Reception Music: dj vs Spotify?

We greatly considered doing this, but I'm so glad we reconsidered. DJ's do so much more for the atmosphere of a wedding than just music being played. I went to a wedding in October with no DJ. Half the time the music being played didn't fit the mood at all, the music was WAY too loud during dinner, and the brides kept having to pull one of the guests aside to put on the right music/change the volume (which I thought was a little rude of them). Not to mention there was no one to make announcements, so no one even knew when the father/daughter dance was happening, the cake cutting, the garter toss. The guests weren't involved in the wedding at all. Once dinner was over, most people left because there was hardly any "party" mood that made people want to dance. I would highly recommend working a DJ into your budget if you can.

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Yeah, I definitely agree with Amber. I mean the playlist route could definitely work, but you'd have to have trusted people to actually make announcements throughout the course of the reception, to keep all guests informed.

I also agree with Amber. Though if you are going to hire a DJ make sure you ask them if they will emcee the night for you as well. Some DJs do not do this.

DJ's are MOCs so I would definitely recommend a DJ and a good one to start the party and keep the party going

We are doing Spotify. We are having a very intimate reception and there is no point of having a DJ for 12 people. 😄😂

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!)

I think this depends on the type of reception vibe you are going for. If you want a fun, party vibe at your reception with a lot of dancing, a DJ (in my opinion) is a must. Also, if you plan on having special dances, doin toasts, etc., a DJ is important because they will act as an emcee for these events. DJ’s also know how to flow songs from one to another. Your Spotify playlist will not do that. Without a DJ, you will likely have less dancing and your guests will probably leave earlier. I would highly suggest reconsidering this.

I considered it but ultimately didn't because I'd need to rent speakers and a mic anyway and it came out to be only a tad cheaper than the dj I found

We got a DJ/emcee to control the timeline of the night and make announcements/introductions. They’re professional and have done hundreds of weddings, so they have a lot of experience and know what goes on at weddings.