Do It Yourself DJ

DJs do way more than just press play. They'll read your crowd, adjust music as needed based on the vibe, MC the evening, and stick to a timeline that's handed to them. DIY has a place at weddings, but not as a DJ in my opinion.

The DJ does more than just play music. They should also offer the ceremony sound (speaker set-up) as well as announcements and music changes to keep things flowing.

I contimplated doing an "i-pod" wedding myself, but didn't want to leave disorganization to chance, or "Bawitdaba" coming on shuffle during dinner. I think $400 is a worth it expense if dancing and peace of mind is important to you.

Honestly that's my mind set right now too. I'm sick of DJs overcharging and being extremely arrogant. I've been getting quotes upwards of $4k so your $400 quote would be a dream. If you decide to go the do it yourself route there are DJ programs you can purchase to help with transitioning between songs. You will need an excellent sound system, not just a stereo, and microphones which may end up costing more than $400 so just be aware of that.

Since I'm having 40 guests, I can seriously feel your struggle here. But since I have no clue what I'm doing, I've ultimately decided after a lot of research, hiring a DJ, cancelling him and rehiring a different DJ, that it really depends on if you're willing to put in the work to make the evening go off without a hitch.

My biggest cons were;

1- I'm the one who will have to man the iPod or whatever all night, because I refused to have family work on my wedding day

2- I'm the one who will need to create GOOD playlists, not just playlists.

3- FH and I want to have a first dance. My dad wants to dance with me, since I'm forcing him to wear a suit (he's a jeans ALL the time guy). He said it was the LEAST I could do for him. I agree. And I don't want to announce my own dances with FH and dad.

4- who will announce us into the reception?

5- I don't have the time or skill to put together playlists

6- what happens if there's a sound glitch and the venues surround system isn't working?

7- what if people want to request songs? If I have playlists; I wouldn't be able to play them....

And for the pros?

1- I get to save $500-$600

Not worth it. Highly recommend getting a DJ and spending that money. It's more likely you won't regret getting a DJ than you will not having one.

Get a DJ. FH cousin did not and it was so awkward when the music for the first dance and mother son dance didn't start, was the wrong song and music went in and out

Thank you so much! We don't have a wedding party and the only dance we are doing is our first dance. It's hard because our wedding is so small and we don't know if It will be a waste.

I think if you're having an intimate reception just carefully create a playlist. We have microphones and amps and sound systems- so don't need a dj for that. Also neighbors and dj I think would be too loud. But we always have music on. Always

We rearranged our budget to be able to afford a DJ.

After attending a wedding with an "iPod" DJ, my DH and I decided a DJ was necessary for our wedding vision. We wanted someone that would read the room, do our intros, and facilitate requests (against our 'do not play' list).

It's going to depend on what you want for your reception. If you are okay with just background music, an iPod DJ should be fine. If you want a dance party vibe, I highly recommend moving around your budget for a real DJ

We went totally DIY for our 180-person wedding--no regrets. we created playlists for cocktails and dance floor, used Spotify to eliminate the breaks between songs (H did this), uploaded to a few devices just in case, hooked our main iPad up to the venue sound system, and all was good. we gave the passcode to my brother because he has great taste haha and he would occasionally go up and add a song. zero complaints, lots of compliments on our music choices, dance floor was bumpin' all night, and it was so perfectly tailored to us and our friends and family. i know it's not the method for everyone but it definitely worked for us.

for speeches, our MC just lowered the volume/turned off and then on again. One thing i would suggest is check in advance that you have the proper connectors to connect to your venue's sound system.

Thank you for sharing your experience with me! 180 to our maybe 30, wow! I will have to look into the Spotify and see if that will help us. :-)

The majority of people here will advise you to use a DJ. We had about 70 people at our wedding and used a Spotify playlist and everything went very well, and I was very happy with our choice. I would suggest having a contingency plan in place in case something goes wrong with the device you plan to use, but it can be done successfully.

