With or without a DJ?

[Ninedays9]

As we become increasingly aware of how scary it is to try and pay for the whole wedding ourselves, we're trying to think of things to cut.

I've seen that a few people on here (Stacy is the one that comes to mind, first) that haven't used a DJ.

If you didn't use a DJ, and you used an Ipod or something else instead, how did you go about doing it? How do you get all that music? Was it worth it, or was it more work than it was worth?

I really wouldn't mind saving the $700-$2500 (as one site listed the cost at in general for DJS). However... DJs announce what is happening when, and they already have all the music. I don't know how well we could compete with something like that, especially since I don't know that we have anyone that would be willing to stand up and "narrate" the reception for us.

But then again, my cousin didn't have a DJ, and it turned out just fine. I'm not sure how much work they put into that, though.

What are your thoughts??

[Katie-ryn]

I plan on using either my iPod, or borrowing someone's laptop. I have pretty much all my music on cd's. Anything I don't actually own a copy of I'm downloading. It's legal in Canada.

From Wikipedia

Music Recordings
The music industry created a loophole in Canadian copyright laws when it asked for a levy on blank audio media. These $0.21 to $0.24 levies on blank media raised millions of dollars for music publishers, but also legalized copying in the digital age, to the consternation of the music industry.[2] Canadian courts have ruled that consumers have the right to copy any recording from the original copy even those they do not personally own. This consumer right has been extended by the courts to include peer-to-peer downloads.[3]

I have a huge distaste for DJs. I don't like them, their talking, their tacky suits, the tacky light shows, I don't like any of it. So obviously I'm not going to pay hundreds of dollars to have one at my wedding.

I don't think the lack of a "narrator" will be a big deal, but then my wedding is going to be quite casual.

[Kay]

Well, I'm with you ~ big time.

I just recently attended a wedding where I thought the DJ was useless and pretty-much did nothing for his $500. Since neither of us are big dancers, I am actually trying to talk FF into a champagne and cake reception only or even a dinner ~ without the dancing! I just don't see a reason for it. FF's brother is a DJ and he wants him to be our DJ but for many personal reasons, I absolutely do NOT want him to be our DJ ~ so, to a void a family feud ~ I believe there will be no DJ at our wedding, dinner or cake, it doesn't matter either way to me.

Why not consider just getting a microphone setup (like even a karoake machine at Wal-Mart for $50) and have a friend/someone do your OWN announcing - and use an Ipod?? Make a list for him/her what you want announced and when. WAY cheaper. :D

[BarceloMayaPalaceBride]

I am getting married on the beach and am NOT using a DJ. We are putting the songs on the I-POD, and the wedding package includes the speakers etc. I have created a time-line for the reception and a quick script for my sister who was VERY happy to do a few announcements. I think it will be a lot more intimate without a DJ, not to mention it saves $$$ :)

[f77g4]

Well we are using a DJ but he's very good and reasonably priced ($300). He is the janitor at the high school that FH & I attended and he DJ'd all the dances there and was really good. However, I do have a separate MC to do all the announcing as my mother say that it isn't the DJ's job to do that so my cousin is doing that instead.

Our friends (my bridesmaid and FH's groomsman) got married a few years ago and they didn't have a DJ but they told me that if they could do it again, they would have gotten one.

I had thought about doing the music ourselves but honestly it seemed like a like of work to get all sorts of music, etc. that will keep everyone entertained. Plus FH tends to think I have crappy choices in music ...lol

[tortoisegirl]

I had originally thought we should skip on the DJ--save some money. Then, I read through several sources that not having a DJ was the biggest wedding regret. We went to the other end of the spectrum. Decided we wanted as little stress as possible. Didn't want to deal with having someone we knew making announcements, planning the songs, cuing the ceremony music, etc.

We are going with a full-service DJ service for the ceremony and reception. They have all the back up equipment and people and are highly regarded and reviewed in our area. One less thing to worry about for us. We can pick out enough songs to show our taste, and then the DJ can plan the rest. The service we went with has a huge online questionnaire for us about what to announce, what we want, and what we don't want. It'll also be neat to be able to take requests for songs.

