Laptop/iPod DJ???

[JennieMay]

We were thinking of doing our own djing by just setting ip a hug playlist on our laptop and renting some speakers. My iPod also works as a remote so our groomsmen could change the songs or whatever at dinner time without getting up lol.... Anyone done this here? I'm a little nervous but short of equipment failure I think it would be fine.... And S
ave some serious $$$$

[WebLady]

This is really a personal thing and depends on the mood you are trying to set for your event.

If your reception is going to be more like a regular party and you just need to have music playing in the background, this option should work great and would save you money. But if you want the traditional wedding reception you would miss out in the atmosphere that a DJ can provide. A DJ can also act as a coordinator at the reception making sure things go as planned, making announcements, arranging toasts and games, getting people involved, etc ... I know I have worked with many DJs that do this.

As with anything; having someone do the work for you will cost you money and when you go DIY with anything you often have to sacrifice something ... unless you have talented friends and family willing to help ;) Of course some things may be easier to DIY than others and again it is all about what you need, want and can afford.

But before you decide to DIY on the DJ thing, I would look around to see if there is a DJ that can provide what you need within your budget. Sometimes you can find pro that works with budget brides, or maybe one that does it part time for fun and would have affordable fees. If you can't find one that suits your needs then you don't really have a choice other than DIY.

I have seen some weddings where a friend or family member acts as the DJ making announcements and playing the right music where needed and all; that can work sometimes. But then you still have that friend or family member working and they won't get to enjoy the event.

Good luck in whatever you decide to do :grinhappy:

[Tyrone Blue Entertainment]

Exactly! Sure you can save some money by doing the iPod thing, and if "excitement" and fun on the dance floor are NOT a priority, then it's a good choice. You have to decide what exactly you are attempting to do, and how you want your reception to go.

With every decision, there are pros and cons. First, an iPod is great, as Brandi said, for back ground music. You still have to get speakers and an amplifier that are big enough to fill your reception room with sound.

An iPod can't read the crowd and play the right tune in the right place... you still need a dedicated operator. An iPod has long gaps between songs, and if you want to move a song to the "next in line" position, you still need an operator.

If your only consideration is to save some money, then it's a good choice. If you are wanting your guests to have an exciting time on the dance floor, then you really need a talented DJ with professional skills. Let me know if I can give you any more information.

Oh, one last thing... have you noticed the lack of "favorable" comments and stories about iPods from other brides? Ask yourself why that is. I suspect that many don't want to tell their story about an unsuccessful (or less than desired/expected) event to everyone else. No one wants to say they made a mistake in public.

[gwenshack]

One of our members, RosieAngel, did that to great success. Hopefully she'll see this question and be able to tell you more about her experience.

Maybe you could do a "trial run" one afternoon and test it out?

I think there's always a way to make these things work.

[Tyrone Blue Entertainment]

There will always be someone who has a success story but the comment "test run" makes perfect sense. Consider the time and effort for a test run. If you have the time, then go for it. Do you have the speakers and amplifiers for a test?

You can avoid the "gap" in songs by editing the entire play-list together before hand, but again, it takes time, and you can't change the play list that way. You can get two iPods and a mixer, but then you may as well get a real DJ.

It all boils down to your budget and amount of effort you want to put into it. Can you do it? Sure, but do your homework and make sure you have all the contingencies worked out.

Then, PLEASE come back in here and tell everyone how it went (bad or good), so we have some reference on what you did.

Thanks!

[WebLady]

Yeah I have heard stories about things like this, some went fine, some not so much. I have been to a few that did something like this too; again, some went fine, some not so much.

But you gotta do what works for you, your event and your budget. I just always say make sure you know what you are getting yourself into and you explore all your options :)

[Katie-ryn]

I'm planning on doing having my laptop as my dj. We're having more of an elegant dinner party feel than a typical reception. Getting people on the dance floor is about as low as you can get on my priority list. I just want background music, and if people decide to dance, good for them.

We may buy new speakers, or we may see if we can hook our surround sound up. We haven't looked into it that much.

I'm also using my laptop, speakers that'll be attached to the laptop and my Guitar Hero microphone as kind of a PA system for our outdoor ceremony. I've figured out how to get sound to play through, and there's no feedback either. Plus my whole ceremony will be recorded!