Thank you so much! The positive experiences are making me feel more at ease about the decision we are making. That's two for Spotify! :-) lol

We almost did DYI but as we visited venues so many people told us all the pros of a dj so we caved. $400 is CHEAP, i had to beg for $500 so i think you got a great deal and will enjoy the stress relief and coordination they provide

We are having about 28 guests and hired a DJ. We really want our family and friends to have a "party-like" atmosphere. I still don't know if we will be able to accomplish it, but we sure as hell have a better shot with an Open bar and DJ. In my opinion, this is a must-have vendor.

I'm in the same boat ... having a 30 person wedding ... ceremony/reception in the same room. I'm not planning to hire a DJ ... we're not doing announcements for first dance/cake cutting or anything like that ... we weren't planning on having dancing unless someone wanted to bust a move on a certain song (after a bottle of wine!). We're looking for background music over dinner and some slightly more lively music later in the evening. We're hosting an older crowd who doesn't do much dancing and them being able to have conversations is important (not scream over loud music). We're definitely not a club type of crowd. Our venue does offer their sound system/speakers/mic for $275 and that will have all of the hookups for a laptop/ipod so I feel confident that I'll be ok creating my own playlist. We are probably going to hire ceremony musicians though, as I don't want someone to have to man the ipod for that part of the evening.

Ehhhh.... I would get one. Like PP said... they do more than play music. They also keep the reception going. Have you tried to adjust the music?

Yes we did a sound test. It sounded great. The music carried well across our venue space. We can adjust it to where it's very low for dinner and it can get loud enough as if we were in a club. That's why I wanted to know people's experiences. :-)

Disclaimer: I have not gotten married yet. Wedding is in 2 weeks. It could all go up in flames BUT...

I did all our music on Spotify. For a 100 person wedding. After a lot of research I decided on this because I am a control freak when it comes to parties and I just don't think a DJ will know me/my crowd as well as I do!

But it was a lot of work, which I highly enjoyed because I love making playlists! If yours isn't a "dance" party it might not be so extreme, but if you want a traditional reception, be prepared to do some work and research. For me this included picking all the songs I wanted, and combing through top 100 lists of popular wedding songs, and current top 40s. I put everything in Spotify, and used a beats per minute Spotify extension to analyze all the songs. I then ordered them in 5 different "sets" within the playlist, each one going from less beats to more, with 1-3 songs in between for people to rest.

After that I invited over one of our GM and a BM and with my fiancé, we listened to the whole thing all the way through, and took notes. I adjusted it from there and that became my playlist. A lot of work, but I wanted to do this work vs having a stranger DJ.

Also, this was not about saving money for us, we had a DJ in the budget I just honestly wanted to do it myself.

Other things... Our ceremony is being played by our neighbor/friend who is a violinist. We are paying her, but she is also coming to the reception with her boyfriend. She is bringing and setting up all the equipment, and will be pressing play the two times we need it, for the first dance and mother/son dance. The daddy daughter dance is last and it transitions right into the playlist. After that *hopefully* nothing will need to be touched.

If we have speaker trouble we have a backup scouted already, which can deliver speakers Fri or Sat for a fee. The venue also has back up speakers.

Our venue comes with a DOC who will announce us and announce the three dances. We aren't doing anything else, no dollar dance or anything, and aren't announcing cake cutting.

Laptop will be password protected and will have our DOC and our violinist and our planner keeping an eye on it, so no one fucks with it.

Could it blow up in my face? Maybe. Was I willing to risk it for what is possibly the most epic dance party playlist ever created? Hells ya.

Does your crowd have a similar taste in music? If so, I think you can get away with a pre-made or spotify playlist. I've been to plenty of smaller parties (30ish people), that a pre-made playlist plus alcohol worked fine. People were talking, dancing, and having fun. I think it also worked because the majority of people enjoyed dancing and didn't need much a push to get on the dance floor.

ETA: For the reception, I think you could be okay. But you probably will need an MC, just to make announcements. Also, just be mindful of how you will manage the ceremony music.

If you are not having announcements and the only special dance is the first dance, I actually think you are ok doing it yourself. Just think about how you will feel if something goes wrong with the music. If you don't really care, go ahead. If that could ruin the day for you, hire a DJ.