Reception Music

I've seen many DJs ruin weddings so I understand your hesitation. If you can hire a DJ who understands your concerns and if you are very clear about what is and what is not acceptable then you shouldn't have any problems.

I've been to weddings, and heard many stories, about a couple doing their own playlist with a person in charge but in most cases people get restless and start changing songs halfway through and everyone gets focused on request/queuing up the next song and it takes away from the fun of the evening.

This was something my fiancée and I struggled with for a while. We have had many wedding receptions ruined by bad DJs and we really didn't want one but due to the location of our venue it would be very difficult and stressful to manage the music ourselves.

I hope you two figure out something that suits your needs without compromising your dream wedding. All I can say is don't take the DJ idea off the table until you have spoken with/met with at least one or two DJs.

If you really want to make it rustic, ask any of your guests who play an instrument or sing to play a couple of songs for the reception. Now that would be an old fashioned barn dance!!

I had found an app, by searching YouTube I think, that would allow you to program a playlist for your wedding. Sorry I can’t remember the name of it. Not helpful I know.

View quoted message You're welcome! You can also take a look at a list of the top 100 songs played at weddings for a starting point. We were fortunate that our friend got married a year before us and already had a playlist made up which he gave us as a starting point.

View quoted message Great idea! Thank you

View quoted message We put the list together and had it on an iPod and the laptop. We plugged the laptop into the speakers and hit play. We put our MC in charge of it but we also helped as sometimes the laptop would pop up with the password prompt. Towards the end of the evening, only a few of us were left dancing and so we searched through the playlist for our favourite tunes. We had the following playlists: Processional, recessional, cocktail hour and reception.

I personally like the idea of hiring a DJ so you don't have to worry about renting, setting up, and breaking down your own equipment. If this will be in an outdoor space and/or large barn you'll need speakers and to take precautions that everything stays safe and running, so I'd want to leave this to a pro with their own insurance.

View quoted message So how did it work? Did you just set it up and play it through or did you have someone deligated to be in charge of it/MC?

We had our own playlist for our wedding and it was great. Super fun to put together, saved a bunch of money and was much more personal.

We will be doing our own playlist for a backyard reception... We are expecting about 150-160 guests....Not exactly sure what we are doing yet, but we are largely copying my FHs brother at his wedding 2 years ago. They did a DIY playlist and it was fantastic.

Well i definitely appreciate your response! You had less people than we would and it didnt really occur to me that I would have to deligate someone. Could get messy if you dont pick the right person.....thanks very much!

I haven't been to a playlist wedding but I've heard it can work. You just have to make sure to have someone delegated to controlling the music and have someone to make announcements/MC duties.You may also have to rent a speaker/PA system depending how large your venue is.

We had originally looked into doing a playlist as well since we only had 38 guests but we went with a DJ instead. That's too bad the last weddings you've been to didn't have a good DJ setup. I can honestly say I'm glad we went with the DJ for ours. It was less stress for us and he really knew how to read the crowd and knew what to play when. He also took care of basic MC duties.

I would say read more forums and such online and talk to people about the pros and cons of both. Doing research definitely helped us make our final decision.