[WTB]

Here's my 2 cents. When I got married 15 years ago, we were on a very tight budget. We tried to do the WHOLE wedding (dress, ceremony, reception, honeymoon) for $10k or less. Anyway that was before the days of iPods so we just mixed our own tapes with songs that we liked. We also asked a friend to sort of be the emcee/DJ. It was his job to play the tape, stop the tape, switch tapes, introduce the wedding party, announce the first dance, etc. It worked out pretty well, but if there's one piece of advice I can offer it's this: make sure you have powerful speakers and a powerful amplifier. Never underestimate how large a reception hall can be (compared to your living room) and how noisy it can be when packed with guests. If you don't have big powerful speakers, nobody will hear your music.

-Jeannie

[iDoCakeToppers]

I think that setup sounds fine and usually there will be a friend, brother or cousin that wouldn't mind sort of babysitting the equipment during the reception for a couple of extra drinks ...you would be surprised at how many people are closet wannabee Djs and would jump at the opportunity. ;-)

[f77g4]

Our friends did this and I'm not a huge fan of it. Besides having to rent equipment and set everything up and get a huge variety of songs and tonnes of songs to avoid repeats, it is actually a bit of a hassle to have someone turn the volume down, back up, etc. FH had to do this for them at their wedding and it made it a bit less enjoyable for us because we were on standby to change cd's etc.

We went with a DJ and I'm so glad we did - I didn't have to worry about a thing and it was only $350 and he stayed from 8:30-2am.

[Tammy]

We went with a DJ and I'm so glad we did - I didn't have to worry about a thing and it was only $350 and he stayed from 8:30-2am.
Wow!! That's really inexpensive!! You lucked out big time! I was recently quoted $800 to Dj the reception. That's more then I'm willing to spend!! We know someone who Dj's so I hope he'll give us a good deal.
My question is who plays the music for the ceremony? I was thinking of putting the few songs we'll use on a CD and getting one of my nephews to push the buttons. What did everyone else do?

[f77g4]

Wow!! That's really inexpensive!! You lucked out big time! I was recently quoted $800 to Dj the reception. That's more then I'm willing to spend!! We know someone who Dj's so I hope he'll give us a good deal.
My question is who plays the music for the ceremony? I was thinking of putting the few songs we'll use on a CD and getting one of my nephews to push the buttons. What did everyone else do?

Yeah - I guess thats a perk of a small town maybe?

For the ceremony and during the meal I hired a saxophone player. It was one of my few splurges.

[RhondaM]

Thank God I see someone else going with the home DJ routine. I was under the impression EVERYBODY had some sort of a wedding band or at least a duet (budget thing :) ), but we decided people can have just as much fun dancing to iPOD music.

[2dBride]

I think using a CD for the ceremony is a lot easier than having an iPod reception. The DJ at a reception has other tasks than just playing music--e.g., making announcements, making sure activities happen in accordance with the timeline, encouraging people onto the dance floor. If you don't have an official DJ, you may well want to have at least a friend handling these functions.

By contrast, the task at the ceremony is pretty much just to get the music played at the right time. You might want someone old enough to notice if a particular piece takes too long for the activity it is supposed to go with, and fade it out. (E.g., if everyone has made it to the front, and the processional song is still playing.) However, an adult or older child could handle what needs to be done.

We had our ceremony music on a CD, and notes in the program as to what was to be played when. A guest was able to handle it for us based on that alone.Wow!! That's really inexpensive!! You lucked out big time! I was recently quoted $800 to Dj the reception. That's more then I'm willing to spend!! We know someone who Dj's so I hope he'll give us a good deal.
My question is who plays the music for the ceremony? I was thinking of putting the few songs we'll use on a CD and getting one of my nephews to push the buttons. What did everyone else do?

[Tammy]

The ceremony and reception are hapening at the same place just ceremony outside and well, reception inside. I thought it would be easier on the DJ,who's an aquaintainence, to be inside preparing then to be outside fiddling for a few pieces of music.
My nephews will be 16 and 18 by then and I sure hope one of them could handle a CD player! LOL
Thank you for the advice...You gals always make me feel so much better :hearts: