Having a dj for a late sunday evening wedding

Question

We are having the wedding at 7 and reception at 8. I would imagine that people will want to leave by 10 as will we since we have a 6 am flight to miami the next day. Should we even bother with the dj or just have an ipod going so that people can dance if they want to? I am on the fence with this! It will only be a 250 difference in our budget but I would much rather use that elsewhere if people will be leaving shortly after they eat and mingle.

Answer 1

I wouldn't assume people will be done partying at 10pm, that's basically only 2 hours.  any reception I've been to was at least 4 hours long.  you can leave at 10pm or whatever time you want since you have to get up early, but your guests might stay up longer so I would book the DJ until 12am.  if it's a resort I imagine that if you do close up the reception at 10pm there are bars and places they can go to hang out if they want to continue to party though.

Answer 2

Well, if you want people to stay, then get a DJ.  If you don't, most people won't think that you want people to stay or see a reason to, so they will leave.  It just depends whether you want to hang out or if you want the party to be over.

Answer 3

have the dj. trust me. i work at a photographer so i know how the party goes if there is no dj. u will miss the fun...

u got a photographer?

Answer 4

Who is going to make all the announcements? Where I'm from the DJ is the most essential part of a reception, coordinating all the events and synchronizing with the photographer. There is absolutely no comparison between playing Ipod music, with the embarrassing pause between songs and having a real DJ who will anticipate the crowd and keep the dance floor full. Including the answers here, I have heard of ONE instance where someone thought playing preselected music at a reception was good AFTER the event. Please tell me you're not thinking of playing it through a home stereo!  

Answer 5

Easy answer for me... iPod all the way.  Though actually executing the iPod was interesting.  Officially, I put my music-loving brother in charge of it, but he didn't really get what I needed.  I made several foolproof playlists (8:00-8:05 Cake Cutting, 8:05-8:10 First Dance), because it wouldn't do to play them right through, you know?  If you spent a little longer cutting the cake, you don't want the song to come on while you're smashing cake in his face.  It also doesn't account for any changes.  I tried to anticipate when folks would want to slow it down or speed it up on the dance floor, and I didn't do too badly, but I had some misses.  I ended up running from the dance floor to the iPod a couple times near the end, and it was not so graceful, lol.  I still recommend the iPod to save money, and to get every song you want in the order you want them, but be aware of some of the drawbacks.  

Answer 6

First, the wedding seems late especially if you are saying that you will be leaving since you have a 6am flight. That doesn't' seems like you will be able to enjoy much of your wedding. But if you are not willing to make an earlier ceremony then I still think you should have  a DJ so he can play during the reception anyhow.