Doing your own DJing?

CamillaRhodes

Has anybody done their own DJing at their wedding, or seen it done, rather than hiring a professional?

We're on a super tight budget, and we're having a small pub wedding. No band, very little traditional stuff, just our friends, food and drink and some tunes. Without wanting to sound cocky, we know our tunes and have a pretty clear idea of the sort of music we want to play at various stages of the day and night, and will be putting together play lists for the earlier part of the day. We'll have hired sound equipment.

Do we really need to pay hundreds of euro to a professional DJ?! Is there something they'll provide that we're missing, other than the setlist and equipment? We don't want any shout-outs to the crowd or anything like that. I'm imagining we'll need someone to take responsibility for the tech side of things, just in case a laptop froze or something like that, but can't see that being a problem for one of the groomsmen or someone...

I'm sure I'll be flamed by the professional DJs out there - sorry guys, no offence intended - but if anyone has experienced this as a bride / groom / wedding attendee, I'd appreciate your honest feedback - thanks!

unclebill98

One experience of it was seeing a friend of the couple Dj'ing after we finished playing. By the time it came time for them to do it they where far from ready (also a bit merry) to get going and just made a complete mess of it. Still nothing right up until the time we left. I did DJ weddings for years and TBH it can be done by someone with little knowledge to an extent as in press play and line up songs, there is of course much more to it than that.

Seeing as this is the only form of entertainment for the night I may not be wise too leave it in the hands of a novice.

Your right in saying you don't have to pay 100's, you might find one well within some kind of budget. Specially if its a pub sized venue. Maybe ask the pub do they know someone who could to it.

Hiring a rig in and connecting an ipod on a playlist is doable but what happens when you have a good few up dancing and someone wishes to change the song, music stops, people sit down etc. Or if its on a playlist for an hour and someone picks another song, it then may well go back to playing and repeating songs. Your also added some pressure onto your friends to "entertain" when they may prefer to just sit back and relax at that stage of the night.

Its doable but its on a knife edge to go wrong.

clint_silver

CamillaRhodes wrote: »

Has anybody done their own DJing at their wedding, or seen it done, rather than hiring a professional?

We're on a super tight budget, and we're having a small pub wedding. No band, very little traditional stuff, just our friends, food and drink and some tunes. Without wanting to sound cocky, we know our tunes and have a pretty clear idea of the sort of music we want to play at various stages of the day and night, and will be putting together play lists for the earlier part of the day. We'll have hired sound equipment.

Do we really need to pay hundreds of euro to a professional DJ?! Is there something they'll provide that we're missing, other than the setlist and equipment? We don't want any shout-outs to the crowd or anything like that. I'm imagining we'll need someone to take responsibility for the tech side of things, just in case a laptop froze or something like that, but can't see that being a problem for one of the groomsmen or someone...

I'm sure I'll be flamed by the professional DJs out there - sorry guys, no offence intended - but if anyone has experienced this as a bride / groom / wedding attendee, I'd appreciate your honest feedback - thanks!

anyone flames you for posting that is an idiot and also ignore anyone who says "sure all DJs do are play jivebunny mixes anyway, my ipod got me through my wedding and I saved hundreds"

All the points unclebill posted are true. If you can stretch to a DJ, do, as he can make an ok night for you turn into a really good one, should be able to find someone in the 200-250e range if he's local and its a small pub thing. However, if you dont have a budget, then no problem, lets look at alternatives.

Is there a sound system/DJ booth in the pub. this will save you on equipment hire. also gives you bargaining power with a cheaper DJ if you can stretch to it.

