Spotify playlist?

I’ve been to weddings with just a playlist and it’s fine for background music but I’ve never seen people on the dance floor without a DJ or band.

The one wedding I went to with no dj and just a playlist was a super small church reception and after the first dance there was no dancing at all but just background music

We recently went to a wedding with just a Spotify playlist, and no one danced. I was pretty bummed!

In addition to the feedback you've already received, a DJ does so much more than just turn the music on and off. They are the MC for the event and help move the guests along with the planned timeline. Daughter's DJ was really thorough about getting feedback from her and SIL about their music preferences, but he was the one who "read the room" and managed the timing and order of the music they selected. Their wedding was all in one place, so he provided pre-ceremony music while the guests were being seated, the music for the ceremony as well as the microphones for both the officiant and a lapel mic on the groom so the guests could hear the B&G during their vows, he provided the music for cocktail hour, announced when it was time for guests to move to the reception room, and handled all the announcements/music/etc. for the 5.5 hr reception. HE MADE THE RECEPTION AWESOME and kept the dance floor packed until the very end. I've been to a family wedding with a play list.... Except for the 1st dance, and MOG and FOB dances, no one danced. Also, those "spotlight" dances were incredibly painful to watch because the couple never considered playing shortened versions of the songs, so those three dances lasted a good 12-15 minutes total. Good luck!

I think it depends on the particulars of your wedding. We are just doing a playlist, but that is also because we are having a DW with a sit down plated dinner then just a casual open bar atmosphere after dinner, before hitting Bourbon street for drinking and dancing. I think if you are doing something of that nature, then it’s fine. Or if you are having just a casual reception where people aren’t really going to dance. If you plan to have a traditional reception where you want people up on the dance floor, then you may want to look into having a DJ.

View Quoted Comment Totally agree with Kelly.

We did that. People were dancing all night long - in general I think DJ's suck. They talk too much and most don't play great music. I also am not a fan of the wedding party announcements, MC "duties" etc, so we had no need for that. When a couple ppl made toasts, they just grabbed the mic, no need for announcing it.

I made playlists on iTunes and gave a lot of thought to the order of songs (mix in a slow one every 5-6 songs for the first hour or so, start with more "oldies" fun that gets everyone on the dance floor, move toward more current/popular as you move toward the end).

We just plugged my laptop into the sound system at the venue and had an identical backup playlist on spotify and both our phones.

A DJ helps the flow of the entire evening too and acts as an emcee. We went to 1 wedding with a DIY music station (like you are mentioning) and there really wasn't much dancing, songs ended up replaying, music was too loud at times, didn't fade out seamlessly, etc.