iPod Wedding
November 1st, 2007 @ 5:17 pm by Mrs. Corn
I had heard of people using iPods as their DJ for their wedding reception, but I had never seen it in practice until the wedding Mr Corn and I attended in Seattle last weekend. (pictures courtesy of Google Images)
When we arrived at the reception, I noticed right away that there wasn’t a DJ or a band, but it didn’t dawn on me that it was an iPod until after dinner was halfway over. Since the music during dinner is traditionally low key, I assumed that it was being piped through the sound system at the venue.
Once the party got into gear, however, it was pretty evident that the biggest downfall from an iPod DJ is that the songs all play all the way until the very last second, which sometimes leads to some awkward timing on the dance floor. But I would say, considering how much money the couple saved by doing this, I really think the benefits outweighed the cons.
However, there is one caveat to that statement. This couple was pretty young, lower to mid 20’s, and their friends were all young. The iPod fit in perfectly with the young crowd’s vibe and none of them seemed to give the awkward silences between selections much thought. I would think that if an older couple tried this, or if the wedding was considerably more formal, than it wouldn’t be so easy to get away with. Which basically means that like so many things with wedding planning, it really should be decided on a case by case basis.
What are your thoughts on the iPod wedding reception trend?
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33 Responses to “iPod Wedding”
I want to do it, but can’t quite figure out how. If someone wants to do a tutorial (hint, hint)…
We used a laptop with itunes… basically the same idea as using the ipod. We loved it…. people could put together their own playlists, music could easily be changed to suit the mood/what was going on at the time, and best of all…. FREEEEE!
We used an ipod and formatted the songs to fade into one another. We rented speakers from a local company and it worked out great. We had playlists for everything - pre-ceremony, processional, recessional, cocktails and dancing. We had people on the dance floor all night and we are ancient at the ripe old age of 33. We also rented a microphone for the toasts. I cannot recommend this highly enough. It was a huge savings, we didn’t have to worry about an out of control DJ, we chose all of our songs and there wasn’t one song I didn’t like. One recommendation - set aside a LARGE amount of time to put these playlists together. We spent almost every night for a week working on them - but then again, we were pretty OCD. 
Good grief, three comments on three posts in one day. I’m not getting any work done today!
We were going to do this until finally after watching us agonize over where to cut in our budget to allow for a DJ or just DIY the whole thing, my fiance’s parents decided to pay for a DJ for us. I was having some major control issues and wanted a DJ because I was terrified one of my fiance’s friends who was charged with taking care of the playlist would screw up at some vital moment like play the wrong song for our first dance. But my fiance had finally convinced me to go the iPod (or actually, laptop) route… but I was still a little bit reluctant and was very glad when we got some more money to cover the DJ cost.
Has anyone who has done a DIY music reception had any problems? Or was I just being paranoid?
I got married a month ago and while I’m not an ‘old lady’ I’m certainly not your fresh twenty something bride (more like late thirtysomething). We opted for no DJ or band and went with the iPod and the Groom’s brother as an Emcee and it was a great decision for us. My now husband and I are obsessed with music and he spent most of his wedding planning time cleverly crafting what had to be one of the best dance lists of all time, especially if you grew up in the 80’s and enjoy everything from punk to electronica to old U2 and REM. Actually, all of our guests, young and old, were kicking it on the dance floor and so many people have begged him for the playlist as a result. It takes some work, but if you are motivated, it can be a great way to personalize the party. His brother was hilarious, especially when right before we cut the cake he did a Bob Saget style segment with the kids asking them how they felt about cake.
Mrs. Corn, I’m so glad you posted about this! My fiance and I are planning on using an iPod for reception music, and every now and then I get a little nervous about it. kgr, many thanks for your comments too!
I’m going to have to be the odd (wo)man out on this one. I recently attended a wedding where a friend of the bride and groom served as a DJ. He used his iTunes playlist and the song sets had been agreed upon before-hand.
To me, I just felt like something was missing. I have been to weddings with great DJs that really get people involved and have tons of experience reading people’s moods at the time. In addition to not knowing the “fade” technique, whenever iTunes boy tried to announce something through the mic, he sounded muffled & was difficult to understand.
I thought the whole thing looked a little out of place in such an otherwise elegant evening.
