Wedding DJ or IPOD playlist

pischkepear · February 2010

I was hoping for some help with deciding on whether to hire a DJ or to create a playlist on my IPOD. We're trying to save money where we can, and I've been to weddings where the DJ has just played all the songs the bride chose anyways. My parents are concerned that without a DJ, it would be hard to figure out the temperament of the guests and whether the songs weren't working. I wasn't concerned because a friend of mine did this for her wedding and I thought the music was fine. Now I'm rethinking it because I've had a few people question this decision. Any help or advice would be appreciated.

Thanks!

felicia220 · February 2010

DJ. Hands down.

If you did do the IPOD, who would be controlling it for your entrance or your first dance or cake cutting or anything else that they play a song for? And your right, DJs play to the crowd not run down a set list. Although they may play all the songs that the bride and groom want they play them when it fits the mood. Trust me the right DJ is worth the money.

AmoroAgain · February 2010

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_reception-ideas_wedding-dj-ipod-playlist?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:5Discussion:496b8566-7cbc-4dc8-98b4-0b59bc95176aPost:f6af3c1b-1f58-442c-a1a1-54be6bd805f8">Re: Wedding DJ or IPOD playlist</a>:
[QUOTE]DJ. Hands down. <strong>If you did do the IPOD, who would be controlling it for your entrance or your first dance or cake cutting or anything else that they play a song for?</strong> And your right, DJs play to the crowd not run down a set list. Although they may play all the songs that the bride and groom want they play them when it fits the mood. Trust me the right DJ is worth the money.
Posted by felicia220[/QUOTE]

Do you NEED to have all those "special songs"? We didn't, and somehow, our reception managed to be fun just the same! When we wanted to cut the cake, we just got up and did it. Not everything needs to be a huge, special production, with everyone's eyes trained on you. I'd rather keep it low-key myself. If people want to eat their dinner while we're cutting, that's fine- it's good food, I don't want it to get cold!!

Anyway OP, here's my Ipod list: <a href="http://goingwong.weebly.com/you-like-to-move-it-we-like-to-move-it.html" rel="nofollow">http://goingwong.weebly.com/you-like-to-move-it-we-like-to-move-it.html</a>

felicia220 · February 2010

I like how you only manage to address the cake cutting song.

Just because you didn't have all those "special songs" doesn't been that she doesn't want to have them. I was simply giving her food for thought and my opinion. You don't have to like it.

Why are you even on the knot anymore shouldn't you be on the nest quoting people, because it seems like you like to do that a lot.

SuMmErKuTiE · February 2010

I also vote dj hands down!

If you're looking to save money, try hiring a dj that works for themself instead of a dj company. We are using a dj who works for himself and he costs half the price of other dj's in the area because we only have to pay the dj and not the dj AND the company. HTH!

m1m1d2483 · February 2010

My fiance is a DJ here in South Jersey. We are new to the area and his name is not out there yet so his prices are incredible. If you are interested I am sure we can give you a deal that is within your budget and you wont have to worry about an iPod at your wedding. Please feel free to contact me. I want to help other brides, like me, who are on a budget and just want the best for our money. And trust me, he is really good.

fishieballerina · February 2010

I vote iPod if you are trying to cut back. If you have a friend who is outgoing and attentive, you can ask him/her to just pay attention to the crowd and to announce anything you would like announced. This is what I am doing. Plan more music than you have time for though just so that you can have enough of each genre if certain ones seem to work better. As for special songs, make a different playlist that you can easily switch between. When you want to do that special song, switch to it, and then switch back.

AmoroAgain · February 2010

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_reception-ideas_wedding-dj-ipod-playlist?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:5Discussion:496b8566-7cbc-4dc8-98b4-0b59bc95176aPost:bff61d10-4a9f-4793-9a17-15109e7a5e44">Re: Wedding DJ or IPOD playlist</a>:
[QUOTE]I like how you only manage to address the cake cutting song. Just because you didn't have all those "special songs" doesn't been that she doesn't want to have them. I was simply giving her food for thought and my opinion. You don't have to like it. <strong>Why are you even on the knot anymore shouldn't you be on the nest quoting people, because it seems like you like to do that a lot. </strong>
Posted by felicia220[/QUOTE]

Really? Come on now... you can do better than that.

You gave your opinion, I gave mine. I think cake cutting songs are stupid, so yeah, I addressed that. In the grand scheme of thigns, are you going to remember what song you cut your cake to? Are you going to remember in 5 years? No. Do your guests notice or even care? Not in the least. So, I'm saying that to doesn't matter. You don't need a DJ to have the perfect wedding experience. But it's fine if you want one. I'm giving an alternative opinion. Maybe you should calm down.

aerinpegadrak · February 2010

Are you having dancing or not? That's the biggest issue for me with the iPod. I've heard lots of successful iPod weddings, but most of them didn't have dancing. A good DJ can read the dance floor and change things up on the fly, and you have less flexibility for that with your iPod.

