Dj's and no dancing? (covid precautions)

If you're not having dancing, don't pay for a dj. Set up background music and leave it at that. If a service is not applicable to the party you're having, there is no reason to pay for it.

It is super crazy and strrssful. And who knows what other changes between now and then you will have to embrace.


Dj's also emcee so if you want introductions remember to circle back and fill that slot!

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Ah yeah, that's something I hadn't thought about. I assume we would also need to get the needed AV equipment for speeches and such. Ugh.

Thank you for reminding me!

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Many DJs provide this kind of equipment, so that might be a benefit to consider. It was in the pre-Covid wedding era, but daughter's DJ was super instrumental is helping manage the agreed upon timeline for the day and served as a MC. He took care of the preceremony music, then managed the ceremony music (songs may need to be faded in and out to match the processional timing, etc.), he provided the mics for the officiant and the B&G (a lapel mic on G...), afterward he made announcements (asked the guests to all stand and face the back of the ceremony space so the photographer could get the group photo, moved guests to cocktail hour and helped corral those who needed to stay put for photos, etc.), he provided the music for cocktail hour, then provided the prompts to move guests to the reception space. In the reception area, he handled all the announcements, introductions, music, etc. Without any dancing, I understand a DJ wouldn't be needed for that key part of the day, but a good DJ may still be worth considering -- not a necessity, but not a complete waste either. Good luck!

Similar situation here. I booked our DJ two years ago and just canceled with him in July.

Our venue's restrictions have been evolving with state guidelines, so they've gone from no dancing at all to allowing socially distant dancing with masks. I don't see this changing by October, and that's not the kind of party I had in mind.

We've cut our guest list from 130 to 30-40 and will just be doing a formal dinner instead of a traditional reception. I couldn't justify that $1400 for a DJ anymore.

Now, I did ask our DJ if he offered any "micro wedding" packages or something - like if he could do the ceremony/cocktail hour music and provide mics, etc. For him, it was all or nothing, which I respect.

Right now I'm looking into bluetooth speakers and such to just run the background music on our own, but this is a logistical headache I didn't want. I'm considering looking for other DJs who may have a micro wedding package for like $500 or something, but it doesn't seem like many in my area have pivoted to that kind of offering.

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If you haven't yet, try looking on Thumbtack. Daughter was super picky about her vendors (with great results), but last minute she decided to try and find a reasonable videographer. She tried Thumbtack for the first and only time and found a wonderful husband wife pair who had her date free -- they charged about a quarter of what she'd been quoted earlier in the planning by others. Also, the closer you get to your date, you might find someone willing to agree to provide a reduced service for a lower price (some work is better than no work on that date...). Good luck!

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Thank you! I hadn't tried looking there yet!

(I'm normally pretty picky about vendors and painstakingly researched and selected ours, but considering the circumstances and the timeline, I'm willing to go a little outside of my comfort zone!)

If it helps, we just had our wedding and kept the DJ. All outdoor ceremony and reception with total of 105 guests. Our DJ was fabulous and kept things moving so I didn’t have to. DJ John Gallagher (if you are in PA). We had significant dances only, he also did the ceremony music when our original plan fell through, orchestrated speeches, sound, up lighting for our tent, and played our newly selected soft rock music through out the evening. Also did the last song and wished everyone well at the end of the night. For us, our DJ was an asset to keep things on track and he took a lot of our worry off us. Good luck to you and certainly whatever you and your fiancé decide for your special day is the best choice!!! ❤️