Just my two cents.
for some reason, my mom is adamant about not having an ipod wedding, but frankly i don’t really see the diff. like amysue said, weddings with a bad or obnoxious DJ really ruin the vibe. and being a control freak, i love the fact that i can pick every single song.
maybe it is a younger generation thing…
We also used a itunes via a laptop. It was one of the BEST wedding decisions we made. We even had wi-fi access so we could purchase and download requests right there. We made three playlists, one each for cocktail hour, dinner, and dancing, each with way more music than was needed for that time. We also created a playlist with all the “special” songs, like first dance, father/daughter, our parents’ wedding songs etc. The dancing part was great. We gathered seven hours of songs from all our friends (we thought that would be way too much, but since we danced until 3 am it was just right) and could move songs up and down on the playlist depending on the mood of the crowd.
No annoying DJ. All songs hand picked by us. No “Celebrate”. Not paying a DJ (only about $24 in itunes downloads the night of). What’s not to love? And now I have a ton of great music on my computer that reminds me of the wedding!
Hmmmm…I didn’t realize how much focus the age aspect of my post was going to be. I certainly don’t think I am anything less than young myself, and I am 32 and Mr Corn is almost 34. It really is a personal decision based on the formality of your wedding and the people who will be attending.
We avoided the whole dj/iPod issue and got a band
At my boss’s wedding in 2004, a two-piece jazz band played for the first part of the reception and then his brother brought out an ipod for the rest of it. He had a playlist he made just for the event and the sound came through the venue’s speakers. It was pretty cool. It also seemed to signal the end of the formal reception and get things going for the party.
We had a solo guitarist for the first hour of the reception and then switched to the iPod for the rest of the night. We also had put together a play list for the occasion. It worked really well for us, but we didn’t have much of a focus on dancing. If people felt like it they did, but it wasn’t the focus of the evening.
If I had someone in the family or wedding party who could have served as a decent MC, I probably would have gone with an iPod (and we’re 34! Ancient!). DJ’s are more than just suppliers of music, and we relied on ours not only for the tunes and equipment, but also for pacing and MC-ing the event.
I’ve been to two iPod-only events, and they were both very successful, because the hosts had rented professional-quality speakers and a microphone, and someone who’d be comfortable with it was the designated MC.
If, on the other hand, we’re talking about your average portable speakers and having your best man standing on a chair to shout announcements, probably not the image you want to project.
We are considering using iTunes as well - my fiance is convinced that, with some time and effort, we can make a good playlist with awesome songs but without awkward pauses. One benefit - you can edit songs down to a shorter length, rather than dancing awkwardly to the end of the-song-that-goes-on-forever.
Fiance’s major motivation for this is that he really dislikes DJs, part of his hating having anyone who doesn’t know us speak on our behalf (e.g. our ceremony officiant is basically limited to saying just what is legally required). The other motivation is $$, but we are finding that rental costs for A/V equipment at our hotel are really high, possibly comparable to just hiring a DJ anyway.
There is also the consideration of lighting - many of the DJ packages that we are looking at include some sort of lighting set up, something that I otherwise will not be planning for, but would be a nice plus.
Great post! I never considered the “time gap” that an ipod lends…although i know on I-tunes there is a feature that “blends” music at the end of a tune to the beginning of a new one, so if you are able to get real fancy schmancy, perhaps you can hook up your computer itunes list to a sound system and get rid of the awkward silence.
Oh yes, and I’ve been to an Itunes/Ipod wedding and it was probably the funnest wedding Ive ever attended–music wise. They literally had to KICK people off of the dance floor at midnight. “ITS OVER! GO TO THE BAR!” Is what i think they said. It was SO much fun. It helped that the brides family was very irish and down to party, but WOW. What a great night!
we’re definitely doing the ipod thing. so many djs end up playing AWFUL songs anyways. it saves us from having to make a list of “do not play” songs and handing it to the dj =)
oh and it’s free free free =D
Well, this is long but I hope helpful. We (me 37, DH 35) used itunes on my laptop (laptop screen is much larger than an actual ipod - easier for us old folks to see). During the ceremony and cocktail hour we had a harpist and classical guitarist. Our 1pm garden ceremony and reception were small but still formal! We didn’t expect much dancing during the late afternoon reception as the majority of our guests were older but still prepared a reception music list that had an average pattern of 2-3 slow, 2 mid-tempo and 2 fast songs.
