DJ for reception, what about ceremony?

My ceremony and reception are in the same room, so I can't comment from personal experience. I would say to use a really good stereo system, but the speakers may not be loud enough...perhaps you could rent or purchase speakers that can be hooked up to your phone to use to play the music?

I was thinking something of that nature too....just not sure how to go about ceremony music on my phone. I do have an iPhone if that helps anyone.

My ceremony and reception are at the same place but in different rooms and my dj is doing my ceremony and my reception but I will have 2 dj's. One will set up for the ceremony and then leave and the other will set up for the reception.

Use I-Tunes and download the wedding music

Again, I'm not sure on how clear the music will be or how loud, so you may want to test it out outdoors (sound is different indoors versus out) to be sure it will be loud enough.

Sunshine,

If you're using a professional DJ, s/he should have a second sound system for your ceremony. This is very typical. If they don't have a second system, you may ask them for a referral to another DJ/company who can handle the ceremony.

@MCDJCarlos My FMIL actually works with the DJ. I haven't actually spoken with him because she is handling it. (One less thing for me to worry about, which has had the opposite effect. She is currently out of town.). I'm currently just going by the price quote she gave me for 4 hours. It's already at the top of my budget, although its the best deal we've found. Most DJs in the area charge an additional $100+ per hour after their 4 hour base price. I'm just trying to prepare myself for that situation. I will find out for sure next week when she gets back into town and get his contact info. Thanks for the advice though.

Our ceremony and reception are at one location...ceremony outdoors, reception indoors....our DJ is bringing a 2nd smaller system that he uses for just such purposes. Also included are wireless mic's for the officiant, readers, etc. And it was only a couple hundred dollars to add that to the package. That additional cost was well worth it in my opinion...now I don't have to figure out ceremony music and sound system issues....all the music for the whole day will be dealt with by one vendor.

My parents are professional DJs and have been all my life (30+ years). They don't have a 2nd system, but can hook their laptop (with the music downloaded) up to their speakers (which can be transported and broken down fairly simply) to play the music in a second location. You don't really need a mixer or all the equipment for a ceremony. You don't even really need mics. You just really need the music to be heard. My opinion. That is all.

Does it have to be pre-recorded music? I've seen weddings where they have an acoustic musician at the ceremony [violin, harp, guitar etc] that doesn't need any electricity so they can play anywhere. You may be able to find music students from a local school that are less expensive but just as good. I heard a violinist play "Bless the Broken Road" as the bridal party walked down the aisle and it was amazing!

Don't forget that your officiant and readers will need sound too.

Do you really want to go cheap on your ceremony? Worth the extra $100 for professional sound and a good mic so everyone can share in the moment :-).

I'm having an outdoor ceremony and we are having violinists play for our wedding

It's not that I want to go cheap, it's that I literally have nothing left in my budget. We are having a very short ceremony, maybe 15-20 mins. I guess once my FMIL gets back into town I'll get the DJs info from her and see what he can do. Thanks everyone.

Agree with DJ Luna....do you want to cheap out the music for your ceremony? If it is your personal equipment...who would run it for you? How capable would they be? To have your venue or dj service do so would be less than $200. If a friend messed up your music that you were walking down the aisle it would not be pretty.

My DJ does ceremony music too. We are having it at the same venue but outside ceremony. He is bring a smaller system for the ceremony.

I understand that. I was just trying to get different ideas of what other people are doing for ceremony music besides a DJ. Like I've said before unless he will go over the 4 hour base price by 20 mins or so, I won't be able to afford to add any more time. I just don't have it in the budget. I'm not trying to cheap out, I'm just asking for other opinions of what others did. Thanks for the input though.

We are having out ceremony and reception at same place but our ceremony will be outside.. Like the ladies mentioned before if you have a professional dj they should have 2 sound systems.. They are setting up one outside for ceremony and one inside for reception and they should have backup equipment incase anything happens.. You never know.

My venue has a small sound system that will be used outdoors for the ceremony by the DJ that way all the DJ equipment will be inside for the reception. You should see if your venue has sound equipment.

@MrsNewBeginnings,

I would like to share a different point of view. As Celia mentioned (Hi Celia) one of the biggest reasons for getting a PA (Sound System) for your ceremony, is so that your guests can hear the officiant clearly.

As a bonus, when we do a ceremony sound system, we set up a condenser microphone that is well hidden from pictures, leaving the officiant's hands free. This has another advantage. The microphone is good enough to pick up the actual vows as they are being shared. However, this type of microphone requires a 48v Phantom Power so most "basic" DJ mixers do not have that capability. I'm including a picture of our condenser microphone.

And, as (again) as Celia said... you may also have readers and/or singers at your wedding. If they can use a different microphone, it will make your ceremony flow more smoothly, making it more enjoyable for your guests.