If not, will cost you guts of 80-100 to rent the equipment anyway.

the music itself must have some expectancy on it. how long is the night? you'll play 15-20 songs per hour, do the maths. are you expecting dancing or jsut background listening? If noone dances will it bother you, maybe its just a listening, bop the head night.

to play the night, get any mp3 player that can handle playlists, ipod is as good as any, if you have an iphone theres many freeware DJ tools (edjing, traktor), these can be set to autoplay and will autofade between tunes. makes it very easy.

if youre playing off a laptop, could have a playlist playing itunes with a laminate instruction beside that if anyone wants to play their own song, they can drop it into the playlist but not stop the current song, sort of like a jukebox.
you can get freeware DJ tools that will do playlist autofade as well. keeps the night going.
could pay a DJ to put some playlists together. I dunno, 50e maybe?
or as bill suggested, maybe the bar has some guys who will play for the night for a price thats within budget. 200e should do ya.

lazygal

Entertainment is not somewhere I'd be looking to DIY on my wedding day. The last thing I'd have wanted to do after a day of getting ready, having a ceremony, chatting to friends and family and having a few drinks and food is turn into a DJ. I'd ask the venue to recommend someone or ask around among those who've gotten married.

Milly33

I love jive bunny!! hehe

We went to a wedding recently and they were in the same boat saying they would get a band and then my manfriend done the tunes.

He didn't have to do much on the night itself, what he done was get a list of songs from the groom and then get the songs. Go through them and blend them in a nice set list. So each song scrolled into the next, some had a short little stop but nothing major. It went done great, as all the music they wanted and more was played.

I think a good way to get around lets say ye just having yer own taste and nothing else, is to ask on the invites for people to put a song down that you would include in the set list, so everyone is kept happy then.

Things like equipment and lights you might be surprised at, you can pick them up second hand for not too bad a price and they are something that will always be used for parties. We would be lucky as himself is into music and knows what he is doing with all the techie stuff but I am sure some one of the friends would know someone who would be willing to help. Also keep an eye on some disco things on sale in Argos or Halfords. Picked up a funky smoke machine for I think €25 euro about three years ago in Halfords and it is going great still and you get a lot of smoke from a small bottle. Disco balls are always on sale and most of them are the same, some lights then and your sorted.

Kinda thinking of going down the same route ourselves either having a band or good DJ more going for the band me thinks

D3PO

of course you can do your own djing, you can also getty your aunt getrude to take your photos and your uncle phil to drive you to the venue.

All you need is a way to play music a disposable camera and a lada and your laughing.

Ok a bit extreme but I think it makes my point clear. You can do pretty much anything to do with a wedding without hiring professionals, but the results of which will vary widely and are very unlikely to be anywhere near that of a professional.

Djing at a wedding is not just about lining up a playlist and pressing play a few times. It takes a lot of time to properly learn the craft like any prefession and in my opinion its not something to be skimped on if it can be avoided.

Food, entertainment and photography in no particular order are by far and a way the most critical thing about a wedding. The food and entertainment are the only thing the guests are likely to remember, they wont remember the dainty little favours, or the hand crafted mass booklets or so on and photographs are the one thing you will ahve to look back on your day with (perhaps video)

point is if your on a budget cut the fat (favours, fancy invites, etc) before you cut the flesh

Shedite27

Totally differnet, but I organised a night in college where we got a iPod instead of a DJ, and one very important thing is to eliminate the quiet space between songs.

I mixed it mysely (I used Windows Media Player), and it creates one track, 4/5 hours long with all songs merging into each other. I then put a pin code on the iPod and hid it so nobody could change it for the nights.

That's quite improtant IMO, the quiet time between songs will kill a dancefloor, or will be eerie in a pub.

CamillaRhodes

Thanks Shedite, good points.

@D3PO, you may think it's extreme to have family and friends doing photography and driving us to the venue, but guess what? We're doing exactly that. We don't consider food, entertainment and photography the most critical things at our wedding. For us, the most critical thing is having our friends and family present to witness us exchanging our vows, and have a bit of craic afterwards. I've been to many weddings and only really remember the ones where I had good banter with my friends; certainly I can't differentiate between any of the wedding DJs I've had the honour of experiencing.