Itunes allows you to manipulate playlist preferences – we used a 10-second crossfade playback, sound check {keeps all songs on same volume level regardless of recording quality} and sound enhancer. Playlist titles were as follows:
Bridal party entrance
Bride & Groom First Dance
Mother & Son Dance
Dinner (lunch, really)
Reception
Cake Cutting
Our facility already had a sweet upgraded sound system that was literally “plug n play” for this very purpose. Wireless lav mike was included. My brother-in-law was the emcee; he announced certain situations (bridal party entrance, first dance, etc.) that had been clearly marked by title of song & ppl involved in my super-anal day of itinerary.
Best advice for an ipod wedding? Plan, plan and plan some more. Spend LOTS of time putting together your Playlists and actually listen to the first few & last seconds of each song to make sure they fade smoothly into each other. Depending on where you download your music, play through each and every song carefully listening to the quality – no skips, jumps or gaps. It helped us to put the songs in an excel spreadsheet with three columns: artist, song and occasion (reception, dinner, etc.). This allowed each of us to review each other additions and make the all important *veto* on certain songs – also allowed me to literally check off songs once I had downloaded or ripped them. Also, make sure you designate one person to emcee and that person has an opp’y to play around with the mike volumes, overall sound levels, etc. at the actual rehearsal or prior to the reception. Include the titles of songs, what to actually announce, etc. in your day of itinerary and make sure your emcee is clear on what he/she is to say - and how to pronounce ppl’s names.
For us the ipod music was perfect – we got TONS of compliments on our music choices. Which reminds me, I still need to share certain Playlists with those guests who requested them!
We’re having a digital music system which, I guess, is basically an “industrial” iPod. We’re telling the hire people what to put on the playlist, they come in and set it up and you have it for the rest of the night. I have designated a friend to look after it, and you can plug an iPod into it also so that’s what we’re doing for music during dinner
I got married 3 months ago and we went with the labtop route, mainly to save money, but it worked out great because of our small venue ( we had 75 guests ) it didn’t over power everything and everyone like a DJ would have.
We are seriously considering this–I have seen so many lame DJs and my do-not-play list will be miles long! We are thinking we’d hire live music (quartet maybe?) for the ceremony and cocktail hour, then switch to ipod for dinner. For an MC we’ll probably use one of my BM’s husbands and our officiant (my best friend). Thanks for this post, it was great to hear the tips to pull this off!
annieoakley–
any chance i can get a copy of that playlist? 
We used an IPOD. Granted ours was very small and didn’t have a big ‘dance’ party. I had a bunch of play lists created with a legend for the wedding coordinator. 1 - Pre Wedding 2 - Procession 3 - Unity Song 4 - Post Ceremony 5 - First Dance 6 - Dinner 7 - Cake Song 8 - Dance Songs.
It was great. Hubby and I have somewhat different tastes in music so we were able to ‘theme’ the different longer sets - they flowed well - and we both got to listen to songs we love!
Plus whenever I want I can listen to music from my wedding - that may be the best part. Cause you know I’m a dork and love to relive every part of our day!
I was going to ask more questions, but I think I’ll post in the boards instead. Please respond in the boards, Ipod diyers!
I’ve been to 2 different weddings that did iPod receptions. One went very smoothly, and one didn’t.
I think the difference was how much planning they put into it. One couple had clearly organized a very detailed playlist and put a lot of thought into the order of the songs, while the other couple didn’t seem to have it as well set up.
We were originally going to do it, but we would’ve had to rent a PA system (our venue didn’t have one) and we were going to try and find a friend to be the “MC.” It was hard to think of anyone to do it, though, because then they wouldn’t be able to fully enjoy the wedding… so then we were going to pay one of our friends boyfriends $100, at which point it seemed worth it to just hire a DJ.
In our wedding area (Syracuse, NY) it isn’t that expensive for a DJ anyway. So we found one for $400 on ours and he ended up being great.
I agree, Mrs. Radish. I think if you’re going to go the IPod route, you really have to plan ahead. I was recently the MC at my friend’s wedding reception. I ended up frantically trying to download songs halfway through the dance because their playlist wasn’t long enough. The songs were also not all “danceable” –there would be a 10-minute stretch where everyone would be busting a move, then a bunch of mid-tempo songs would scare everyone off. I think the keys to using an IPod are to plan for more music than you need and make sure the songs are clearly fast or slow.
