I NEED ADVICE & experiences with DJing your own wedding, Ipod style... well, laptop style actually. Please!

When my mom got remarried my uncle did it and was really good. The easiest thing to do would be to get the funny one in the family to do it and everyone will love it!!(:

Thank you for this post. I really want a DJ but the FH wants to do an ipod stye wedding so we can use that money for something else. I want to make sure that everyone would have a good time. My kind of bro-in-law just started doing DJing and he said he'd charge $400. Not horrible, but I could probably hire a professional for 500 or 600 bucks! so, i'm hoping he'll go down cheap enough where we could use him. If not, IPOD here we come!

We are just going to have playlist and have a list of what songs need to be played at what time and point and then I think we might just let guests pick some of the songs for the recption

$400 is way too much to pay a family member! Do the ipod/ laptop combo. You should be fine. Just ask someone to announce the events. That's what we're doing.

I shot a wedding earlier this year where this was dealt with in a way which indicated not a lot of planning went into it. The groom was the DJ with his iPod, and no one knew how to deal with the emcee portion of things because it wasn't thought out or planned out well. Needless to say, it was a bit of an awkward situation, if not a disaster. Whatever you decide to do, have a clearly laid out plan AND a backup in case that person decides to get shy. I've seen it happen!

I read this great article about how you have to time things, use certain types of songs at certain points. It was really intricate and this person gave their playlist. Their number one recommendation was dont let ANYONE touch your playlist because it ruins the flow of the songs and it can discourage people from dancing. They also said make sure the songs fade together so as not to leave dead air time. Like I said, great article, but it made me realize that there was more to this than I had ANY clue about. I feel more informed, but I'm also more concerned now.

The address is:

http://asongblog.wordpress.com/2011/01/08/dj-your-own-wedding/

Thank you Michael! Great advice!

So you've never seen an "Ipod" wedding that worked well? I plan to be very well informed and organized, and well researched... though as I said, I'm insecure. No one saw anyone's well thought out Ipod situation work? Well, except for Meagan.

LOL! When I just re-read her post, I read it as "when my mom remarried my uncle" and got very confused for a moment. Sorry.

Brian, through my reading, I've learned that, although I must admit I do think sometimes professional DJ's are overly sensative... or... they get unecessarily angry at people for even suggesting playing their own music. I know there are people out there who say that DJ's are a waste of money, and I'm def not saying that. They host parties, and some are great hosts and some are not, but none of them seem to be free, so... here I am, hoping that with some careful research, planning, and a little help from my friends (no pun intended), I can host a reception that a decent DJ would be sort of proud of. I wish I had the money to pay someone else to worry about this, but I just spent it all on my photographer. I'm sure you wont argue with the importance of a good photographer, Brian.

I actually coordinated a wedding using iTunes. While, I don't recommend it, I understand that you have to do what you have to do. She had all her music on her laptop, in groups, first dances, dinner playlist, reception playlist. She had a friend which had sound equipment come in and set everything up (speakers, mic). I agreed that I would be the one to push the buttons and followed the detailed timeline that we had made. She appointed one her bridesmaids as MC. She was a very funny girl, who had no problem being in front of a crowd. Without being highly organized and a great sound system, I don't think it would have worked out as well as it did. Oh, and always have a back up plan! Her playlist were backed up on an iphone.

AN iPod wedding is one of the worst mistakes you can make. I have shot many, none have worked well, it REALLY brings down the experience. There are just certain minimums you need to have when you go for a reception with your wedding. Proper entertainment is just one of them. If you are doing anything more than just a simple intimate affair, you will have regret and disappointment trying to handle it yourselves. This is yet another of the horrible idea perpetuated by magazines designed to sell copies. Right up there with cameras for the guests and cash bars!

Thanks Kristi - that's what I was thinking too! I told my sis (it's her bro in law but i'm close with the family) that 400 was too much considering i could pay a professional just a couple hundred more!

Idk - I really want a dj, I agree with a lot of people that say it would help make the party better. But, like Emily, I'd rather put that money into a photographer! I'm just hoping I could find a cheap but good dj!

Dana, I keep going to back and looking. I've been on craigslist regularly. I don't really even know what cheap enough would be (keeping in mind that if they charge under a certain amount I become skeptical that maybe I COULD do a better job with an Ipod *which I also can't afford!*) Ooo! I guess that's my starting price point. They must be cheaper than a brand new ipod. Ok? So that's probably unreasonable though, right? *sigh* This is rough. Now I'm also having to consider hiring a day of coordinator because I don't have a wedding party, and I can only ask my guests to do so much before it becomes more of a job than a party. Ugh! I've also gone back and forth over the 2 offers I had from people to pay for some aspect of the wedding as the gift, but it's awkward to say ok, how much? You know!? What if paying for a DJ or day of coordinator wasn't what they had in mind? One mentioned maybe the cake, but the caterer included wedding cupcakes in the menu so that's out. (cont.)

