To DJ or not to DJ
As fiancé and I have recently - finally - compiled a budget, we decided on a $500 budget for the DJ. It's not a do or die thing - I MUST HAVE A DJ - no no, it's not like that. I'd prefer one but upon some first searches, most of the DJ's I've come across thanks to DC Knottie Reviews and similar sites, is most are between $600-$1000 that I've seen.
So I ran the idea by Fiancé - we're paying for a dance floor but perhaps we could just do an IPod wedding. Perhaps it might not be so bad. Our planner at our reception hall offered to Emcee it for us if we so desired, and could put the IPod behind the bar so that we can't mess with it (because I know myself and I totally would) .
But do I want entire control of the music? We have our first song picked out, I have the father-daughter dance picked out, we haven't really talked about the mother-son dance, but really? I know what songs I want played. I'm just...nervous. What if the IPod dies? I could see that happening. What if it runs out of battery? Guh. There are too many what if's for me to concern myself with but then there's the bigger what if - what if we can't find a DJ in our budget? With our guest list still about 20 people over where we want to be, we don't really have the room to go over anywhere else in the budget. *sigh*
Does anyone have any experience with Ipod Weddings? What are your thoughts on the DJ v. IPod debate?
So I ran the idea by Fiancé - we're paying for a dance floor but perhaps we could just do an IPod wedding. Perhaps it might not be so bad. Our planner at our reception hall offered to Emcee it for us if we so desired, and could put the IPod behind the bar so that we can't mess with it (because I know myself and I totally would) .
But do I want entire control of the music? We have our first song picked out, I have the father-daughter dance picked out, we haven't really talked about the mother-son dance, but really? I know what songs I want played. I'm just...nervous. What if the IPod dies? I could see that happening. What if it runs out of battery? Guh. There are too many what if's for me to concern myself with but then there's the bigger what if - what if we can't find a DJ in our budget? With our guest list still about 20 people over where we want to be, we don't really have the room to go over anywhere else in the budget. *sigh*
Does anyone have any experience with Ipod Weddings? What are your thoughts on the DJ v. IPod debate?
Labels: Miss Gallery Place, Music, Receptions
posted by Only One Heidi at 12:34 PM
6 Comments:
My only concern with the IPOD is, will you have someone else acting as an "MC" of the wedding, for the toast, or introductions etc? Other than that, i think the ipod can do for you what a dj can... and as long as you have a test run, I dont see why you shouldn't try to save $$
Might i suggest Weddzilla.com ... you can post on there your desire for a dj and cap the cost at X amount and who knows, someone may bid on your offer! :)
An alternative to using an ipod that is tricky to control (esp. when people have been drinking!) and could run out of batteries is to just run the music from itunes on a laptop. Less chance for things to go wrong I think. And the larger screen would make it easier to find the right music when you need it, for first dance etc.
most DJs today are using their macbooks anyway, which is really just an oversized iPod. so really there'd be no difference except for the thousands of dollars you'd save. and with all those savings i think you could buy a charger/stand for the iPod that will guarantee it doesn't die... just keep that baby plugged in during your awesome wedding/reception : )
I used an i-pod for my wedding and it went fine. I asked my cousin to man the i-pod and another friend did the emceeing.
It was kinda stressful trying to get together the playlist, but I got a lot of compliments about it in the end.
I would definitley delegate the actual manning of the music to someone else so you can enjoy the reception and that person can coordinate with the emcee so when you have toasts or whatever someone can stop and start the ipod, etc. (probably someone not drinking would be best).
Also I tried to make it super easy by making specific playlists for special songs like the first dance, cutting of the cake, etc.
Go with a DJ - just not a 'wedding dj.' DC is FULL of people who play wonderful music. Read the paper, go to a couple of shows or find a weekly that you like, and approach the DJ about your wedding. Most likely they will be much more accommodating and a whole lot cheaper than someone who dubs themselves as a wedding dj. Not to mention you'll get a set that's unique instead of the same old formulaic track list that you hear at every wedding.
Save the IPODs for the house party. You don't need the stress.
I say go with the iPod. I've been to several weddings recently that have either hooked up a computer or iPod to the system and went off that. You can have a friend (who might not be invited otherwise to man the music), or pay a smaller fee to have someone else do it.
Bring a charger with you, because both a computer and iPod can be charging and playing at the same time.
Just make sure you have the playlist set up in advance (set it up to random if you want to be somewhat surprised by what song's nex), and possibly a back-up iPod (I'm sure a friend would let you borrow their's) with the same songs/playlist loaded on it just in case.
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