Playlist Instead of Dj?!

I personally think it's a bad idea DJ's are good to keep the party going, they can read the crowd and know what song to play next to keep guests happy especially if your guests really want to hear a certain song. You're going to have to rent all the audio equipment anyways which will be a huge cost in itself whereas the DJ will bring all that with them.

Also I'd just like to point out you should be inviting everyone to both the ceremony and the reception it's a super rude move not to, your basically saying you're good enough to eat with us and buy a gift but not to watch us make our vows. If I wasn't invited for both I would be super offended and not go to the wedding. Only exception is if you only have immediate family Moms, Dads, sibling and their spouses even that is not the best but people will understand that, they won't understand just not making the list for no particular reason.

We aren't having a DJ either, just a playlist but we also aren't doing dances etc and having a buffet vs a seated dinner. It sounds like what you're wanting is a DJ but without hiring a DJ lol. I'd suggest maybe looking into a local band or something for your music and have them do your announcements or if you are hiring a wedding planner/DOC, see if they can do your announcements over your music but you'll still need a playlist and possibly even a mic. I get what you're saying but I think you need a DJ. Otherwise you'll be asking others to do a DJ's job.

View Quoted Comment Yes and no. Like I said, we are not really dancers and nor are our guests. We do want to have a first dance and if people choose to dance to whatever is playing, that's great.

Our dinner will be picnic/buffet style like yours (outside either under a large white tent, or at open tables).

I hate DJs and definitely don't want one. But EVERYONE and their mother tells me that you need someone to talk to the guests and announce when to eat, when to do this, etc. But I get what you are saying.

The answer I'm looking for is to the question, "How are you making your playlist work?" Thanks.

We aren't having a DJ Most of the DJ's we've come across at weddings have been cheesy and played a bunch of music we didn't like. I asked my brother to help keep an eye on the playlist during the wedding and I have separate playlists for reception music, special songs, dinner etc.

View Quoted Comment Love it! I'm in the same boat! Separate playlists for different times make sense. What are you using to make the playlist and to project it? Do you have anyone to announce transitions if needed?

We are using Spotify and I am going to get the premium version a month before the wedding so I can download all the playlists to my computer. The camp we are renting out has speakers and microphones so we will use those and a friend has offered to be the MC to make announcements.. shes quite excited about it

We were in a wedding that didn’t have an DJ, emcee duties where decided between the groomsmen. Each had a specific time they took over, a script to read, and a playlist to start. It worked totally fine.

A DJ was a must have for me because I love a good dance floor and I want someone actively working to keep the dance floor full but weddings can be done without one

Just as an FYI I spent a lot of time researching DJ vs. no DJ, read so many articles and forums and there are so many mixed opinions. Do what is best for you For us, spending the money on a DJ was not something I wanted to do

View Quoted Comment That is a great idea! I'll keep Spotify in mind! Thank you! It's awesome your friend is excited! That is always a good thing!

Honestly, I WISH we did this. I'm very good at making playlists that appeal to everyone and I love doing it. It really upset me that I couldn't micromanage the DJ. He didn't play a lot of the songs I wrote down that I reallyyy wanted and he played a lot of songs I specifically said not to... and guess what happened when those songs played... everyone stopped looked at each other like "whaaaat in the world"

So my recommendations would be DEFINITELY have someone you trust MC, get/rent quality speakers and as far as making a playlist goes, consider the ages of your guests. For our wedding 80s and 90s music was a favorite by a landslide and the occasional 50s-60s hit was also enjoyable.

View Quoted Comment That's a good idea too. I'm glad to hear you've been to a successful one. If you love a good dance floor it is a must! Thanks!

I’ve been to a wedding without a DJ where 60 people were dancing all night & it was a lot of fun! I’ve also been to a wedding with an awful DJ lol where nobody was dancing.
You do not have to have a DJ. Will you have a dance club athmosphere without a great DJ, no. But as you say, you don’t want that anyway.

I would make different playlists for different parts of the day: ceremony, dinner, first dance etc & then after dinner/dancing part. If you own a lot of music (like I do lol), you can play from your laptop/phone. There are apps that mix a playlist by finding the best flow & adding fade between the songs etc. I’ve heard Pyro & Edjing Mix are very good. If you don’t have lot of your own music, getting premium subscription with Spotify as pp mentioned is a good idea!

For MC you can ask a friend who is good with speaking in front of people to announce couple things. There is really not a lot to do there. I’ve seen this done at 2 weddings & it worked well.

We’re still debating on DJ or no DJ. Our venue charges to use their existing sound system, which is annoying. But I love the idea of making our own playlists, because we’re both good with music & it’s important for me that majority of songs played are the ones we pick!

View Quoted Comment Exactly, Brittany! That is a huge part of our reasoning. We have been to weddings with awful DJs who completely ignored what the bride and groom wanted. I don't want typical cheesy music and banter.

We love 80s and 90s music! Thanks for telling me about your experience. I really do appreciate it.

View Quoted Comment Thanks for the input Iva! You gave us a lot of great things to consider and look into! I love the idea of making our own playlists and having the control too. Those programs are super helpful. Thanks! (:

I think the general opinion on this website is that you MUST have a DJ and that no one will dance and be extremely bored if you don't.

We are not having a DJ either.. I went to a friend's wedding without one and we danced until they kicked us out basically haha - if your guests are people who enjoy to dance, they will dance, if they don't like dancing, it wouldn't matter if you had a DJ or not.

I don't know if this is an option for you but we are getting married in Nashville and rented sound equipment from a company. We will have great speakers for our reception, a mic for announcements, and separate speakers, a lapel mic, and a mic for vows for the ceremony - so much cheaper and we know the sound will be great!

We will be doing the same that some others mentioned - separate playlists for basically every part of the event and plan to have a few options for dance floor - in case everyone is loving a certain vibe and we can just keep going in that direction. There are tons of awesome websites where people lay out how many playlists you will need and so on. Good luck! You've got this!

View Quoted Comment You are welcome! I’m glad if I can help 🙂 Have fun with it, enjoy the process of putting playlists together & I’m sure it will turn out great!

Sidenote: I typed a really long reply to someone earlier this morning and it is gone now. Would anyone know why that happened?

We aren't having a DJ. We have a small budget and that was one very easy way to cut corners. We're asking a friend who is a theater person to emcee, because we know she'll be comfortable with a mic, know how to speak clearly, and just do an overall good job at that part. We are having dancing, but I'm not worried about people not dancing because there isn't a DJ. Music is music. We're gonna put together a playlist ahead of time, and we're asking for requests on the RSVP cards. We're creating it on spotify and will have my laptop, so we can always add songs and take requests during as well. I had a friend do this recently and it worked out perfectly. On the flipside, another friend had a DJ at her wedding, and he played lame music all night.

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Yeah. I kind of get that vibe too. We are going to have other forms of entertainment and things to do instead of dance, so I am sure everyone will stay busy. Thank yo for letting me know what you are doing! That is helpful. Thanks so much!

Im doing this! So I'm having my niece (late teens and tech savvy) be in charge of the playlist. Our announcement ls will be pre-recorded as part of the playlists (which are broken down by sections- Dinner, First dance, Dance, end of the night). Im just buying a good, but economical set of speakers, attaching to my laptop, and buying a $14 microphone just in case we need it.