Small destination wedding NO DJ?

It would be a good idea to have someone monitoring it, and some people fancy themselves rather good at choosing songs for the moment. I would suggest having several playlists, each one clearly labeled. (Reception entrance, special dances, cake cutting, last dance, general dancing, background music for the meal, etc.)

Ok, definitely. WIll make playlists and clearly label them. That way whoever is designated to switch the music, it will be super easy for them to just pick what playlist to play at what time. Thanks!

I had a small (17-person) DW in Mexico. I hired a DJ and here's why: I didn't want any of my guests, or myself and my husband, to have to worry about anything on our wedding day. I even told one of my BMs to put her camera down and let the photographer worry about the pictures, because that's what we were paying them to do (she complied). The DJ was great - he took care of announcements, music, timelines and no one had to worry about anything other than having a really great time. Yes, it cost me almost a grand for only 3 hours, but I don't regret it at all.

I was going to do this but my mom peer pressured me out of it and I guess that was good for me...I hope it works out well for you though.

We're not having one. We're also having a small destination wedding. We'll use an ipod for the ceremony music.

I had an ipod playlist for my first wedding and it was a disaster. Definitely make sure your playlists are broken into (before entrance, entrance, after entrance, toast, after toast, cake cutting, etc). Be as specific as possible and make sure you have more music in each playlist than you think necessary. It will help in the long run. Good luck!

I am having a small DW in Wyoming and I hired a DJ. I think it will be completely worth the money not to have to worry about dealing with music. I want to make my day as stress free as possible and limit any complications.

We didn't have a destination wedding, but we had a smaller wedding with 42 guests and hired a 3-piece band to entertain us. My reasons were the same as SunshineJenn's. We didn't want anyone to have to "work" such an intimate affair or have to worry about anything other than enjoying their time (including us!). The band announced our entrance into the reception, we were able to have a first dance, and a father/daughter dance. Plus they acted as our MC - announced the cake cutting, played while guests arrived, mingled, ate, socialized, etc. It really was one less thing to worry about!