DJ my own wedding with an Ipod [Archive]

corall

12-09-2004, 06:27 PM

foreverinlove

12-10-2004, 10:07 AM

My mother had a band there(friends oft he family), but unless they wanted to play they didnt. It was one of those happy go lucky weddings. there were relitives announcing, and the radio was our music

BrideDesign

12-21-2004, 01:34 PM

I've been to two weddings where the couple had no DJ, and provided the music via their i macs. Both worked out well, with friends announcing, a trusted person to keep an eye on the playlist (guests like to make requests and this wedding was no different) and queue up special songs (first dance, father/daughter dance etc.) and professional sound equipment. I think having a proper speaker set up could help your Mom feel at ease. My husband and I toyed with the same idea and ended up going with a DJ, only because our wedding was pretty large. But I think providing the music yourself is an awesome mnoney-saving idea as long as you are organized and have some committed friends to help. Good luck.

DJTim

01-29-2005, 06:02 PM

As a professional DJ, I couldn't help but chime in on this topic. There's absolutely nothing wrong with programming your own music for the night. If you are comfortable with it, enjoy. Many times, I'll have a bride and groom program a night, and just have me play their playlist.

However, to make it a success, I recommend one major thing. Rather than having the entire evening pre-programmed, have someone in charge of the music that can change songs in the event something is not working. There's no way to predict that at 9:47, 3 slows dances will work. 2 oldies in a row may be a hit, but the third one clears the floor. That 4th and 5th one in the preprogammed list are sure to fail as well... at that time.

I live DJ adjusts and tweaks all through the night based on the response of the crowd. Those 3 slows songs, and that 4th an 5th oldie will probably still get played, just maybe 15 minutes later, after the bride and groom have finished saying goodbye to Aunt Joan out in the lobby.

I'd love to hear how it goes. I'd predict a better success with a DJ, but that could be because I am a DJ. However, I would never say that not having a DJ is a guaranteed failure. The IPod thing might be a success, and you could put me out of business (I'm gettin' too old for this anyway) :-)

Kelly1Mickey

01-30-2005, 09:18 AM

The first time I read your post, I thought that I couldn't imagine a wedding done with an ipod. I still personally would prefer a band or DJ. BUT, my FH and I just started dance lessons and the instructor uses an ipod attached to a sound system. It sounds a lot better than I would have expected. You would still need someone to act as the master of ceremonies. And I agree with DJTim's post, you might want to have someone that switch the music around a little.

JDee

02-14-2005, 09:33 PM

My fiance and I were just talking about this! I, being the bride, would absolutely love to have an ipod wedding and have the wedding party doing the DJing/Mic people! We already have many if not most of the songs we want at our wedding already on our ipod. Our only concern is the equipment. We are currently looking around the area to see if we can rent speakers, mics, etc. the DJing equipment.

So if anyone has any info on renting equipment please let me know! I'm so excited about this idea!

serge

03-11-2005, 10:51 AM

I have also decided that I would like to dj my own wedding. I might use my Powerbook laptop instead of the ipod mainly for visiblilty of playlists and also it allows for more audio options. I am looking into renting some pro-audio equiptment and have found that it is quite reasonable. I am going to rent the equiptment for a week (usally is 3x the daily rate) so I can pre proof the audio setup. We are going to have the ceremony outside, and I know that auio in outdoor locations can be tricky. I just want to make sure it does not get washed out. As far as the reception, we are going to just play background music, may not have any dancing. So the need for constant music changes won't really be needed. We will designate one of our wedding guests with the task of pressing play and monitoring the sound levels. We have someone very detail oriented for this task, so we feel very comfortable about it.

I would love to hear from anybody who has had similar experiences already!

candgirl

09-11-2005, 08:55 PM

Hi I'm thinking of DJ my own wedding off my laptop, but I don't know how to put my music. Could you send a sample list of how you would play the song by type of music.
Thanks
candgirl
As a professional DJ, I couldn't help but chime in on this topic. There's absolutely nothing wrong with programming your own music for the night. If you are comfortable with it, enjoy. Many times, I'll have a bride and groom program a night, and just have me play their playlist.

