Wedding Blog
Mr. Pineapple and I decide to join the bandwagon and have an iPod/Macbook set-up for our wedding. The main driver, like with many people, for us was cost. I feel that the DJ can make or break the reception. I have been to both a wedding with a good DJ and one with an embarrassing DJ. Often good DJs come with a hefty price tag. So, if we were going to take a risk with going cheap, we figured we would go ahead and take the plunge to DIY our music.
There are a couple things that are working in our favor. First and foremost, is my wonderfully amazing friend Mike. He and I met line dancing a few years ago at our favorite place to boot scoot, Saddle Ridge. Mike went to school for musical theater and performs here in Pittsburgh. He just finished up his role as Rif in West Side Story. Mike will be one of Mr. Pineapple’s groomsmen and our MC! He teaches theater and dance classes and has a huge library of music (in addition to what Mr. P and I have acquired over the years).
I am very excited that we will know our MC we are confident he will do a great job getting everyone excited. I will make sure to get my playlists very organized so all he has to do music-wise is click play.
Additionally, the Rivers Club has a sound system we can use. Originally, we thought we would have to rent or borrow the equipment, but we are lucky to have that resource already available to us. Of course there is a flip side, I’m nervous. What if no one dances? What if something goes wrong and even after our test-run, the set up doesn’t work the night of the wedding?
I’ve read a lot of how-to articles about DIY music. So, I think I have the logistics figured out, but I have never seen it in action. Has anyone else had an “iPod wedding?” What is your advice for me?
|
Share this post: Our Free J
I am having an IPOD wedding as well. I feel the same way you do in regards to a DJ making or breaking a wedding and I’m not sure the extra cost is worth it. We are going to make our own play list and hope for the best.
I have been to 2 IPod weddings. I saw a couple problems. At one, the sound system wasn’t working for about a half hour and the groom was futzing with wires the whole time. They had their reception at a municipal type building though, so there wasn’t really a banquet manager that was there to swoop in and save the day. I know my fiancee would hate to do that…so make sure you know the sound system at your reception place well before the day of your wedding…or have a backup plan.
I also did not like was that anyone (including the bride and groom) were able (and did!) change songs at will, sometimes in the middle of a song. Of course this is probably not what they thought would happen, but when the ipod is just laying out and people have had some drinks, things happen.
I would suggest having the lineup pre-done exactly the way you want it, hide it and dont touch it for the entire evening. That way, no one else will feel like they can touch it.
I have been a very budget conscious bride so far, but having been to the ipod weddings, I knew I wanted a dj. I didn’t want to put it on any of our guests to “man” the ipod/ do announcements. I want to enjoy our reception and I want our guests to enjoy it also…I dont want to think about playlists and keeping the dancefloor full.
We ran an iPod reception for my friends’ wedding after their awesome band left for the night. They left it up to me, but we met with them and went over the playlist, bought songs they wanted but didn’t have, etc. I think it went too well - they danced so long that my playlist was just about done, so FI went out to the car to get his and we cobbled together songs between his and mine for the rest of the night. We even took some requests! This was at a private home and other friends had brought a stereo with good speakers for us to hook into. It worked fine, but I wouldn’t do it without someone to “man” the iPod and switch things up to keep things moving. Plus, whoever is doing that job doesn’t really get to enjoy the party. All things considered, it was fine for that night, but I think I’ll hire a DJ for mine. I know I don’t want to do it and I don’t want to have any of my friends “working” my wedding.
we’re going the iTunes/MacBook route as well and are very glad about it. we’ve got a back-up sound system in case the building sound is fritzy or not good and will be adjusting the volumes and trimming overly long songs or songs with long pauses at the end to increase the flow. A post on the boards had a great suggestion - separating the playlists for different portions of the evening (cocktail, dinner, first dance, dancing). That way, if things go long, you don’t realize your first dance song is playing while you’re finishing up dinner. 
We wanted a Free-J, but no one wanted to MC. So we rearranged our budget to hire one that we loved on the chiz-eap.
Find an inexpensive DJ. Unless you are having a reception with 30 guests in a small room, this does not work well. Why take such a big chance at your reception? The one place where your guests will spend the most time? Atmosphere is everything…
we did the iPod wedding, for around 90 people in a hall/atrium area. one of my best friends and former roommate was in charge of the ipod. i made up two playlists for her, one for entrance/dinner (classical) and one for dancing (swing/classics), and made sure both playlists had twice as many songs as needed (ie, six hours of music for three hour time slots). she let it play for most of the time, but because of the extra songs she was able to change it if necessary. it wasn’t until the end of the night, when most had left and we were just sitting around that my brothers grabbed it and started changing songs at will.
as long as you’ve got a friend to man it, and you’ve got a good playlist, it totally works and it’s excellent money saved.
We’re having an iPod wedding reception too. We’re asking friends to prepare ’sets’ of up to 1hr each and send them to my brother, who will prepare one long playlist for the night. The computer will not be easily-accessible and there will be no skipping the track / requests. (I hate it when people change songs halfway through!)
oh gees, I’m kind of scared now. I know this will be a little work for Mike, but he is seriously excited about it and there will only be a few times he will need to be at the mic. (so no more work than a speech or a toast) Yeah, it is a big risk but really we cannot afford the additional expense of hiring a DJ at this point. It will be a challenge to make it work and make it great, but I’m up for it.
[...] light of Miss Pineapple’s recent post on iPod wedding music, it’s time to share the tale of our biggest wedding [...]
| Visit our sister sites | Project Wedding Wedding Songs |
eHarmony Advice Dating Advice |
JustMommies Pregnancy Calendar |
Fertile Thoughts Infertility Support |
Mrs. Pineapple, Pittsburgh
Age and Occupation: 24, Graphic Designer
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 27, Student Affairs Administration
Engagement Date: August 4, 2007
Wedding Date: October, 2008
Blogging Since: April 14, 2008
Venue: The Rivers Club
About Me: Being a transplant from sunny south Florida I am learning to live with all four seasons while playing with our cat collective, line dancing, and doing a ton of DIY projects for our wedding (seriously, like a thousand)!
| Sun | Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 |
| 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 |
| 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 |
| 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 |
| 29 | 30 |
Latest Gallery Pics