What time should DJ start?

She should still be there early to see the setup and have her laptop or anything paired with the system provided. That's important. Have FH explain to her what he is providing and she can let you know how much time she needs.

Are you having ceremony music that she needs to play?

Any other music being provided? (ie band)

My DJ requires an hr set up time. we have him from the top of ceremony till the close of the event.

ETA: It also depends on the logistics of your ceremony/reception space. How far away are the two spaces? Is it all in the same space (like my celebration)? How odd will it be for people to be socializing and the DJ is doing sound test?

It kind of depends on what is going on during your cocktail hour? Are you wanting a DJ or are you just going to forego music? Also, are you going to do the first dance, mother/son, father/daughter dances before dinner? Or after.

My personal suggestion is 7:00 - 11:00. Hope that helps!

I think she should start at 6. If she's doing music for cocktail hour, whether she's using FH's equipment or not she'll still need to get situated, and maybe more so in that case if it's equipment she's not used to working with regularly.

Is she doing the music for the cocktail hour? I think you should give her the timeline and she'll know how much time she'll need to get set up and situated.

Shouldn't your DJ give their professional opinion, based on your timeline, on when she should start?

Our DJ will arrive anywhere from 1hr or 2hrs to set up.

But realistically, I'd say at least 1 hr before ceremony time to make sure everything works and that there is music playing 30min prior to ceremony as guests arrive.

Good point about the setup time; I should have mentioned that she is going to manage that on her end. She just needs to know the time that she will start and end her actual set.

Cocktail hour will be basic background music from an ipod. I envision the first dances being after dinner, if we do them at all.

I would have her start during cocktail hour so that she is all set up and has her stuff synced up to your FH equipment by the time you get back into the main room for the reception. (I think I remember you are also getting married at Aria...wooo!)

Is she assisting with any music during the ceremony?

She needs to be set up a half hour before the ceremony start time so people being seated will have music. If she is doing that.

Gah, I'm apparently off my communication game today. She will not be involved in either the ceremony or the cocktail hour portions of the night. She is exclusively there for the party. I guess my question should have been whether the DJ starts playing immediately when dinner starts or if there is a delay while people eat.

It depends what you want the DJ to do. If she is there to ONLY provide music, no announcements, nothing, then she can just show up whenever you want actual music.

You can live off of ipod for dinner too. Just have her when you want some specific music that is organized to the event.

Having said all that, I still say 30minutes prior to her being used to ensure everything is working. So if you want her to start during first dance until the end of the night, have her show up 30min prior to that.

Thanks for the input, everybody! I think for now I will plan on having her play 8-1 with background music from the ipod before then. She is a relatively well-known DJ in this city, and it seems like a waste of her time and our money to have her standing there pressing play on light jazz while people mingle and eat. Unless anyone can think of a reason that this is a terrible plan. I'm open to changing that, too.

Huh? My DJ is there from ceremony until end of reception. He will STAND THERE and play light music while people are eating. Same for cocktail hour. That's what they do.

I am so confused by all of this. Why would your DJ be using an iPod?

She is bringing her laptop and music database, but the speaker system, microphones, lighting, etc. will come from us. She most commonly works in spaces that have installed sound systems. She can rent those items on our behalf, but since FH has access to them for free through his work there is no need for her to provide them.

Yes, she is definitely a professional DJ. Her primary focus is clubs, club buyouts, DJ exhibitions, and that sort of thing. But she also does private events of all types, including weddings. And yes, she has a significant number of positive reviews specifically as a wedding DJ.

Who is going to announce you?

I mean, the kids at your wedding will feel disrespected and improperly hosted if they don't have background music while they eat their tuna tartare and filet mignon. So I would definitely have the DJ during dinner.

We don't plan on being announced. We are doing a first look and most of the pictures beforehand, so we will probably just quietly rejoin the cocktail hour after.

And no kids at the wedding. I did not want to host them so I will not be inviting them. No tuna tartare or filet, either, although I do have a lovely seared ahi tuna morsel on the menu.

I think there should be music from the minute you're introduced and especially while you're eating

ETA: Just read the rest of the comments. Shouldn't she be the one paying the music through dinner and everything? Who's manning the iPod? It's usually the DJ, their job is to stand there and play music

We could choose to hire her to play from beginning to end, but I feel that the additional money that it would cost could be better used elsewhere. FH was advocating for just having an iPod playlist for the whole thing, but once we really talked through it I got him to agree that a great DJ who can read the crowd is a vital part of setting the party mood.

Having a low key instrumental playlist to during cocktail hour and as people get their food, which then gives way to a DJ who can pump the mood later in the night seems like a good compromise. I would expect that the DOC would be the one to hit the play button.