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Dedicated May 2022

Has Anyone Else Diy-ed their music?

Elysia, on March 22, 2022 at 12:03 PM Posted in Wedding Reception 0 12

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I need some advice. From the beginning my fiancé and I decided we were going to do the music ourselves. It felt like a waste to pay for a DJ when all we need is ceremony music and background music for the reception. We’re not doing dancing. I made all the playlists on my phone, and now that we’re two months away from the wedding we’re trying to figure out how to make this work. The venue doesn’t have a sound system so we need to bring in our own speakers, microphones, etc. We have a Bluetooth speaker but it’s small and I don’t think it’s enough. I’m really not sure what to buy either.

We also don’t have anyone to press play or make announcements. We don’t want to ask any of our guests to do it because we want them to enjoy the day and not “work” at our wedding. I’m started to get stressed out because there doesn’t seem to be any way to make our DIY music happen. Is it even possible to try to hire a DJ this close to the wedding? I have no idea what to do.

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Latest activity by Grace, on March 23, 2022 at 4:36 PM

Dedicated September 2022
Mayumi · on March 22, 2022 at 12:11 PM
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I hired a dj just for 4 hours, super understanding of how we just needed music for the ceremony and for are lunch. That we didn’t want to dance or do speeches. We were going to do the dyi route but the more extra planning we’d have to do. It seemed better to leave that up to a professional and stress about that less. 😊
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Beginner April 2022
Xy · on March 22, 2022 at 2:23 PM
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We are doing this. Our wedding is in a large historic home (50 guests), so we bought 4 Bluetooth speakers. We tested the sound quality at the venue just a couple of weeks ago & it was great. We do have a DOC that will be taking care of the ceremony music. I don’t have any suggestions for that one except to ask a trusted friend or family member (which is what we were going to do until our DOC stepped in). Make sure that you download your playlists to your device.
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Dedicated October 2021
Stephanie · on March 22, 2022 at 2:26 PM
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I think you need to work with your venue to see what they can do to help. We DIY’ed our music using a computer and the venue’s sound system. The venue staff handled starting/stopping the playlist, and we put it on a loop.

You have an extra wrinkle with needing to bring your own speakers—maybe that’s doable, depending on your venue/guest list size, but your venue people/coordinator should have a better idea.
Since you need really simple DJ services, hopefully if it’s not feasible to bring it in yourself, you will be able to hire a DJ quickly if needed.
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VIP September 2020
Willow · on March 22, 2022 at 3:31 PM
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Day of coordinator or task rabbit. I don't recommend a task rabbit, since it would be a rando
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Devoted October 2022
Brittany · on March 22, 2022 at 5:55 PM
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A lot of DJ services will rent equipment if you truly don't need anyone to run the sound, but they will often require their own crew to set up and take down equipment. Our DJ service rents equipment like speakers and mics. Definitely check with your venue to see if they have their own microphones if that is something you are expecting the officiant to use during the ceremony, and whether they have the lapel mic that gets clipped to clothes or handheld mics.
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Dedicated May 2022
Elysia · on March 23, 2022 at 7:47 AM
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That’s exactly what I was thinking. And I’m hoping that maybe a dj won’t cost as much if we don’t need full service from them.
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Dedicated May 2022
Elysia · on March 23, 2022 at 7:50 AM
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It’s nice to hear that it can be done! I actually just bought a large portable Bluetooth speaker that should work for us. We just need to test it out in the space! We just need to find a friend to ask. And that’s a great tip about downloading the songs to my device, I didn’t think of that!
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Dedicated May 2022
Elysia · on March 23, 2022 at 7:52 AM
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I talked to our coordinator at our venue, and she said they have an older sound system that isn’t super reliable, so she recommends we bring our own stuff.

We don’t have a huge guest list (under 50), so I’m hoping the Bluetooth speaker I just bought will be enough. Just need to test it out!
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Dedicated May 2022
Elysia · on March 23, 2022 at 7:53 AM
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I didn’t think about asking our coordinator, I’ll see if she can help!
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Dedicated May 2022
Elysia · on March 23, 2022 at 7:54 AM
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That’s good to know! I’ll look more into that. I know my venue doesn’t have microphones, but my officiant won’t need one. We have a smaller guest list so everyone shouldn’t have a problem hearing us.
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Dedicated September 2022
Mayumi · on March 23, 2022 at 11:53 AM
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I paid about 1095, but he’s been a dj since 1995. Also it has travel fees added on and tax included into the price. 😊
But I’d just suggest to ask some djs about a 4 hour service and see how much they quote you. Doesn't hurt to ask and find out.
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Super February 2022
Grace · on March 23, 2022 at 4:36 PM
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Our DJ was hired within a month of our wedding. It helped that our wedding was on a Tuesday and not at a busy time of year. For us, the expense was completely worth it! We originally planned to DIY the music but my MIL convinced us not to. She was in charge of the music for my sister-in-law's wedding and it was a disaster on multiple levels. Our DJ helped us stay on schedule, provided the sound equipment (including wireless microphones and some additional lighting), took over as the master of ceremonies, and filled out the playlist to fill the time completely.
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