Not having a Dj??

I've been to weddings where they didn't have a DJ! Depending on how dance-y your guest list is, sometimes just as many people get up and groove even though there isn't anyone "setting the pace." We got a DJ because pretty much no one in our families are huge dance people, but I wanted to have dancing at the wedding, so we're hoping he can do the impossible task of motivating some of them lol

If your family/friends are big on dancing either way, I would say it's not completely necessary. Generally more people will dance for a DJ, but it's definitely not a "must have" in my opinion.

I think it should be fine a lot of people now a days forego the cost of a dj but I think if it’s in your budget it’s nice to have because they really can help with the flow and announcement of events and setting the mood

View Quoted Comment I agree. I think it will be more work not having one (con) but also more cost effective (pro). Weighing the options.

We are creating playlists on spotify and.having my son who is 20 be the "dj" he just has to make sure the computer doesn't glitch and play certain songs when we give him cues

View Quoted Comment Awesome, sounds super personal doing it that way too

We didn't have a DJ (we used a spotify playlist) and it went over really well! A few things though... make sure you have someone responsible for MCing (like, making announcements, encouraging people to get up and dance, etc) and to manage the playlist. It really isn't enough to just press "play" and let the playlist go... you need to change songs if people aren't responding, adjust the volume, etc.

Another thing is don't be afraid to go off-playlist! We used our playlist for about 30 mins and then my husband's best man (who we had put in charge of manning the playlist) and I ended up just picking some off-playlist songs because we felt like they would fit the mood really well, and THAT was when people actually started getting up and dancing.

A DJ definitely does WAY more than just pressing play on songs. I cannot emphasize how important it is to read the room in order to choose what song (or what type of song) to play next. That being said, I still don't think hiring an actual DJ is "necessary" if you have a friend or relative who would enjoy taking on this responsibility (and who you trust to do so!)

Hello
We're not doing a dj neither were doing a playlist to save some money lol...my vendor said hell mointor and make sure our playlist is running smoothly.

View Quoted Comment What kind of vendor is that who monitors the playlist?

My planner said it pretty simply for us, if we run out of food I can go get chipotle, if we run out of alcohol I can go to the liquor store, but a dj I cannot do because I won’t have the skill nor materials and it’s not something you can change your mind about last minute. Dj does in many ways set the mood and vibe for the wedding and sometimes doubles as MC. So think about what you really want first and foremost, and what you think your guests might like too. If you go the self playlist route then make sure to prep all the songs you like in a playlist, even put them in order, and for your sanity have Bluetooth not just plug in so that you can be remote and change songs if you don’t like the one that plays.

I consider my DJ my most important vendor after venue and bar lol. Other posters have given great pros/cons, personally my reason is I want a professional to get people on the dance floor and manage the flow of our large reception. Good luck!

We're skipping the DJ, our guests aren't really the dancing type and it just seems like a waste of money for us. If you are planning on skipping the DJ though, I would look for someone that can hold the flow of things and make announcements. We have found a Day of Coordinator (a friend of our photographer) that has agreed to also act as the MC keeping the flow of things, making announcements, and queuing up big songs like first dance, etc.

There are some things you might want to consider like if you want a big entrance/exit, is it important to you to have guests dancing, and if you want to do toasts, or games, or a bouquet toss. If these are big for you then I might consider a DJ (if its in the budget).

We are using a Spotify playlist and we have a friend who will be sitting there to man it and run it for the night. Because that individual isn’t real confident on a mic we also have an uncle (who used to DJ weddings) who will be making all of the announcements throughout the evening for us.