In all honesty, I’m in agreement with Rebecca (sorry everybody). Not including our own wedding this year, we went to 3 weddings. We had a band at our reception and EVERYbody (and I mean everybody, from 1-year-olds to 80-something-year-olds) danced a LOT. It was very different at each of the other three weddings we attended… at least 2 used iTunes from a laptop, and I’m not sure what the other did, but they didn’t hire a band or DJ. The biggest problem I saw with all of them (I’m not trying to criticize) was that there wasn’t a good-enough person, or person at all, emceeing it music… the music just kind of played, and very few people danced at any of them. My biggest suggestion if using an iPod or laptop to be to have an energetic people-person emcee… I really think it could make a big difference!
While I think this is a neat idea for some people, especially if you are way into music or on a strict budget I can see some big problems with it for me personally.
Like all things DIY the key words are planning, time and research. A lot of people assume “hey all I need is my Ipod or laptop to do this,” but really it is potentially a huge investment of time and money depending on your venue etc. I have learned through the wedding planning process that there are somethings that I dont mind DIYing and there are others that are just not worth my sanity. For me the IPod wedding idea would be the later. I look at this and go ok great if you really do have the time to do as Christine mentioned and work out the all the details and still check into the rentals (cost and availablity) of things like the mic and speakers.
For me I felt more comfortable asking around to friends, who had been to recent weddings, who the best DJ they had seen was. Then doing the research and interviewing them, than I did dealing with one more time consuming task that would worry me the day of the wedding. Yes DJ’s can suck, but like all the vendors we all use for our weddings it really depends on the research you do. For me I need the piece of mind to know that I hired this guy and frankly if he screws up I can hold him accountable vs. “oh crap the Ipod ______ (you fill in the blank): broke, lost our songs, died, got lost or was forgotten” or that one of my family members totally screws up the MC duties or DJ duties. I cant exactly yell at someone who just did me a favor in the first place but I sure can yell like a banshee if I pay you good money for your DJ service :). So again while I think this maybe a great idea for some brides I think you would definatly need to go into it with your eyes wide open to the time it’s going to take and ultimatly that just isnt for me, let me sit and watch Grey’s Anatomy anytime over this. 
Thank you so much for posting about this! We’re planning on DJing our own wedding with our laptop but thought I was the only one with this idea! It’s great to hear that this has been successful and with all the comments it sounds like it will work perfectly with the type of reception we are planning. Thank you again!
Love this post! We are kind of doing a little of both. I’ve been to a couple of weddings with DJs and was not impressed enough to want to put out that kind of money (one obviously didn’t check the music after he downloaded it because some important songs just turned out to be sample clips!)
What we’re doing is crafting the playlist ourselves and having an MC and then an unofficial DJ to monitor the sound system and to switch songs when we need it.
I don’t need more stuff so I asked both of these people to help me out in lieu of a wedding gift and they happily agreed.
Regardless whether you DJ or ipod your wedding (bands I have no experience with), I still feel it’s important you and your fiance sit down and really think about your song list.
With a simple google search, you’ll be able to find many “top” lists for slow, dance, mother/son, father/daughter songs, etc. Use these as a basis to decide which songs you really want played (or not played) at your wedding. Also, check out itunes searching for “wedding”, “dinner”, “reception”, etc. songs - you’ll find compilation cds as well as playlists that regular ‘ole ppl have uploaded for their own wedding receptions!
Last but not least, if you ipod your wedding, have a backup. Bring both your ipod and laptop. ‘nuf said on that one.
[...] my post about iPod receptions garnered lots of feedback; mostly from people who support using an iPod over using a DJ. I figured [...]
OMG annieoakley!!! …your wedding song list sounds exactly like what we want to play for our wedding. My fiance is in his late thirties and I’m in my early thirties and we have decided to go the ipod route (mostly because of budget) but I’m totally perplexed in how to begin. Do you think you could send me your songlist? My fiance has so much music on his computer that I’m sure we’ll have all or most of what’s on yours. It would be a big help for us in starting our music project.
THANKS!!!
Mrs. Corn, Newport, RI
Age and Occupation in '07: 31, HR for public accounting firm
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 33, Consultant for public accounting firm
Engagement Date: October 7, 2006
Wedding Date: September, 2007
Blogging Since: June 1, 2007
Venue: North Lawn of Fort Adams State Park
About Me: I am a lazy scrapbooker who loves the instant gratification of making cards and I am very easily distracted by all things shiny. In honor of my childhood nights spent hibachi BBQing on the beach with my family, we are hosting a traditional New England Clambake for our reception.
We’re going to do it. I’ve been to a few weddings now where it’s worked out well and many, many more where awful DJs have ruined the atmosphere. (There’s actually a way to format iTunes playback so one song fades into another; that will eliminate those awkward pauses).