The other mentioned the rental chairs, but just because that's what we happened to be talking about, and this was like 2 days after I even decided we were going to go through with having a wedding. Things have sort of progressed since then. I am just not good at this whole spending hundreds or thousands of dollars on stuff thing.

I had an iPod wedding. You know what? People danced. They had fun. THE WORLD KEPT SPINNING. I am so freakin' tired of vendors who have a 'one size fits all, all weddings must have x number of vendors' attitude.

Here's how it worked for us: Our reception was mingly and casual in feel, with the buffet put out as soon as the 90 guests arrived. We kept 'programming' and announcements to a minimum. No speeches, no "table 9 can go up to the buffet" or "the best man will now give a toast." Instead we had four quick announcements: Our arrival, our first dance, the cake, and instructions to board the shuttle back to the hotel for the after-party. Those announcements were handled by a hammy groomsman.

We had three playlists, arranged in order. One was a mellow mix for dinner. The second was just one song, our first dance song. The third was a mix of fun dance music that we know (from experience) will get our friends and family on the floor. We had a friend as "iPod master" and (more)

The iPod was kept behind the bar so only he could fiddle with it. (Otherwise all your hard work goes to waste when your friends skip ahead ten tracks to hear their favorite song, and then you run out of music.)

Now, if you're having a traditional ballroom wedding with lots of speeches, announcements, formal dances, bouquet tosses etc, yes you need a DJ to cue things up and make announcements. (In my opinion, you also need a reality check because guests tend to find that sort of wedding a little dull, but that's neither here nor there.)

But the vendors who are saying it's the "worst mistake" either haven't seen it done right, or they have a very firm idea in their heads of what a wedding ought to be. In that case, good luck with that, as I think weddings are evolving and becoming less traditional and 'programmed.'

That said, I think an iPod is more practical than a laptop, because of breakage/portability issues.

Oh Shannon, I love your posts more and more each time I come across them. I'm SO pleased to hear a detailed positive experience with this. Mine is a buffet in the side garden area of a small B&B 2 blocks down from the beach where the ceremony is being held. It'll be maybe 65 guests, so the fact that you had 90 makes me feel like I've got a great chance to work this out. I didn't want to insult anyone who feels that amatures are stepping on their toes, I mean just as badly as they want to make a living, I'd like to hire them for less than their worth, so essentially I have no room to tell any vendors how to feel. Certainly, I haven't been to as many weddings as Michael or Brian or Amy, but I will say BGPictures' post struck me a tad dramatic. However, I do so badly want to get this right. So thank you Shannon for being my ray of hope, my beacon of positive experience. Just a couple questions for you... (cont)

Just got married two weeks ago and we had a fantastic ipod wedding! We did ours very similar to Shannons- no cheezy announcements or trying to herd people like sheep, very laid back and much more fun. Ours actually sounds pretty similar to yours Emily- at an old rustic B&B, with the ceremony outside. We only announced our first dance, and when it was time to go inside for the reception. My mom made the announcements, my brother cued the music. We just had 3 separate playlists for the ceremony, cocktail hour, and dinner reception. It was amazing, and I wouldn't change if for anything. Plus it's free!

Our sweet little first dance:

Did you hire/pay your "ipod master", or were they a guest? I'd be afraid a guest would get no "guest time", you know? Plus, I should consider myself lucky that the college friends I have in that area are (like me) all theater majors, all actors, and can probably be trusted to be ok standing up in front of a crowd (maybe even officiating -- I have to work on that one too!), I'm just not sure I'd trust them to show up in June for the event if I asked them now, and I'm not sure they'd be available if I ask them then so... that's where I am on that. Also, the laptop would be hooked up inside the venue, and the guests will be outside (weather permitting), but how about a tablet computer? Would that be closer to an ipod? How about a smartphone? My father has gadgets, but def no ipods, other than my husband's shuffle which won't work for obvious reasons.

Clare, adorable! Was your brother in charge of the Ipod the whole time?

Amy, thank you also, for sharing your one positive experience, but also your trepidation. I really appreciate a balanced view.

Oh boy, guys! I might get the nerve to do this!

Am I posting too much on my own post? Probably. I should stop answering my own questions.

I also designed my own DJ itunes-laptop wedding.

We also had a live band, they did the ceremony music and cocktail hour. But they got a break for dinner, so I made the playlist for that, and the hour of music before the concert started.

I had a playlist for dinner - it started soft and as dinner was finishing the songs became more upbeat.

I also had a 1 song playlist titled "cake"

1 titled "first dance"

1 "father-daughter"

and then a playlist for dance music. I had some songs for the parents/grandparents to enjoy and some songs to get the younger crowd out on the dance floor.

We had a live band play our wedding, so they just hooked up our computer to their sound system and they were in charge of starting the playlists in order. After the hour, maybe it was hour and a half of DJ ipod, it was turned off, and the live Pink Floyd tribute band started playing.