I can't fit a DJ into my budget..

They have those iPod dj systems you can rent. Google it in your city and see what you can find!

Also if you attend a church ask some people in the sound booth there and see if they do weddings or know anyone who does.. thats how we found ours!

I'm having a jukebox, we cannot afford a DJ either, I guess the Jukebox we are getting holds over 1000 songs, has a pretty good sound system and allows you to have control over it. Its $250.00 for the whole event, they pick it up and drop it off. I would have preferred a DJ but It's not a bad idea if you are on a budget and its another alternative to an Ipod.

Once you decide what you are going to use, you can have them come to your rehearsal so they can familiarize their self with the equipment, and the songs you want played.

Do you have any friends or know anyone who dj's? They might be able to cut you a good deal. I'm having my dad and my sister's boyfriend do the DJing at my wedding. Are there any areas that you can cut costs on?

I've cut costs as much as possible. We are on a super tight budget considering I am unemployed right now and we have 4 kids to support. We have money set aside for the wedding and honeymoon and that is running out fast. I even cut out my photographer today. My sister is going to take my wedding pictures instead...

I tunes has a great wedding "dj" that yuo can download and use on an ipod or order a cd its great! There is a charge for it, but is is reasonable.

Honestly, if you can't afford a DJ, I would just have a shorter reception and downplay the music. If your reception is a meal, think dinner party. If it is a cocktail reception, think cocktail party. You could have some soft background music from an iPod or whatever, but don't try to make dancing the central feature of the reception.

I am not having any music either. I am fortunate through my business, to know a wonderful DJ who took my small list of songs, just for our first dance, cake cutting and sand ceremony, and is burning those to a disc for me. The restaurant has a Bose sound system that we can play them on. Also, because I am getting married at 10am and having a lunch, dancing isn't a big thing for our wedding, even though I could dance all night if I were having a larger wedding.

@ 2d Bride I have been to wedding where the couple recorded music to a disk before hand and just played that and it worked out fine. I don't think there will be tons of dancing since it will be hot but I do want to include some dance music just in case. But I definitely want some music for back ground music. Everybody I know is pretty big on music and they would definitely notice if it were missing.

I have a few friends who just used an iPod. Are you doing any kind of rental - tents, chairs, etc? FH & I added a protable speaker system to our chair rental and it came to about $225 or so. If you're doing a rental anyway, maybe look into that?

Leyila,

In today's economic times, I am so sorry to hear of so many brides/grooms who cannot afford a DJ. I too have an uneasy feeling about playing a stereo or ipod during your wedding. I've been trying to think of some way to offer some complimentary or highly discounted wedding DJ/MC services to B/G's with limited financial resources. In my area there are so many unemployed or underemployed young people that it seems like the economic recovery is going very slowly. I keep reminding the people I know who are employed to count their blessings.

Dan

My brother had an iPod for his wedding reception and it worked out fine! He spent a lot of time putting together playlists for each portion of the reception and had someone manning the iPod (or maybe it was just a computer) at all times. Find out if your venue has a sound system that you can just plug into or see if someone will lend you speakers. It's totally doable, you just don't get the kind of attention to the mood of the room from a DJ.

I went to a wedding with a laptop with music and speakers, and a member of the bridal party selected the music (from what the bride and groom selected). I thought it worked out great! They even had a first dance, but dancing wasn't the main focus.

I am currently planning my wedding and I didnt want to pay for a DJ so what I am doing is I downloaded Frostwire onto my laptop and downloaded 100 songs for my reception. I am going to hook up a speaker system to my laptop and set it to random. This will also allow some of my closest guests to select songs they would like to listen to also. This is saving me $400