However, to make it a success, I recommend one major thing. Rather than having the entire evening pre-programmed, have someone in charge of the music that can change songs in the event something is not working. There's no way to predict that at 9:47, 3 slows dances will work. 2 oldies in a row may be a hit, but the third one clears the floor. That 4th and 5th one in the preprogammed list are sure to fail as well... at that time.

I live DJ adjusts and tweaks all through the night based on the response of the crowd. Those 3 slows songs, and that 4th an 5th oldie will probably still get played, just maybe 15 minutes later, after the bride and groom have finished saying goodbye to Aunt Joan out in the lobby.

I'd love to hear how it goes. I'd predict a better success with a DJ, but that could be because I am a DJ. However, I would never say that not having a DJ is a guaranteed failure. The IPod thing might be a success, and you could put me out of business (I'm gettin' too old for this anyway) :-)

Arien

09-14-2005, 09:50 AM

Most of the weddings I've been to did not have a DJ. Most had background music on CD (which is what we are doing), but some didn't have any music at all, and no one seemed to notice.

mouchsi

09-19-2005, 08:38 PM

My honey and I just had this conversation. Our wedding will be taking place back home (in Ontario and we're in Alberta) and he is back visiting for 2 weeks. The big job for him to do while in Ontario was to look for a DJ for the wedding. Well, I guess he and his parents (who are co-planning and co-paying for everything with my parents, which is awesome, by the way) talked about it, and they thought that since Jeff and I are such music snobs (we've been making a list of songs we want played at the wedding, and its already over 6 hours of music) rather than fight with a DJ or search endlessly to find one that will cater to our every whim, that we will do the iTunes route. Jeff's dad has been wanting a kick-butt new stereo system for years and years now, so they can put the money that would have gone to a DJ into that instead! I think its a great idea. We already know that one of our closest friends will be our MC and be fantabulous at it, and we have another friend who is a big music/techie geek, so he can be our unofficial music-watcher....

Anyways, I'm posting on this ancient thread cuz I'd love to hear from anyone who has actually done this to any kind of success..... I'm not super concerned about perfection of the evening/smoothnes.... Its really just a big party, and I don't think people will notice/remember/care if things go minorly awry.

- Liz

lyndsaynicole

09-19-2005, 09:50 PM

Ryan and I thought about going this route too-basically because we want to save money and we like a lot of music that quite frankly, a DJ probably wouldn't have. So-Ryan's parents and my parents had a lot of reservations about it and Ryan's mom told me to check into "real" dj's and we'd figure something out. So, if someone else is going to pay-I will happily have a dj. But who knows-might still use the ipod.

Wink2Be

09-21-2005, 11:40 PM

We're having a small wedding -- about 60 ppl -- and we're not having dancing. We just want background music, so we're going to use an iPod and speakers. We were thinking about getting a DJ who can provide karaoke (we're that kind of crowd!), but opted for background music instead. I hope it works out okay! :)

Darkenedvelvet

09-22-2005, 05:48 AM

Yep! we are doing our own music also! Instead of spending the money on a DJ and not getting anything out of it afterwards, we are going to spend a bit more and get a laptop! We both are in need of one as or desktops have too tethered! So now, we don't feel so bad paying for a laptop as it will "save" us money at the wedding! My FH and I have, different, taste in music also that we dought most DJ could provide. So it will be nice to have special songs and types of music we enjoy at our wedding. Seems to be a bonus all around for us!

Though, we are making it so that during the night "we", < whoever is up for it during that time of night> programing it with a few songs at at time. I had also thought about the fact that maybe at one point or another during the evening the "mood" could change. Trying to cover all of our bases..

DJTonyB

01-28-2006, 11:53 AM

I couldn't help but post a reply to this. I am a professional mobile DJ and have been for 18 years. I also own a banquet hall so I see all sides of this equation.

