Wedding DJ or no DJ?

[Izzy03]

I know the cost will vary, but about how much does a DJ cost?

I have heard about couples that downloaded hours worth of music to play during the reception, and had a friend MC. It really is a brilliant idea, and I am considering this, but it makes me nervous! What if people want to request songs?

Does anyone have advice/input?

 

[oobiecoo]

The DJs I found were 200-1000 for 4-6 hours. I downloaded music and arranged it into a playlist and it worked well and saved us some money. I DIDNT want guests requesting songs

 

[honey22]

My BF had an Ipod loaded with her songs and a running sheet for the MC (my brother in law). They had certain songs to play at certain times which was great. But, it''s quite a big job, it doesn''t seem it, but the person who actually has this job can''t relax and be a guest at the wedding. My FI helped out with the timing etc, and they had to go to the reception place before and sort out the sound levels etc (which were changed by the time they returned the day of the wedding anyway).

If you do want to take this option, make sure you pick someone who won''t mind doing the job and that you realise that they won''t be able to relax and just enjoy the wedding. They will be keeping an eye on things all night, it''s not like someone just has to turn the CD on and off. If you have a specific idea of which songs at which times etc, this requires the person to be watching over things all the time.

So, yep, it''s a great way to save money. I personally wouldn''t want any of my friends etc to have to take on this role and not be able to just kick back with a few drinks and enjoy the party.

We were having the same thoughts about our engagement party. With 100+ people there I don''t want everyone fiddling around with the ipod or taking over the playlist with the DJ, but I think for making things run smootly on the night, I will go for the DJ and then I or any of my guests have to worry about it.

 

[allycat0303]

One of my closest friends really wants to DJ my wedding for some unknown reason. She''s really outgoing and everything, and I think it will give her something to do. Although I am kinda afraid of what will happen after she has a few drinks. I would hate for the wedding to go sour, and then have hard feelings between us. I am kind of torn on this subject, so kind of intrested in the responses.

 

[calidaisy]

our wedding is two weeks away and we initially planned to do what you considered--ipod music with a friend mc-ing.

however, things got too hectic and we realized a few weeks ago that we may not have enough time to sort out the music (the way we wanted). moreover, we didn't want to burden our friend(s) with such a stressful duty ... not to mention, we weren't too sure that our friends will pull off a good job.

in any case, i started calling around for DJs. i used a referral list i got from my reception site (which guaranteed high quality but not necessarily the best price).

it seems like a bad economy + lunch (NOT dinner) reception worked to our advantage because none of the DJs i called had our time frame booked and DJs who normally charge $800+ were willing to work in $400-$500 range.

for us, spending $400 for the peace of mind and time saved is so worth it for now.

i don't know when your wedding is but you might want to just call around to see how much DJs charge in your area ... and figure out whether it's worth it or not.

 

[Shoopy]

The standard that I have seen here in Miami is $595 for 4 hours.

I think your idea is great. If your guests don''t see a DJ, then they probably won''t request a song.

 

[Sabine]

I couldn''t find a way to make it work for the reasons honey mentioned, plus our reception venue didn''t really have their own equipment, so if you want someone to make announcements, a mic for toasts, etc., make sure you have all the equipment available to you. We would have had to rent all that, plus find someone to man the ipod.

 

[MaggieB]

I think it depends on how large your wedding is. Ours is really small, and I''m a control freak and wanted to pick every single song played anyway, so we''re doing an iPod. (Although we''re having a string duo for the pre-reception and the ceremony). But if you have a crowd and you are wanting people to be encouraged to dance or coordinated for the garter, toasts, that sort of thing, I don''t think I would skip the deejay.

 

[SarahLovesJS]

Standard cost in my area is $800+ for about 4-6 hours. I am not really sure who to go with..but I think we''re going to use a DJ because doing our own music is so complicated.

 

[mjso]

Ugh, you guys are depressing me...I just booked my DJ today and its $1750 including ceremony music and reception (6pm-midnight)...with a discount because its a Friday....

And I WAS excited because this is the cheapest thing we''ve booked so far, but now I''m just reminded that NY area weddings are soo expensive comparitively.

I''d say go for booking a DJ if you can get a good price. I wouldn''t want one of my guests to have to deal with the responsibility...

 

[violet02]

My DJ who''s a professional but also a long time personal friend is charging me $1600.00, plus I had to pay for one nights stay in a hotel equaling 200.00. That''s his ''discounted'' rate. He usualy charges $2500.00... he''s traveling a couple of hours with all the speakers and mic''ing / equipment as well though... so he''s providing all of our sound equip not just the music playing services... I''ve seen some advertised for over 3k!

 

[tberube]

Dude. Do the DJ. I considered doing the Ipod/download thing, and it sounds like a good idea, but really...you need a DJ on your wedding day. You don''t want to have to worry about the music. You don''t want to make your guests work. And you need an announcer, someone to keep the flow of the party going, and someone who knows how to handle the equipment. I''ll be completely honest, I''m so glad I went with a DJ, I think it would have been a terrible idea to do the no DJ thing. I will say, though...if you''re having a very informal, back-yard-tent-garden-daytime-type wedding, then perhaps that could work. Otherwise, invest in the DJ. Get rid of something else if you have to.