IPod playlist?

beachdancer

Has anyone been to or had a wedding, where instead of paying a dj or band to play, they just created a playlist?  How did it work?  Did people still dance?  What were some pros and cons?  Did you have someone to announce things like first dance, bouquet toss, cake-cutting, etc? 
Thanks!

newgirlinwa

I plan on using this technique to save some money on my wedding.  I've done something similiar to this in the past and it worked out very well.  I think that was mainly because I let everyone vote on what they wanted to hear by creating a contest on www.songvote.com.

Soon2BeMrsTing

We did three things that worked in our favor going this route:

1) We rented speakers from a local supplier and hooked the laptop up to them
2) DH spent a long time on arranging the playlist just-so with LOTS of danceable tunes
3) We asked a college friend who loves to DJ to work the music, and she did a great job

I think anyone can pull it off if you're willing to put in a bit of effort selecting and timing the music and going over the list with the person who will be helping with sound.  DH was actually the 'DJ' at the wedding of the friend who then returned the favor for us, so it was really easy to have good and clear communication on both sides.

waitingformay

I went to a wedding where they did this and they didn't have anyone announcing things so I almost missed the cake cutting and special dances.

I think you should at least have someone making announcements. If you're having a large wedding, a DJ is probably the best way to go.

flipside1794

My fiance and I did this for my little sister's 13th birthday and it worked out well in the  hall that my mom rented for the party (it can hold about 100 people). He had previously made a portable speaker box for our computer speakers and subwoofer that he hooked up to the computer. When we wanted to announce anything (presents, games, cake cutting), we just stopped the music to get the crowds attention, but it would have been easier with a microphone.

Now that we are getting married, we considered doing this but we are having our reception outside and even though the speakers are good, I don't think they're good enough to drown out the sounds of 200+ people. That's why we decided to go with a DJ.

I guess what I'm trying to say is just go with your instincts. If you're having a small reception, I think it would work. If it's larger or outside, I would agree with the post above about renting professional speakers or just get a DJ. Good luck and congrats!

beachdancer

Thanks for the advice everyone!  All things I'll keep in mind

michelle7102

We are having a small wedding of 43 guests so I decided to save the money on the dj and use our ipod instead.  We have this really awesome portable speaker from Bose so all we have to do is plug in the ipod.  It comes with a remote so I am having my brother pause the music inbetween so we can make toasts, make cutting the cake announcements, etc. 

I am really picky about music so now I don't have to worry about the DJ playing YMCA or the Boot Scooting Boogie.