Thoughts from those who went without a dj

We didn’t have a DJ. We originally planned to have one but we downsized our guest list from 225 to 35 (just immediate family) and moved our wedding up in case everything shut down again. The reason we chose to not have one was because we didn’t really think it was worth it, my husband’s family doesn’t really like to dance (my husband’s family decided that they were going to make the night fun for us because we had to adjust things and a lot more then I expected did end up dancing and it was a great time). We had my husband’s brother announce us, he has a voice that really carries. We bought two Bluetooth speakers and synced them and played music off playlists we made on Spotify. We made playlist for each part of the wedding: ceremony, cocktail hour, dinner, etc). We bought wonderbooms and they also have an outdoor setting. I think we could have even bought one more to make it louder but they worked really well. My brother took charge for a little bit, all he did was just click on the songs, we instructed him when and what to play beforehand. The rest of the time we kind of all took turns, because it was just family we kind of just went with the flow of everything. It wasn’t perfect exactly but it was fun and laid back. I don’t know that I wish we had a dj, if it was our original guest list I would absolutely say yes, but because it was close family I think what we did worked out really well.

We're not having a DJ. We've got playlists made for each part (cocktail hour, dinner, party time). We're not big dance party people and we aren't doing a lot PC the traditional stuff (no speeches, no tosses, no other awkward things). My friend has sound equipment that we're gonna use. I'm taking care of the music because between me and mmt fiance, I'm the one who can handle public speaking slightly better. We have about 100 people who RSVP'd yes. Our wedding is in 9 days. I'll let you know how it goes.

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!) We had 98 guests, and everyone seemed to have an awesome time! Once we went off playlist and started choosing songs based on the mood, tons of people danced for a couple hours!

We are having a band and a separate MC because that is something we want for our day so I cannot give advice based on my experience, but, I will say this - whoever you pick to facilitate music and overview of the night, make sure it is someone who is organised, will not get crazy drunk that they can't commit to it, and above all; is actually willing to commit to this.

I say this because so many times have I seen someone appoint a friend or relative who has been completely disinterested or has had a bit too much to drink. Be prepared that there might be a few possible hiccups (as can happen even where you hire a DJ and MC!) but don't take anything too seriously, enjoy yourselves!

To add, I would put together a schedule of events detailing all the things this nominated person needs to know so that they aren't left on the spot remembering things, but I imagine that is to be expected anyway.

We had a micro wedding (15 guests), no dancing so no DJ. We had a soloist for our ceremony & cocktail hour and switched to a playlist for dinner and it was perfect. We didn’t do announcements but when we skipped out to change at cocktail hour, the coordinator closed the reception doors, guests were clapping for us to enter, and we did a grand entrance then gave our welcome speech. Perfect.

We didn’t - 75 guests, so not a tiny wedding. We used playlists for dinner music and then dancing, which worked just fine; my brother-in-law was our MC and he did a great job. It’s pretty common here to have a family member or close friend act as MC - I think pretty much every wedding I’ve ever been to that’s been the case. I knew my BIL would do a good job as he’d already MC’ed his sister’s wedding (and when we asked him he was so excited he jumped up and hugged me before I even finished what I was saying!).

1 - We were looking for a "garden party" feel, not a dance party.

2 - Our DOC made all announcements

3 - 64

4 - Except when the sound system blew a breaker - yes

5 - Not even a little bit - our wedding was exactly what we wanted

I went to a wedding last year without one and they just borrowed a speaker system from a friend.

they didn't do any of the traditional things like speeches or dances or anything though so that made it kind of easier. they just used the speaker system more for background music.

It wasn't me, but my brother and SIL last year.

1. Budget

2. My brother meticulously created a playlist to run in order from dinner until the end of dancing with transitions. They had a BIL do announcements because he's charismatic and his voice carries.

3. They probably ended up with 75-80 people

4. I don't know how they felt, but there were people dancing on and off for sure! There just obviously wasn't any human gauge on what the guests wanted played next. Also announcements did depend on the BIL, and he was doing it out of the goodness of his heart not because it's his profession, so there were some delays.

5. My brother has repeatedly said he wouldn't do it again, it was too much work. Good thing he only gets married once.

My fiancé and I are getting a DJ despite having quite an intimate group (less than 50 guests) because most of the guests don't know each other (!!!) and I wanted the stress of running the day to be on a professional. I want the DJ to be able to break the ice. If you anticipate already that guests won't want to dance and you're willing to put in a little work into the playlist, I think it's a good spot to save money for sure! Especially if they're already asking for a room...

My future brother in law did not have a DJ at his wedding last year (100 guests). For the most part it worked out really well and they are happy they went without a DJ. Based on what I saw and their one noted regret, my only advice is:

1. Make sure the person responsible for MCing knows that they are doing it well in advance. They asked my partner during dinner the night of the wedding, and while he was happy to help he wished he had a timeline to go off of or a chance to mentally prepare. It didn't stop him from having fun though!

2. If you want to keep the flow cohesive make sure none of the guests know the password for the device. Everyone would be dancing and having a great time, and a few of the guests would just the music in the middle of the song. This may not mean much for you since you noted that you're not sure how much dancing will actually happen, but at the wedding I went to one guest kept playing rather depressing break-up songs just because they could. Regardless of the dancing, I'm guessing this would not be the vibe you're going for.

Now that we've cut our guest list to 20, we are also using a playlist instead of a DJ. That brings me to my final note, which came from my photographer: you may still want to have dance floor lighting. If you are doing special dances that need to be photographed, she strongly recommend having at least a spotlight style light (suggested color changing, not white) to add to the mood of the photos. I think this obviously depends on the venue you chose, but since our reception is in a tent her concern was having the right lighting without the harsh camera flash.

I put a deposit down on a DJ prior to Covid. Our wedding was moved from June to October 17, 2020. We live in NY and getting married in the Upstate NY area. We are now being told we can have a DJ but no dancing is allowed. At this point I'm not sure it's worth forking out money for a DJ when we can easily play music from our own sound system. We aren't doing traditional stuff like speeches or flower toss so not sure it's cost effective to hire a dj to just spin music.

So, while I personally didn't have a DJ I was in a wedding that didn't.

We created a playlist of all the songs they wanted to have playing and just had the phone hooked up to the aux cord at the venue. We also had a list of what songs for what events (first dance, cake cutting, garter, etc.), when it was time to play those I was in charge of just playing that song.

The bride didn't regret it at all, and she saved a bunch of money (she just had to pay for apple music to have the songs available, which is like $10 a month i believe). If you do chose to go this route, make sure you have someone picked before hand, and someone as a backup. Print a list of what songs are for what event, or create a playlist labeled as such. (:

No formal DJ, but someone from our church will be in charge of sound for the ceremony. For the reception there isn't a dance floor but we're doing our first dance and that's about it. The rest of the reception will just be playing some relaxing Disney piano music in the background (straight up from youtube).