/QUOTE]

This! We met with serval people. The DJ we booked we were fortunate enough to see at a faux wedding so the meeting we got to just talk and it was very comfortable.

lexxxyyy

Marie- Thank you! I found several postings and will be checking them out!

serlace

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_texas-dallas-ft-worth_dj-vs-ipod?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local Wedding BoardsForum:102Discussion:d6700deb-9000-4caa-a80e-8433250131f3Post:d24137c0-6f3f-454b-b76d-172f709b828d">Re: DJ Vs Ipod</a>:
[QUOTE]I think serlace used an iPod and it was fine for her. Personally, I'm glad we have a DJ.  As for picking one, you just have to do interviews.  Who makes you comfortable, who looks like they'll give your crowd a good party.
Posted by professorscience[/QUOTE]

Sure did.  It was fine and I would do it again.  I did have a trusted friend work the iPod for the ceremony.  It was pretty easy, since I made a specific playlist.  For the reception, I pretty much just hit random on our iPod and it worked out well.  We had lots of people dancing and no one complained.  And it saved a lot of money.  My $0.02.