Are Djs necessary??

Do what you want! If a DJ is not a necessity for you, don't waste the money. It's not for us - most of the 50 people who will be coming will not dance. We're having someone in our wedding party announce all the important things, I definitely don't need to hire someone to do that. If you have someone willing to help out with all the little things PP's mentioned, then it shouldn't be a problem! I'm a control freak with music so this is what I prefer.

OMG! Please, Please do not use a play list.

The DJ is the life of the wedding, they know how to get the crowd on the dance floor and when to announce formalities for the wedding, first dance, cake cutting....etc.
my suggestion is, look at other items where you may be able to cut cost, but the DJ is a must.
Quick Story:
I had a wedding several months ago, the couple spent a lot of money and it was all beautiful, but the music fell short. The bride didn't think she would need a DJ and opted for a playlist on her phone. The play list would skip, and the connection was bad. It was a total mess.
I highly recommend against doing this.

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I agree with these reflections. I've always recommended that couples get a DJ because I've been to quite a few where the "playlist" is a disaster. It's important to have a good mix of uptempo and slow songs so that people can pace themselves on the dance floor. You also want a mix of music to appeal to different types, so some oldies for the parents and their friends and then contemporary music for yourselves.

My dad was in charge of the ipod/ MC'ed a few weddings as favors to his nieces, and even the best of intentions go awry. He just didn't have the experience to be able to read the room and to put in a mixture of songs with different beats. The playlist idea worked great for the cocktail hour and during dinner, but didn't go as well for the dancing. He also lacked experience to know when the best time to do the cake cutting, bouquet toss, etc. that a professional would know.

View Quoted Comment Lol I totally get it. Though I’ve also read horror stories about people’s DJs messing stuff up like this too, so I guess it’s somewhat of a gamble either way

If you are going to make your own playlist, make sure to lay out songs hour by hour so that it is planned and not just a "shuffle" list. I would also recommend having someone act as MC to keep your events announced and on track!

I’m with you on the playlist, which is not only cheaper but we can choose what we want, played at the volume we want (low for people to hear each other). I don’t want a lot of extra ‘noise’.

It depends on what you want for your wedding and the crowd. A dj can set the mood for your wedding. if you can find a fordable dj it will be worth it bc he/she can set the tone and read your guest that you are looking for. We are getting a dj bc we like to have a good time and so do our guest.

Definitely a "know your crowd" situation like others have said. My finance's family loves to dance at these kinds of events, but my family does not. They'll sit and talk and have a great time really enjoying themselves, but it won't be on the dance floor. We hired a DJ with the intention of joining together the families more so it doesn't end up being my family at the tables and my soon-to-be-in-laws all on the dance floor. But, that was a decision we talked about a lot ourselves, and we used personal connections to get a pretty good deal on a great DJ, so it works out for us!

I think as long as you pick good music that matches your crowd, a playlist is fine. That is what we are doing, but we are also making sure we have someone in charge of getting on the mic and announcing stuff like first dance and cake cutting, and changing it from sweet playlist to party one when the time is right. A playlist is plenty as long as there is someone who can help it along!

We just did a playlist and had wireless speakers and it worked out just fine for us.

I am following this thread because I have the same question. My venue has all the equipment and made sure to note it as an option that we can create our own playlist or have a DJ. Just looking for opinions ☺️

I could not have imagined our wedding without a DJ. They pace the entire reception and emcee the whole night. If you aren't doing entrances, first dance/parent dances, toasts/speeches, grand exit, or any other special events, you can probably get away without having one. But if you plan on doing any type of traditional wedding events during your reception, a DJ is almost a must. Who will emcee your reception if you go without a DJ?

Were renting equipment from Guitar Center and using my ipod touch with my apple music to make playlists which will be downloaded and ready to go. We have a cocktail hour, first dances, and a dance playlist. Neither one of our families are big dancers. At his sister's wedding it was 95% of his new brother in laws family on the dance floor. My family parents big dance people either. Were going to have someone MC for us and has done so for other events for family and friends. My fiance and I aren't really dancers either. We dont want to pay a ton of money for something we dont really need. We have a beautiful mix of music for everyone. We have oldies, country, rock, pop, gaming, and classical.

I would not want to deal with the stress of a Spotify playlist, technology in general, on my wedding day. Trust me, you just want to leave everything to everyone else so you can enjoy your day with your new HUSBAND!

We are not having a DJ! My fiance is a musician, so he has all the equipment. We are just going to make playlists and have our friend (who works at a music venue) coordinate when to play certain things.

That is hard...I got a DJ because he does more than play music, he is the master of ceremonies, keeping everyone on track with what is happening, an making sure people are having fun. If you have someone who can be good on the mic, they can make or break a good party. I do understand the cost though! I search high and low and found a retire DJ that is training his grandson and is a friend of a friend so I got him at a good discount. But it took a lot of looking an dead ends.

Hoping beauty and the best of wedding days for you.

My wedding was definitely a budget wedding. We did not use a DJ because of the cost, and our venue (our church), let us use production and sound for $150, so I made a CD. I planned out which songs who would walk down to what, and what times, and the production guy did an amazing job of making sure it worked. I would suggest a playlist or a CD, for sure! No point in spending the money if you would rather spend it on something else!

Let me add though, I didn't have a normal reception. We just did cake & punch with some background music. But we did that also to save money.

Definitely not doing a DJ, simply because of the fact that I find having a live band more entertaining. My fh's dad will be our live band, and I think it'll be fun, they play a lot of classic rock, so it will be nice to listen too. My fh and I aren't too into parties.

View Quoted Comment Yes, I was pleased we went with live musicians, and a personable band leaders, with several CD's of other music we liked for their break, and after they left, 11:30 pm to 3am. Better than a DJ for us. Neither of us likes the DJ / club atmosphere as much as a band with a wide variety of musical styles.