Each to their own, but I think we have different perspectives about what matters in a wedding, both as a guest and, in this case, as the marrying couple. We're having to blow most of our budget on flying our friends and family in from overseas - if I have to get to the venue in a lada, I couldn't give a rats compared to the importance I place on having my loved ones there.

dilallio

If you are going down the ipod route, it's better to have 2 iPods with the same playlists on each.

Make sure that you have an amplifier/mixer which can crossfade between the 2 iPods. This way, if the playlist which is currently playing isn't having the desired effect, you can immediately and smoothly change to an alternative playlist on the 2nd iPod without an awkward delay.

If there is a sizeable delay while you change songs or playlists, your guests will feel self-conscious and abandon the dancefloor for the bar or the smoking area.

Also, have someone you can trust look after it for the night.

sweetie

It can be done but don't skimp on the gear needed and the prep work. Seeing as you will be in a smaller venue then two tops and a par bar would probably suffice. I would get an ipad and virtual djay app on automix would not only cut out the silence at the start and end of songs but also mix the songs together (reasonably well) so you won't have the long intros and outros that are generally cut by the dj so he doesn't lose the dancefloor. Always have a backup plan (ipod/iphone) and spare cables if possible and if the music you like isn't working maybe some chart or oldies if you can abide them.

clint_silver

Shedite27 wrote: »

Totally differnet, but I organised a night in college where we got a iPod instead of a DJ, and one very important thing is to eliminate the quiet space between songs.

I mixed it mysely (I used Windows Media Player), and it creates one track, 4/5 hours long with all songs merging into each other. I then put a pin code on the iPod and hid it so nobody could change it for the nights.

That's quite improtant IMO, the quiet time between songs will kill a dancefloor, or will be eerie in a pub.

no need to do premix, just order the playlists. then get traktor or edjing or any one of many freeware DJ apps and theyll transition the songs automatically between each other. so its fading left and right all night.

If on laptop, virtual DJ does the same thing. any software really that will autofade, takes the pain away from spending hours pre-mixing and being stuck with long mixes you can get out of.


edit: post crossed with sweetie. same thing.

D3PO

CamillaRhodes wrote: »

Thanks Shedite, good points.

@D3PO, you may think it's extreme to have family and friends doing photography and driving us to the venue, but guess what? We're doing exactly that. We don't consider food, entertainment and photography the most critical things at our wedding. For us, the most critical thing is having our friends and family present to witness us exchanging our vows, and have a bit of craic afterwards. I've been to many weddings and only really remember the ones where I had good banter with my friends; certainly I can't differentiate between any of the wedding DJs I've had the honour of experiencing.

Each to their own, but I think we have different perspectives about what matters in a wedding, both as a guest and, in this case, as the marrying couple. We're having to blow most of our budget on flying our friends and family in from overseas - if I have to get to the venue in a lada, I couldn't give a rats compared to the importance I place on having my loved ones there.

I think you have taken my post up wrong. Theres nothing wrong with having a friend do your photos or a family member giving you a lift or doing the music yourself for that matter.

Everybody has a budget to work to and clearly different people also have a difference in opinions on what parts of the auxilary parts of the celebration are important. (and guest would be integral not auxilary IMO)

My point was if somebody is thinking I can save a few bob on a DJ and instead decised to go spend it on an ice sculpture they should seriouisly think again at what parts of the festivities are the key ones.

With regards to not remembering a DJ from weddings you have been at thats necessicarilary not a bad thing, if the music and or dj was bad you would remember thats the difference.

clearly your not looking at trying to save on a DJ to get a helicopter to the venue instead so perhaps the main message in my post doesnt apply to you but the message in itself is still a reasonable one.

Princess Peach

I was at a wedding where the couple had a set playlist on a laptop for the night and it wasn't great. People would get up to dance to a good song, which was then followed by a not so good song to dance to, or one of a totally different mood and everyone would sit down. There really wasn't much dancing done on the night at all.