[MBS353]

I did our music myself, for a number of reasons.

I'm not fond of DJ's, they are usually extremely obnoxious and try to run the whole show, and I just don't like overly outgoing people like that. Personality clash I guess.

I didn't want to play CD's with vocals. I want the atmoshere low-key and refined, not animal house party time. When you go to a nice restaurant that plays nice relaxing background music, it's usually instrumental music. So I want that.

FH and I compromised on the type of music, I love oldies, so we will be playing those, and he chose the reception venue that he liked best.

So what I did (and this took me months to do) was download tons of free midi files, (midis are non-vocal), then I edited every song by hand so that they sound just the way I want by muting tracks I didn't like or changing some tracks from like harpsichord to grand piano etc.

We will be using my computer, hooked up to a stereo. The computer has a real good soundcard, and the stereo speakers are good ones, so the music does sound awesome!

Then I wrote a computer program that will play the music. My older brother will be MC of sorts, but all he'll have to do is click a few buttons and announce spotlight dances.

I did buy a Paul Anka CD for our final get-away dance song, and that will have vocals.

So total cost for me was $10 and not only will I love every song played, I'll love every note of every song played, and I wouldn't be able to get that for even thousands of dollars elsewhere.

It was alot of work, but I wouldn't change a thing.

http://www.geocities.com/beths_programs/music.htm

[FutureKelley]

We actually found an AWESOME DJ... he charges $300 for the first 3 hours and $50 per hour after that. I was so excited that he fit into our budget!! I can't imagine paying $700+ though. :bbeek:

I really think that having an ipod hooked up to a speaker system would work just as well. If the place we are having our reception was equipt for something like that, I bet that's the route we would have gone. Actually, I think we may be doing that at the church instead of paying someone to play the piano.

[Nekochanpurr]

Have you tried asking any of you friends or close family to make announcements for you?? I bet you could find someone you trust.. *^^*

[thetsakid]

we used our laptop and borrowed some speakers from a friend and had my uncle do it...he was fabulous and we needed to include alot of people in our wedding so we had someone MC just our reception it went over better than i thought...i was very impressed with it and it saved us alot of money and we didn't have to trust someone we didn't know to do it...

[tanya n matt]

iv thought about it her are my thoughts,
pro's
strees free
wont spend hours finding music for the night
wont run out of songs n ave to repete
bride n grooms choice song will be pre organised and played at request
there professinals with a range of perfect sogs for a wedding
great reception announcers
hmm sure theres more but i cant think of em right now

con's
cost's
might not play the music you like after all its your wedding ya cant please every one so focus onyour tastes with some exception

did i mention cost lol

oh yea nearly forgot COST

if your looking for budget weddings it only takes a few hours to either ask your mates for some cd's to pick some song off or your own or look up song ideas if your a golden oldie person type it in put about 300 songs on a burnable disc to ensure you wont run out and set your cd layer to shuffel so its a supprise every song that comes on,
if you dont have 300 song ideas just remember that most songs go for 4-6 minutes and calaulate the time ur reception starts to the time it finished and add enough songs to lat the period plus a few extras for safty

[mrsg2b]

When my sister got married she found a DJ who did it as a part time/hobby type of thing and he was excellent because he adhered very strictly to her play list. Just make sure whoever you pick doesn't have any problem following a list and you should be fine with that part. Plus the fact that it's not his full time gig means he's more likely to bargain and take less as opposed to someone who works for a company or feels they've made a name for themselves in the industry.
For announcements she asked a close cousin to do it and he did SUCH a great job (she gave hime a timeline and list a day or so before). You just have to pick someone who isn't afraid of the spotlight and is capable of keeping things interesting. Her wedding was pretty formal but thanks in part to him it was a lot of fun and people were dancing all night long! I really think we responded better to him and his occasional jokes than we would have to some paid MC beacuse everyone knew him...
Hope that helps :)

[ChristineLS]

I was at a very beautiful, small, organized IN A MONTH (the bride had some help from friends... but you'd never know how quickly it was put together) of some friends and what they did was take some fancy schmancy computer speakers that a friend had, and hooked up their laptop. They made a playlist of first dance, mother/son daughter/brotherinlaw dances, and then for dancing dancing, she left the playlist open for friends to pick songs. This worked because 1) she is a hip hop dancer and many of her friends there were from her performance group, so they had a knack for songs of relevance, and 2) because it was so small, people were inclined not to add something crazy to it. It was fun, and it worked because of the crowd there.