Also, if you are doing various spotlight moments, you'll want to have someone to announce those. (My BIL is doing this for us, since he was going to DJ anyway.) We're having a separate playlist for all of the spotlight songs, and I'll cut them down and rename them "Cake cutting," "Entrance," etc. so that everything goes as smoothly as possible.

allisong23 · February 2010

Even if you have a friend working the ipod, if he/she needs to make adjustments to react to the crowd, you will have some awkward silences while they make changes (especially if they aren't just advancing to the next song). It also makes it more difficult for your guests to request songs, and it forces someone to be the ipod DJ, rather than just be a guest.

I also think that something like your first dance is the best example of a "huge, special production, with everyone's eyes trained on you.", and I don't understand why anyone would think that would be a bad thing. It may not be a production, but it is your first dance as a married couple and everyone's eyes should be on you.

etaraskewich · February 2010

I've been to weddings that used DJ IPOD!! And they were great. The only think to keep in mind:
- will you need a microphone for speeches/toasts/saying grace/etc.?

pischkepear · February 2010

Thanks for all the feedback everyone.

We were planning on having our first dance and my dance with my father right at the start of dancing, so they would be songs 1 and 2 on the playlist. I haven't decided about whether we will have a cake, or if we are going to do the traditional bouquet/garter toss, but I thought that my master of ceremonies could introduce that if need be. We do have access to microphones and a speaker system

I was planning on having song groupings in sets of 3, for example
3 classic rock songs
3 80's hits
3 R&B songs
etc

This way I thought we could reach the majority of music tastes, as well as making sure that we are getting the songs that we want to hear. I was going to have friends and family tell me songs they want to hear before hand so I could incorporate them in the list. I was going to have someone who could make sure to hit the play button and deal with any problems if they arise, but not really have anyone take requests. I figured that if we chose a dud of a song, that it wouldn't be the end of the world, because that could happen even with a dj, and if a certain type of music wasn't going over well, there is only 3 songs to get through.

I know that quite a few people have said they think I absolutely need a DJ, but I felt that with proper planning that this could go quite simply. Do you guys think I'm missing something big where this could blow up? It seems really simple to me, but I know a lot of people are concerned about this plan and think it's a bad idea.

m1m1d2483, thank you for the info, but I'm in Vancouver BC, might be a little far for your fiance to travel

trix1223 · February 2010

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_reception-ideas_wedding-dj-ipod-playlist?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:5Discussion:496b8566-7cbc-4dc8-98b4-0b59bc95176aPost:441c312f-cc7e-4d0b-bd5d-932100e24bd3">Re: Wedding DJ or IPOD playlist</a>:
[QUOTE]My fiance is a DJ here in South Jersey. We are new to the area and his name is not out there yet so his prices are incredible. If you are interested I am sure we can give you a deal that is within your budget and you wont have to worry about an iPod at your wedding. Please feel free to contact me. I want to help other brides, like me, who are on a budget and just want the best for our money. And trust me, he is really good.
Posted by m1m1d2483[/QUOTE]

m1m1: this board is international, so advertising your FI's job won't necessarily help you. And that brings me to my second point: I understand that you just joined, so I'll say this nicely: vendors, or people who advertise for vendors are not permitted on these boards. You can get kicked off for it.

kristinalily · February 2010

We're just doing our iPod and an outgoing person with a microphone.

I'm not worried at all because if something goes wrong or it takes a second to get the right song it's not gonna kill me. But just know that it COULD happen easier with the ipod route.

sbily2010 · February 2010

me and fi were talking about this not more than an hour ago lol. We've decided we're gonna go with the ipod. we don't really dance so we don't care too much. His family has a huge reunion every year with music and keriokee sp? and no one dances but everyone likes the background noise. For us it's money that can be spent else where. I'm working on dividing up when to play different types of music ceremony, cocktail/dinner, and then after dinner.

BrideofBigSur · February 2010

The money just isn't there (2 job losses since the invitations went out,) so we have no choice but to go with the ipod for both ceremony and reception. Thankfully it will be an intimate wedding with 40 guests so I highly doubt this will be an issue. You can browse the songs while another plays, so you CAN switch songs without an awkward silence in the middle, as long as you are on top of it. Why not just have one playlist for event songs like first dance etc., and then a playlist for each genre? Then you can have unlimited songs per genre but easy access to all genres.