I think a lot of people are missing the point about what a good professional mobile DJ does. Obviously we play the music but we also take responsibility for the timing of the wedding as well as providing an environment for the guests that is entertaining and involving. The music that we do play is the result of consultation with the client (you) as well as using years of experience to read your guests and provide them with an environment that it appropriate and uplifting.

If you've been to weddings where the DJ simply reacted to the situation and played music and made announcements haphazardly I think that programming your own music might not be such a bad alternative. There are plenty of DJs who are nothing more than human jukeboxes, but not all are.

Great professional mobile DJs involve the audience during dinner and cocktails (not in a cheesy fashion, of course) and add special touches to your night such as personalized and customized introductions and fun ways to give away the centerpieces just for example.

A wedding is a once in a lifetime unrehearsed event where you invite everyone who is special to you to share a short journey that begins your new lives together. In many cases it might be worth it to investigate a professional who will act as your spokesperson to help you maximize your dreams on this big day.

I agree that a professional mobile DJ might not be appropriate in every situation but I did want to chime in here and offer another point of view. Having gotten married just last April myself I realize what an incredible amount of time it takes to successfully plan a wedding and I don't want to see people save a few bucks and be dissatisfied.

For those who do want a professional mobile DJ there is a national trade association - the American Disc Jockey Association - that provides leads and tips to those looking to hire a professional DJ. You can find this information at: http://adja.org/general/djHiringTips.asp

All the very best to everyone on their wedding day.

Josieshsdfff

02-13-2006, 06:28 AM

My husban has a cousin Who didn't have a dj. She just had a cd player and tuns of cds. It went good. Go for it.

MrsJ

02-13-2006, 04:59 PM

I think doing you music yourself can work very well.... but not sure about on the ipod unless you have some great speakers.

I have a family member who does a Karaoke DJ gigs.... hoping they might volunteer for us but if not.

We plan on doing it like we do every other party we have. We actually setup our computer and a good set of speakers and do it that way and it is never a problem and bc.we have over 5,000 songs on our computer.... and can create playlists we can plan what we want .....and easily find just about any song anyone would want!

Little Lady

02-23-2006, 08:16 PM

My husband and I Dj'd our wedding from his computer and two small speakers....it sounded a heack of alot better than a bunch of HUGE speakers in our small space!

mojoworkin

10-13-2006, 04:12 PM

Skipping the cheesy DJ could be just as easy as finding one that is NOT cheesy, but if you gotsa do it the iPod way, I've written a big ol' article on some of the common pitfalls. You are going to get lots of advice on what will work/won't work - whether the advice is good or not depends entirely on your own situation. Every wedding is different, and if someone says their wedding was fine with an iPod and boombox speakers might not have had 200 guests in a tent.

Here's the article.
http://rongrandia.blogspot.com/2006/10/helpful-hints-for-ipod-brides.html

By the way - iPod songs sound great when played through the right equipment - No worries there.

Kuroda

11-16-2006, 01:15 PM

I'm a photographer (markkuroda.com) and a lot of the weddings I go to, i think the same thing. If you can find a friend and download a bunch of 80's songs that are non-offensive, and add a few of your own that would be perfect!

interesting thoughts thought!

mark

markkuroda.com
markkuroda.blogspot.com

KatylovesNick

11-16-2006, 01:30 PM

I was going to do the ipod thing, but i wanted someone who could announce us and get people dancing. So we thought against it. Kinda wish now with the money we are spending we did that. But I am sure I will be pleased with my decision and yes we are doing karoke too.

lhall426bfcf

11-16-2006, 02:37 PM

I thought about this a lot as well. I was a wedding photographer for 10 years, so the thought of having the standard wedding music and cheesy stuff makes me cringe. However, we did eventually decide on a dj, just to simplify things. Although I want my own style of music played, I really wanted someone to dictate the flow of the evening based on the crowd. Also, it's one less thing that I don't have to worry about the whole night so i can have fun. This is my 2nd wedding...I spent so much time worrying about things the first time that I didn't get to enjoy it....so I really want to take as much burden off as possible. Good luck with whatever you choose!

teachg8r

11-18-2006, 01:44 PM

ME TOO!