If there had been a DJ there with a full selection of music they could have read the mood of the guests and had a fair idea of what song to play next to keep the atmosphere up. Nobody was dancing and you couldn't just request a better song then!

I think the couple had just made a list of all the songs they like without thinking about what the guests would like and what was the best playlist to get people up to dance. Which is very hard to do in advance on the night!

It was a lovely wedding and done on a small budget, but I did really think they should have cut back somewhere to pay for a DJ.

gazzer

I did the music for my civil partnership. There was 160 people coming to it. In the weeks leading up to it I emailed and Facebook'd guests and asked them what songs they would like to hear. A huge majority of them came back with the same songs. From it I made a song package up of 50 songs (mixture of everything) and just hooked my laptop up to the sound system in the reception room and it went down a storm judging from a fairly full dancefloor for most of the night.

clint_silver

gazzer wrote: »

I did the music for my civil partnership. There was 160 people coming to it. In the weeks leading up to it I emailed and Facebook'd guests and asked them what songs they would like to hear. A huge majority of them came back with the same songs. From it I made a song package up of 50 songs (mixture of everything) and just hooked my laptop up to the sound system in the reception room and it went down a storm judging from a fairly full dancefloor for most of the night.

what would you have done if it didnt?

TBi

I've been a part time DJ for the last few years and i still got a professional to do it for me. A good DJ will watch the crowd and cater the music to suit the mood. Of course i could have done it myself, i have done other weddings, but it was good not to worry about it. The DJ wasn't expensive (300 yo yo for the night) and everyone was thrilled with her song choices.

It's like servicing a car yourself, it'll be fine as long as everything goes smoothly but if something goes wrong you'll be wishing you had a professional who knew what they were doing. Who needs that stress on their wedding?

lazygal

I remember the floor.clearing when our band started a song I knew was part of a trio of songs. They finished it early and went straight to a different set of songs, cue full dance floor again. What happens if you can't deviate from a playlist?

gazzer

clint_silver wrote: »

what would you have done if it didnt?

Well that was why I got in contact with people to see what songs they would like to have heard played.

I have been to many awesome weddings at which friends DJed (in fact I have been one of them).

I've also been to weddings where a 'professional' DJ made a total balls of it.

If you know your tunes and you have a couple of friends who have or know their way around a set of decks, I don't understand why you wouldn't go DIY.

When you have a house party do you get a professional DJ in?

Wisesmurf

Spotify is another option.

I used it at a party recently and it worked flawlessly.
You can pick any song and stick it on a playlist. You can download them to your device or stream them - Streaming works well on even crap connections. You can crossfade on Spotify too and it's really good.

There is an active community of play list creators there and you could just either create your own from theirs or pick theirs and back them up.

At the moment I'd think:

'Party of the century' for about an hour,
'Top List Ireland' for an hour
Then whatever you feel, options are literally endless.

OuterBombie

CamillaRhodes wrote: »

Without wanting to sound cocky, we know our tunes and have a pretty clear idea of the sort of music we want to play at various stages of the day and night, and will be putting together play lists for the earlier part of the day. We'll have hired sound equipment.

We did similar at our wedding except instead of hiring sound equipment separate to the bands I just asked them could I use theirs (I realise ye aren't having a band). This was back in first generation ipod times as well so no fancy mixed playlists, etc that are available now. My friends and surprisingly most of my relatives are still talking about how good a night it was.

Since then I've been to weddings where the DJ has been incredible, choosing music to suit the crowd and atmosphere and I've been to weddings where the DJ was utter muck.

At the end of a night, good tunes will rule the roost. If you trust yourself to deliver them then I would go for it. If you don't (maybe run it by a friend) then hire a pro, preferably someone you have heard before or are recommended.

Enjoy it

To be honest although I don't see any need for a professional DJ I do think you need someone responsible for the tunes and managing the situation. I would want someone behind the decks.

Maybe it's just the circles I mix in but I know loads of people who I would trust to do that job.

pwurple

I still wish we had ditched the band and just gone with dj for ours. Band let us down big time. Didn't show up and sent a stand-in band instead who were woeful.