I think that's how I am going to do it, but we have 4 months of planning left to determine that for sure.

aerinpegadrak · February 2010

She never said that those moments aren't important, just that the music that is playing for them doesn't matter. For my sister's wedding, I have no idea what song she used for either. (I keep thinking that we entered to "Apache," but I think that's only because when my brother and I were introduced together, we did the little Apache dance.) I've picked songs for both of those moments, but it's mainly for my own amusement. But saying that you might as well go to the courthouse if you aren't doing special songs is not only bad logic, it's also just silly.

And what does teaching English have to do with it? Your post isn't very well-written for an English teacher.

evabee · February 2010

The other thing to think about is that sometimes DJs are total disasters. Unless you get to know yours very well, or go to an event where he/she is DJing, it's kind of a grab bag. My sister's DJ was HORRENDOUS. He didn't read the crowd very well and was used to commanding people to get involved like "hey you with the purple shirt.. get out here and do the funky chicken!" I guess in other weddings that's what people wanted, and some people may really love that, but she was mortified.

Some, if not most, DJs are great, but just keep in mind that an iPod is not the only choice capable of total malfunction!

I'm saving the money and going with iPod mixed with live music (my brothers' band). Good luck! I'm sure your guests won't be disappointed with a DJ-less reception.

pischkepear · February 2010

It's hard to decide because the results I'm getting here are pretty similar to those I get from friends and family. Evenly mixed between the two with some extremes. I'm going to price out some DJ's and if they are reasonably priced, maybe we'll just do that for the piece of mind. I do think I'm a little DJ wary because of the cheese factor that I've seen from some weddings. I want to make sure the music is good enough to please the crowd, but also reflects the tastes of my partner and me.

aerinpegadrak · February 2010

If you're worried about a cheesy DJ, just be very firm about what you expect and the sort of things that you don't want to see, and get it in writing. If he then does anything that the contract says he wouldn't, you might be entitled to a partial refund.

anne.azano · February 2010

If you're going to have a DJ, go on your local boards and read reviews... then contact those DJs and state your budget. Maybe one will meet it! I got a DJ to agree to do my reception for a great price just because I asked.

If you decide to go Ipod, I'd recommend that you use a computer instead of an ipod (and maybe have a back-up laptop borrowed from a friend in case yours breaks down). On Itunes you can change the settings so songs fade in and out, that way you avoid all the dead air time that can be awkward. You should also ask your friends and family to make song requests when they RSVP, that way you can try to play songs your guests will want to hear. This could be formal or informally done by email or whatever.

The other thing to consider is setting up and breaking down the speakers if you venue doesn't provide them. That was the factor that tipped us towards the DJ. In our family, we have no one who is good at that stuff who I'd want to saddle with such a big job. And if something goes wrong, who will troubleshoot?

So, I say, both can work fine and don't necessarily listen to those who say your wedding will suck if you don't hire a DJ... As other posters have said, a bad DJ would probably be worse than a playlist you've put a lot of thought into! Just really do your research if you're gonna go ipod/itunes and be prepared for all possible scenarios.

christine825_us · February 2010

I felt the same - I didn't want a DJ and had experienced too many weddings where the DJ was horrible. I was just going to have an IPod. Then the woman who worked at the venue told me that it really depended on the kind of wedding we wanted. She said IPods work well if you want a laid back, no dancing, background noise only reception. I had a friend who was willing to be on IPod duty but then I realized I didn't want my friend to have to spend all of his time focused on the music and making sure the volume was fine - I wanted him, my guest, to enjoy the party. We wanted a party so we paid for it and it was worth every penny. Ask around, get references (most DJs will give you recent weddings he or she has worked so you can talk to the bride or groom). Be specific about who you are and what you want. It sounds dumb but they are trained to read a crowd. IPods are an easy way to cut cost but I am so happy I didn't do it.
Good Luck.

Lasairiona · February 2010

Speaking from experience as a guest, I have never once seen an ipod wedding that was not a disaster. If people don't dance to the preselected music, then you're screwed. With a dj, if they play something that clears the dance floor, they have a plethora of music handy to switch to that does appeal to the crowd. Honestly, I have only ever seen one dj that was remotely bad, and that description is going to an extreme. Other than playing a single request that no one danced to, the rest of the time he was great at playing a mix of danceable tunes, even if he did talk too much for everyone's comfort (they would have prefered he didn't say a word the entire time and just played music).

Your best bet at finding a good dj is to post on your local board and then do interviews with each of the contenders. Be firm about what you want and what you don't. A vendor worth their salt will do whatever it takes to please the customer.

When your guests remember your wedding, they don't care about or remember specific songs, and neither will you unless you capture them on video. What they do remember is if the dj was good or bad.

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