New 'DJ vs. iPod' Thread

Kate G · August 10, 2012

Hi Brides,

So I know there has already been a thread on the whole 'DJ vs. iPod' thing, but from what I can see, it looks like the last reply was 4 years ago so I wanted to make a new one. Hope that's okay! So here is my dilemma:

I am getting married at Dreams PV next May. After doing some research I heard some not so great things about the DJ that is provided by Dreams for the extra cost, and I didn't really want to risk that. At first I elected to fly one of my friends out to do it who is a DJ in San Francisco (wouldn't pay her but would cover her travel arrangements), but then some unexpected expenses came about and I felt like I couldn't really spring the extra money to get her out. So I nixed that idea and now am at the conclusion of using my own iPod/sound system and just wingin' it. I guess this scares me because of the 'winging it' part. I have heard of plenty of brides doing this and saying it works fine, but my main worry is that the flow of the night may be kind of weird. Someone won't be a 'dedicated' person making sure songs are played and stopped and I just wonder how this is going to go! Now we did ask my fiance's aunt if she would make some minimal announcements just to direct people's attention to whatever is going on, and she was more than happy to do it (she is very outgoing and fun), but I just worry about things not going right! My other worry is that it won't be as high energy. My fiance and I are not really into the gimmicky DJ stuff in the first place, but we don't want it to be totally dead because no one is kind of 'controlling the energy.' Know what I mean? Ugh this is really my main concern about the wedding, is how this piece is going to work.

My other question along with the reception music, is the ceremony music. Any Dreams brides that can attest to how it went to get the correct processional/recessional songs played? Like, who makes sure this is happening?

Anyway I am just hoping that there are some brides out there that have used their own sound system and can address my questions specifically. If you had your wedding at Dreams PV and did this, even better! The more info I can gather on the right way to approach it, the better I'll feel. Basically though there is no going back on hiring a DJ for us cos we just can't afford it at this point. So words of encouragement are always appreciated!

weliaslo · August 19, 2012

I have the same concerns, so I would like some advice too. My wedding will be at Las Caletas, has anyone done this there (I looked at the LC specific thread already).

LaLa1116 · April 22, 2013

Originally Posted by Kate G

Hi Brides,

So I know there has already been a thread on the whole 'DJ vs. iPod' thing, but from what I can see, it looks like the last reply was 4 years ago so I wanted to make a new one. Hope that's okay! So here is my dilemma:

I am getting married at Dreams PV next May. After doing some research I heard some not so great things about the DJ that is provided by Dreams for the extra cost, and I didn't really want to risk that. At first I elected to fly one of my friends out to do it who is a DJ in San Francisco (wouldn't pay her but would cover her travel arrangements), but then some unexpected expenses came about and I felt like I couldn't really spring the extra money to get her out. So I nixed that idea and now am at the conclusion of using my own iPod/sound system and just wingin' it. I guess this scares me because of the 'winging it' part. I have heard of plenty of brides doing this and saying it works fine, but my main worry is that the flow of the night may be kind of weird. Someone won't be a 'dedicated' person making sure songs are played and stopped and I just wonder how this is going to go! Now we did ask my fiance's aunt if she would make some minimal announcements just to direct people's attention to whatever is going on, and she was more than happy to do it (she is very outgoing and fun), but I just worry about things not going right! My other worry is that it won't be as high energy. My fiance and I are not really into the gimmicky DJ stuff in the first place, but we don't want it to be totally dead because no one is kind of 'controlling the energy.' Know what I mean? Ugh this is really my main concern about the wedding, is how this piece is going to work.

My other question along with the reception music, is the ceremony music. Any Dreams brides that can attest to how it went to get the correct processional/recessional songs played? Like, who makes sure this is happening?

Anyway I am just hoping that there are some brides out there that have used their own sound system and can address my questions specifically. If you had your wedding at Dreams PV and did this, even better! The more info I can gather on the right way to approach it, the better I'll feel. Basically though there is no going back on hiring a DJ for us cos we just can't afford it at this point. So words of encouragement are always appreciated!

Haha, Kate, it seems as if we have all of the same concerns! I wish I had the answer to this for you...and for myself! My major concern is also the flow and energy of the event lacking without the presence of a DJ, but I would LOVE to save the money for something else. If we did hire the DJ, he would probably just be responsible for hitting play on our playlist, haha. This article has some good tips for planning an iPod wedding: https://sites.google.com/site/jasonandkatieteamptarmigan/wedding-music-1 . Also, there is an great app called "my wedding dj" that you can download to make navigating your playlists easier, eliminate time between songs to help flow, and many other useful features. You can read more about it here. https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/my-weddingdj/id383243064?mt=8 Good luck!

Kate G · April 22, 2013

Originally Posted by LaLa1116

Haha, Kate, it seems as if we have all of the same concerns! I wish I had the answer to this for you...and for myself! My major concern is also the flow and energy of the event lacking without the presence of a DJ, but I would LOVE to save the money for something else. If we did hire the DJ, he would probably just be responsible for hitting play on our playlist, haha. This article has some good tips for planning an iPod wedding: https://sites.google.com/site/jasonandkatieteamptarmigan/wedding-music-1 . Also, there is an great app called "my wedding dj" that you can download to make navigating your playlists easier, eliminate time between songs to help flow, and many other useful features. You can read more about it here. https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/my-weddingdj/id383243064?mt=8 Good luck!

Haha how funny, we do totally do! Thank you soo much for that app...my fiance and I were just talking about how we need something to make the music flow well. We will check it out! Good luck to you too