I think we could do this for the ceremony and the reception.

My DF and I have had this conversation as well. I think we'd be fine with the music... His concern was the "master of ceremonies" kind of issue- but I really like JDee's suggestion of having the wedding party announce the different dances/ events. I am still trying to convince my man- good luck convincing your mom! :)

puppaws83cbbe

12-31-2006, 06:50 AM

Well :-/ I dont have an I pod but I do have a laptop I could use. The only problem I'm seeing with this is that we really dont have any to be the announcer. This is one of the reasons i want a DJ but they are SO EXPENSIVE and we're broke LOL. But no really it would be a huge money saver to do this ourselves. We have a couple friends who would do it but they like out of state and we dont know if they will make it. One actually lives out of the country! But what we were thinking is having him tape everything and then just play it at the appropriate times? Just not sure how it would work with having to run it ourselves :-/

sillybride

12-31-2006, 06:54 AM

jbrann911dfef

12-31-2006, 08:59 AM

If you have a microphone you can hook up to your laptop and Walmart sells some really good cheap one for Karoke machines there'd be an adapter you'd need to get for $4-5 at Radio Shack then you could either pre-record the annoucing or do itself as the events occur.

I'm not having a DJ either we have a very cool sound system at the Fire station and I am a computer geek so hooking it up to my laptop as well so it is part of the sound system not relying on the speakers from laptop. If there isn't an existing sound system them you should invest in a set of wireless speakers so they can be placed apart from each other for more of a surround sound effect.

If you have or know someone who has a Karoke machine that is always an option to my son's was like $30 at Walmart and has hook up for two microphones came with one and I bought another at Dollar Tree for a $1.The speakers are detachable and the sound quality is pretty good for a kids toy - they do play regular CDs as well don't have to be in karoke format and if a song is playing when you start to speak into microphone it does lower the volume on the CD but still plays in the background like a DJ would do.

Julie

kharris86dede

02-04-2007, 06:45 PM

Instead of using a transmitter and having to worry about the quality of downloads and volume, why not just use your itunes computer program and hook the speakers up to your computer?

christinaeastonefbb

02-08-2007, 07:52 AM

Here is a great article about using an iPod in your wedding... http://www.ilounge.com/index.php/articles/comments/saying-ido-weddings-the-ipod-and-you/

jbrann911dfef

02-08-2007, 11:10 AM

There are other options also besides a DJ - iPods and music downloads are really easy to use now adays however like everyone else said you need some one to be the announcer and that would depend on what type of sound system your reception site had. In some case there maybe nothing except for someone speaking really loudly so in that instance I'd suggest your see if you could get a karoke machine (many peoples children have the or your can rent them I imagine plus they are cheap to buy like $30) this gives you microphone and speakers for the announcers can be heard.

There are add ons for the iPods that would do same thing but think they are more expensive.

We are using our laptop and I can have a microphone hooked up directly to that and run into the speaker system in the building.

Julie

jeffbfbe

04-28-2007, 06:49 AM

Check out this Website www.youdjit.com This is the greatest thing to ever for the Budget Minded Bride to be. It is also just plain Fun!! I rented a system from them for our wedding and it was a blast!

july1wedding

05-29-2007, 06:42 AM

I'm going to be doing the laptop/self dj thing myself and wanted to find someone local to rent the equipment from. Is there anyone in the MA/NH/ME area that can recommend someone.

