Skip the Dj??

I don't think full DJs are totally necessary if you have the necessities for music already. I would def have someone serve as Emcee though to help keep things moving smoothly.

There was a post just like this yesterday that got some well thought out and (I think) helpful responses, if you want to scroll through or use the search bar above.

One of my friends didn't have a DJ. She had her cousin's wife help emcee, and agree that's really necessary. On their invitation they asked something like write in a song that will get you out onto the dance floor and they made a playlist out of the songs people submitted. There was definitely still dancing and it was a fun time.

I’ve been to a wedding where they played their playlists & it was still fun & people danced like crazy.
If you have a sufficient sound system in place at the venue (sufficient - meaning it has enough power to play clear & loud enough sound, when the room is full of your guests talking), then I think you can totally skip DJ.
Just make different playlists for different parts of the night (like: ceremony, dinner, dancing) & have a friend who is good with talking in front of crowds be an MC. We are also asking guests to write down 2 songs that would get them on the dance floor, when they RSVP.
Our venue charges for use of their sound system 🤦🏻‍♀️ Otherwise, we would be doing our playlists!

I have. Some friends brought their sound system (they're musicians so it was legit) and an ipod. They set it up and it worked really well. They also chose a charismatic friend to be the emcee.

We are skipping one, but the posts I was reading yesterday were really making me rethink my decision, even though it was one of the first things we decided on. That's one thing about the forums, at the end of the day, you can get tons of advice but you need to do what works for your wedding. It's just not in our budget. I feel like people who are going to dance are going to dance with good music if it's played on a playlist or by a DJ.. Others feel very differently.. We will see what happens 😂

I have a friend who didn't use a DJ and urged my FH and I to use one (the friend was a former DJ so he thought he'd be fine). His music didn't start, their first dance played wrong, the music didn't shuffle. It just wasn't worth the risk for me to not choose a DJ. They make sure the timing is right and will loop a song if necessary (say you're walking down the aisle slower than anticipated).

This is what we’re doing. We decided this from the beginning and never went back! We’re having an afternoon wedding anyway and while we will have a dance floor and the option to dance, neither of us realty care if people do or not :p

That being said, if you’re expecting or wanting people to be dancing a lot, I do think it’s important to have a DJ because your DJ doesn’t just play music, he can also read the room and choose the type of song to play and hype people up when necessary. If you don’t care about that though (which I personally don’t!) then you’ll be fine without one. Just make sure you understand that not having a DJ will create a different atmosphere... as long as you’re good with that, I think it’s a great way to save money.

For a laid-back reception with no dancing, totally fine to skip a DJ. If you want people to dance, I highly recommend a DJ. They read the audience, can mix it up if gets dead on dance floor, have a great sound system, can say or play stuff to inspire dancing.

Previous wedding we had the sound system connected to ipod and a friend controlled it. Worked great.

We skipped having one to save money. I made a spodify playlist for our reception and paid my friend who I hired to perform during my cocktail hour extra to be our MC. It wasn’t perfect- it took a while for people to dance being an afternoon wedding and once people were dancing a slow song would come on and break the flow, but overall I thought it worked in a good enough way- I had a blast dancing at my wedding and that’s the main thing I remember.

I had a birthday party for my daughter( my parties are usually large I'm talking 30-50 kids plus adults) anyway One year I said I'm gonna save some money and not use a DJ. The songs skipped, some didn't play all the way through you get the picture. Don't get me wrong a reception can work without a DJ, but the DJ keeps the flow of the ceremony/reception going, makes introductions/announcements and gets the party started and the people on the floor. But it's all up to you

I’m not having a dj at my wedding and I don’t regret it. I am just doing a playlist over a speaker. BUT, I’m not expecting people to dance and we aren’t doing a first dance or anything like that. We are having an early wedding followed by a catered brunch so we are having a very laid back, no dancing or big party, kinda reception. It all just depends on what you’re going for.

We hired a string trio for the ceremony, but decided we didn’t want a band or DJ for the ceremony. We’re going with DJ Spotify! lol. I have two musician friends that have offered to hook their PA/sound equipment up for me and then we will just play music through Spotify. We’re gonna make playlists for all the different parts of the night (cocktail hour playlist, newlywed intro and first dance, dinner music, cake cutting, early evening dancing, and then the late night stuff might get a little more R rated haha) My friends are also gonna bring my microphones for speeches and they’re also going to introduce us during our grand entrance into the reception and then play our first dance song. They’ve offered to do all of this for free, but I still plan to tip them of course!

^^^ Ok I meant to say that we didn’t want a band or DJ for the reception. Lol

Totally depends on your priorities. We have been to many weddings without DJs and the couple's wanted to dance. It didn't go smoothly. But if you have the right people that help the party going through can work.

The biggest mistakes of weddings without DJs are

1. poor sound systems (if you can hear shoes on the ground louder than the music and you can't feel the music over come you, ok take hard to commit-- as said so by my parents who love to dance and are right there with us at weddings).

2. Danceable music. Sometimes what you're into isn't what your guests want. House music and underground EDM is difficult with generations. artsy slow songs set the stage for being too loungey and make people want to go home. Channel Tom from parks and rec and think about bangers. Some top 40s depending on your crowd, some 90s and 00s hip hop and r&b were good, also some 60s, 70s and 80s songs. Truthfully a lot of the modern music is difficult to dance to.

Again if you are hoping people dance that's one thing but for a proper dance party I would advise to hire a DJ. Not sure how charasmatic your cousin is but could very well be enough! As long as they don't mind working and having a job during the entire wedding.

Can it be done, sure. But a highly skilled DJ / MC that specializes in weddings will make the celebration much more success. A skilled DJ has a playlist of 1000s of songs, they can feel the crowd, mix up the music on the fly, get out of a song skillfully that is not working, etc etc. Additionally, they are the MC. You need someone making announcements so that guests and vendors know what to do and what is coming up. Also, how will you do toasts without microphones. Hiring a highly skilled professional wedding DJ will be $900 - $1800 of very very well spent money.... Soundwave Entertainment, Orlando

It depends on your crowd. You have to remember it isn't just music but DJs also help run the day. They provide the sound for the ceremony, coordinate speeches etc. Now if you find someone who will do this for you, it is good. I had to do this for my friend's wedding and to be honest, it kind of sucked. They also had just a Spotify playlist going. The music was good, but didn't necessarily go with the flow of the group so sometimes there would be a random song that would just kill the party. I think it really just depends on what kind of party you want, what you are looking for, and the people you are with. Nothing wrong with it at all.

Hi there! Did you decide to hire a DJ? Or do it yourselves?

View Quoted Comment We hired someone! We found someone in our budget for our 4 hour shindig so it worked out great!