I've been to a few weddings now with just dj's and they were really great. Took requests, sized up the crowd as they went along and played music suited to the age group who wanted to dance. Very impressed with them. They seemed to have a lot of gear like lights as well, and they line up a few songs when they go for breaks, so the crowd can keep going, which bands don't do well at all in my experience.

I think it would be hard to manage all that with just an ipod.

That said, we had a few rooms in our venue that were more for chilling out rather than dancing, and we stuck ipods with mix lists in those, and they worked well to create the atmosphere we wanted ( i think!).

So it depends what you are after. Ipods very good for background music, not as good for a dancefloor.

itsirishfarmer

I saw that at a wedding it was a total cock up,

surly you can get a dj cheap 200 euros and free dinner

Mobile Dj

€150 - €180

For someone to stick to a playlist, provide equipment would be the going fee.

clint_silver

Mobile Dj wrote: »

€150 - €180

For someone to stick to a playlist, provide equipment would be the going fee.

going fee for who?

Mobile Dj

clint_silver wrote: »

going fee for who?

I could list a number of people supplying this.. but not going to give free advertising to them.

Two speakers - laptop - button pusher (not a DJ).

YossiA

Was at a wedding recently where we all got involved in djing, was great fun.

CamillaRhodes wrote: »

Has anybody done their own DJing at their wedding, or seen it done, rather than hiring a professional?

We're on a super tight budget, and we're having a small pub wedding. No band, very little traditional stuff, just our friends, food and drink and some tunes. Without wanting to sound cocky, we know our tunes and have a pretty clear idea of the sort of music we want to play at various stages of the day and night, and will be putting together play lists for the earlier part of the day. We'll have hired sound equipment.

Do we really need to pay hundreds of euro to a professional DJ?! Is there something they'll provide that we're missing, other than the setlist and equipment? We don't want any shout-outs to the crowd or anything like that. I'm imagining we'll need someone to take responsibility for the tech side of things, just in case a laptop froze or something like that, but can't see that being a problem for one of the groomsmen or someone...

I'm sure I'll be flamed by the professional DJs out there - sorry guys, no offence intended - but if anyone has experienced this as a bride / groom / wedding attendee, I'd appreciate your honest feedback - thanks!

clint_silver

YossiA wrote: »

Was at a wedding recently where we all got involved in djing, was great fun.

its very do-able as long as theres an expectancy about the night. everyones got smartphones these days with music on them, get an analog mixer, get 2 x RCA to 1/8" cables, run them into 2 channels, people play their own music then. everyone gets a turn if they want.

therell be times when people are dancing, therell be some times when people aren't. It wont be a problem. Lots of weddings are full of people who arent bothered about dancing except for a 10 minute slot over 4-5 hours.

anyone who wants some help setting this up, post here or pm me and I'll tell you what you need.

turbot

If you are going to DJ yourself, then the most important thing is to:

1) Understand what will get the audience going - don't play the music you like exclusively - play the music the audience will like
2) Make sure your PA system is fit for purpose and loud enough to fill the venue. Probably talking to someone in a PA hire shop with clarify this for you.

As an alternative to doing it yourself, what you *could consider* is to jump onto MixCloud and find a DJ who has good mixes that match the audience you're thinking of, and ask them to do you a custom mix and pay for that instead, unless they already have such a mix.

Option two is to look at the track listings in a custom mix and use them with DJ software like Traktor, but this one requires some practice, and is only really suitable if you put a decent amount of time in.

Daniela12

Last summer my uncle got married, and he had my cousin do the music for 2 hours, and then me for 2 hours. Afterwards anyone could come to the music set (two sound boxes attached to a computer) and put on something that they like. It was nice, we had some special songs already prepared, for the ''special'' moments, and otherwise, the people who cared enough got to pick what they want. It gives a chance for the big dancers to get a go with their favorite song, which makes people happy!