And has anyone else used the youdjit.com services?

soundzofkeneaed

06-10-2007, 07:55 AM

Like all brides and their mothers, we are having a disaggreement. My fiance and I want to eliminate having a cheesy DJ and program our Ipod for the music entertainment. With the availability of downloading any song from the internet, we will be able to have a wide variety of music. As for the announcements, a couple of our friends and family members said they would participate in announcing some of the events (i.e. our entrance, cake cutting, bouquet/garter toss, etc...) However, my mom thinks that if we eliminate the DJ, that it won't go smoothly. Can anyone comment on whether or not they have been to wedding that did not have a DJ or band? How did it work out? I have searched the internet and I have found some postivie feedback and some negative feedback, but all the negative feedback were from professional wedding DJ's that are loosing business.SURE THIS CAN BE DONE HOWEVER,YOU ARE NOT ELIMINATING THE DJ, BECAUSE SOMEONE FROM YOUR CAMP WILL BE CONTROLLING THE TIMING OF WHAT AND WHEN SOMETHING WILL BE PLAYED. A DJ CAN ONLY BE AS CHEESY AS YOUR MUSIC,YOU CONTROL WHAT IS TO BE PLAYED,YOUR MUSIC IS THE ONLY SOUND THAT THE AUDIENCE WILL HEAR. YOU CAN ALSO HAVE A DESIGNATED SPEAKER. ARE YOU SURE YOUR NOT JUST CUTTING THE COST WITH THE CAKE? DEPENDING ON THE SPACE AND ACOUSTICS,YOU MAY NEED MORE OR LESS POWER,AND UNLESS YOU KNOW WHAT YOUR DOING IT COULD BE A CATASTRAPHE!

july1wedding

06-18-2007, 12:10 PM

We ended up reserving a PA system from a music store here. It was $100 and it includes a set of speakers, the stands, the power unit, all necessary cables, and a mic. Plus they are teaching us to use it. We're not having major dancing, so we're setting up the playlist ourselves and are just going to hit play and have fun with it. Our reception is about 80 people in a backyard with a tent and a barbecue

mrosskopbcea

09-30-2007, 09:41 PM

I am really interested in this idea as well. We will probably have about 3 hours of dancing and I thought of assigning some of our friends a half hour incriment where they would play dj. Of course, I would want friends who are really outgoing and could get people on the dance floor.

I'd love to hear from anyone who has done this!

DJ Julie

01-28-2008, 05:01 PM

A lof of different things come to mind on this topic:

-iPods break pretty regularly so I'd be sure to have a back up, laptops tend to be more solid

-You will need to rent professional PA - testing your boombox in your living room won't tell you anything - everything will sound completely different when you get people in a room. PA usually costs more than hiring a DJ in my experience. You also have to consider who will pick it up (someone with a strong back) or if you'll need to have it delivered, then who will know how to set it up (where the speakers should go, how to hook up the amp, mixing board, microphones, up to 100' cords, all that), who will pick it up or deliver it back to the rental service and so forth

-Then, there's the playlist. If your iPod of laptop is all the stuff you love, it probably won't include all the songs your guests will actually dance to and a pre-set list or random shuffle won't work - as others have said in this thread, you still need someone running the music to keep the music going

-Beyond just the music, I've been part of many weddings where my services go beyond just hitting the play button. I'm also the one who watches out for the flow of the evening - coaxing the bartender to hurry with the champagne when the aunt who is old and frail needs to leave but is supposed to give a toast, holding off on the first dance when the new mother-in-law is being a pain and the bride is in tears, making sure everyone is in the room before any special dances, taking over the mic when one of the people doing a toast gets nervous, starts crying or generally freaks out! and just generally making sure the entire day or evening flows smoothly.

It's a lot of work and too much really to ask your anyone of your guests to tackle. And consider that the music is what people will remember since this is the part where they really get to join in. You want to make sure you create great memories for your guests with a fun dance party rather than watching them sneak out early!

DJ Julie

01-28-2008, 05:09 PM

One of the most important duties of the DJ is to deal with the drunk groomsman who is absolutely convinced that you have to play that foul hip hop tune he just loves... and you hate... while your aunt and uncle from Omaha sit there wondering what in the world... Is this a job you really want your guests to have to handle for you? I wouldn't expect my friends to do this. Better to have your guests ****ed at the DJ than one of your best friends.