[dylansmom011908]

The DJ was actually one of my more important wedding costs, so i didn't mind spending the $850 that i spent on ours. They are the top DJ company in my area and do everything from Music to MC and with our package we get a 2 hour consultation. They even act as the wedding coordinator at the reception, making sure the caterer and photographer are on the same page as the DJ.

I didnt' want the headache of having to worry about whether or not things were being done in the order I wanted.

Plus..to be honest (and i realize it could differ for everyone) but everyone i know has told me that when all is said and done, it's the music they remember most... after all.. they may not be able to tell me what they ate at my wedding 5 yrs from now but i'm sure they'll remember if they had a good time or not!

[Docsgirl]

We got lucky and had one of DH's friends that DJs at clubs in Milwaukee offer to do our wedding for us.

I've heard from both sides of the fence though....some people loved their DJ and some people hated their DJ. It really depends on what kind of a reception you're going for. We're going for one big celebratory party vibe, but with eclectic music choices so everyone from our grandparents to our younger siblings can have fun and get out on the dance floor. DH's friend has one of the biggest music collections ever. Seriously. Haha.

I'd say if you're going for more of a laid-back type of reception, using an ipod or laptop would be fine. You could even burn a whole bunch of mixed cd's if you don't have one of those for an option and have someone "play" DJ for the night and make sure to switch them out or something....but that might get a little messy.

[Genevieve04]

I don't think I will have a DJay it is so expensive! I am thinking of bringing a laptop instead of an ipod. On my RSPV cards I am thinking of asking for each person's favorite song.

[ThePhotoBride]

We will probably have a DJ because there is absolutely no way my husband and I could fully agree on music selections on our own. We have very different tastes in music. lol. So to have a DJ with a list of "generally appealing" songs like oldies, hip hop, etc will work a lot better for us. Plus, I want someone who can get the "party" going. I want someone who's fun and humorous. We are laidback, silly, sarcastic people. Not formal and stuffy whatsoever. We want to have a good time at our wedding and we want our guests to boogie. ;)

[kylesbridetobe]

We are having a brunch reception after our morning ceremony, and there won't be dancing. My "with or without" question is "string trio or no string trio?" If our budget allows for it (we are in the very early planning stages) I would like to have a classical/ jazz trio play for both the ceremony & brunch... just atmosphere music in addition to the traditional ceremony selections. However, it would honestly be much cheaper to simply buy instrumental albums on iTunes and have them played on a loop at the reception. We will be having toasts & such, but these things are usually easy for a family member to coordinate, and often DJs can overdo their role anyway and reduce the intimacy of the occasion. So we will probably do our own music for the brunch.

However, we hope to have an "after party" at a separate location where people can boogie down. (My family is religiously opposed to dancing, which is why we want to do this separately.) For that occasion, we want to have a DJ if we can afford it. We want a variety of music, including favorites like The Electric Slide, Cupid Shuffle, etc. I feel like a DJ can judge when the right time is, in terms of the mood of the crowd, to play those songs. We are definitely planning to find a very low-key DJ that doesn't shout or act cheesy though.

What I've heard is the best way to find a quality DJ that adds to your event rather than taking away is by going to his events. Get him to find a client that wouldn't mind if you drop in on their event - this doesn't have to be a wedding reception, but just something to get the feel of his "spiel". Also, you should be VERY assertive about what you want - maybe moreso than you think necessary, to clarify that you will quite unhappy if you don't get the service you pay for.

[Kay]

We recently learned that the Country Club has a free microphone setup ~ for toasts, announcements, speeches ~ they use it for club meetings, etc ~ and we can use it for the reception ~ so no DJ here. But, we also don't want dancing so no dancing, either. Just some food, chit-chat, and smiles!