DJ or DJ machine

[zoebartlett]

Hi all,

I just read Littlelysser''s post about her BBQ wedding, and she mentioned renting a DJ machine. I know very little about music and technological things.

How does a DJ machine work exactly? What would be the benefit of renting one of them instead of hiring a DJ?

I''m very nervous about this aspect of our wedding. We don''t dance but I know we''ll be expected to and I do want music there. I''m not into DJs that come equipped with gadgets and props. A friend of mine will be RELLY disappointed when she learns that we won''t be doing the macarena, the electric slide, the chicken dance, or the train.

 

[littlelysser]

The thing we are renting is called a quebbie, I believe.

It has like 50000 songs in it or something like that...and if they don''t have a song we want, they can get it for us...

Honestly, I''m not totally sure how it is going to work!

It looks like it has styles of music and various artists, etc...it can do the ceremony music, dinner music and all that stuff too.

I''ll let you know how it goes.

 

[monarch64]

I don''t see why it would be a problem to go with the DJ machine thing, but what will you do about someone emcee-ing, as in, who will announce you and your new DH to the reception guests, etc.? Just curious...I''ve never been to a reception where the machine was used in lieu of a band or DJ, I guess.

 

[Fancy605]

We''re not using a DJ machine, but we are using a sound system with my FI''s computer hooked up to it. (A friend of his is lending it to us and making sure it works smoothly). We have made 3 separate play lists: PreDinner, Dinner, and Dancing as well as a lil short list for our bouquette toss, gaurder toss, and cutting the cake. Our friend is including a microphone so that someone can announce us and that people can make toasts if they want. My Fiance is super excited about having total controll of the music (no electric cha cha for us). He and his friend have already hauled the system out to the site and done a trail run. (thank goodness).

I would imagine a DJ machine would be very similar. If we hadn''t had access to this system, we would have wanted to rent a DJ machine too.

A lot of people like DJs. I like them if they are good (in fact, the one at the most recent wedding I went to was fabulous). But I am too afraid of ending up with a not-to-good one.

 

[sumbride]

I don''t know much about the machine, but one thing a good dj can do is read the crowd. I just went to a wedding where there wasn''t a DJ, just a playlist, and it was awful. The music was not going over well with the crowd, so nobody danced. Do you know how awkward it is to actually hear YMCA and see NOBODY dancing to it? It was just odd. A good dj knows what the crowd wants.

Our DJ is doing both the ceremony and the reception and total cost is only $600. I thought it was quite reasonable because he''ll essentially be running the event. He''s actually a morning guy on a local radio station, does weddings as a side-gig, but he has 20 years experience and came highly recommended so I trust him.

 

[monarch64]

Date: 6/11/2007 10:23:01 PM
Author: sumbride
I don''t know much about the machine, but one thing a good dj can do is read the crowd. I just went to a wedding where there wasn''t a DJ, just a playlist, and it was awful. The music was not going over well with the crowd, so nobody danced. Do you know how awkward it is to actually hear YMCA and see NOBODY dancing to it? It was just odd. A good dj knows what the crowd wants.

Our DJ is doing both the ceremony and the reception and total cost is only $600. I thought it was quite reasonable because he''ll essentially be running the event. He''s actually a morning guy on a local radio station, does weddings as a side-gig, but he has 20 years experience and came highly recommended so I trust him.

ITA, sumbride. Ours was only $700 and did our ceremony as well as our on-site reception, he was fabulous. He came highly recommended and when we interviewed him he gave us a folder including his BBB stats, etc., which was nice. At the time we did not have internet access so we were going on recs alone and interviews... he himself showed up the day of in tux and did a great job with the music and MC''ing. I think the trouble with these DJ machines may lie in the lack of emcee and someone to provide flow between scenes, and of course realize what is pleasing the crowd.

I totally don''t mean to knock the dj machine thing...I just want to remind b''s and g''s that you will need someone to oversee the music no matter what. Like Sumbride said, it can turn into a disaster really quickly and then what do you do? Also, it is typically the DJ or band leader who directs what happens, and when, such as the cake cutting, traditional dances, and so forth, so be careful as far as who you put in charge of that--definitely not a friend of a friend who is tech savvy but likely to imbibe a little too much, lol!

 

[nytemist]

If the wedding is on the smallish side, a DJ machine would work well and be loud enough for all to hear it. Since our wedding was small, we plugged in my friend''s iPod with our selected playlists to my JBL creatures and that was plenty for the space we were in. Another friend worked the ipod for us (when to start the processional music, recessional music and such) He also announced us, announced when dinner was ready and when we were about to cut the cake.

 

[littlelysser]

Yeah...see, we won''t be doing any announcing or anything like that...

we are getting married on my friends'' porch, and walking about 10 feet and starting the reception.

Because it is going to be so casual, I might even announce myself.

My sister is standing with me, FI''s bro is standing with him. That''s it.

As for song choice...we have a pretty eclectic mix - certain songs that mean a whole lot to me and FI and our friends...so those songs will be played for sure...

And reallly, I''m not sure we''ll so much be dancing, as hanging out with music playing...know what I mean?

 

[zoebartlett]

Date: 6/12/2007 9:34:23 AM
Author: littlelysser
Yeah...see, we won''t be doing any announcing or anything like that...

we are getting married on my friends'' porch, and walking about 10 feet and starting the reception.

Because it is going to be so casual, I might even announce myself.

My sister is standing with me, FI''s bro is standing with him. That''s it.

As for song choice...we have a pretty eclectic mix - certain songs that mean a whole lot to me and FI and our friends...so those songs will be played for sure...

And reallly, I''m not sure we''ll so much be dancing, as hanging out with music playing...know what I mean?

I know exactly what you mean and that''s what I want.

 

[robbie3982]

Date: 6/12/2007 9:34:23 AM
Author: littlelysser
Yeah...see, we won''t be doing any announcing or anything like that...

we are getting married on my friends'' porch, and walking about 10 feet and starting the reception.

Because it is going to be so casual, I might even announce myself.

My sister is standing with me, FI''s bro is standing with him. That''s it.

As for song choice...we have a pretty eclectic mix - certain songs that mean a whole lot to me and FI and our friends...so those songs will be played for sure...

And reallly, I''m not sure we''ll so much be dancing, as hanging out with music playing...know what I mean?

I think a dj machine would work really well for what you want. I think it can even work for an event where there''s going to be dancing as long as the person picking the songs has a good feel for the crowd''s taste (much harder than you might think though!)

 

[sumbride]

Yeah, I agree. If you just want background music, a dj machine or ipod and speakers would be perfect.