Who has had an IPOD reception??? please help.. thanks!

FMW has a point--we paid for a speaker with an iPhone dock that can be plugged in or run on battery power, since we wanted music for our ceremony, too, and that cost us about $200. I suspect a DJ would have been more, but I haven't priced them and it seems like they can vary a lot according to experience and market.

However, I will say that people DID dance to our iPod playlist in the hotel suite where we had the reception. Again, it was easier because it was a smaller gathering.

If you want dancing, then you should go with a DJ. They can pretty much judge the crowd and see what they like/dislike. You don't have that option with an ipod. If it's not in your budget, by all means go with the ipod. You should deriously weigh your options. Get a price on the DJ and a price on the equipment that you will need or the ipod.

I would at least have a dj for the dance. We are having it all in one place but our dance wont start till like 8 because we can only afford a dj for 4 hrs, but I still want one so it is more organized and we can have our special dances and not have to worry about who is playing the music.

I am not big on telling people what you have to have for a wedding. You need to work with the budget you have. I think an iPod can work if a) you already own the iPod, b) you are using the iPod primarily as background music, not to encourage people to get up and dance, and c) you don't have a lot of "events" (first dance, father-daughter dance, toasts, etc.) at your reception.

On the first point, the video referenced by MCDJCarlos assumes that the appropriate comparison involves comparing the entire cost of an iPod to the cost for one night of a DJ. However, that is unrealistic if you already own an iPod, or anticipate getting one for other uses.

(cont.)

Conversely, if you want someone who can change the music to reflect the crowd, or keep the event moving, an iPod is not going to do that. Even if you are having a very low-budget wedding, you'll need to have either paid or unpaid help with that part. And that help should test out the equipment before the reception starts, so there are no last-minute surprises.

We did not have an iPod reception. However, our ceremony music was all on a CD that we made, and that worked fine.