Thinking about the “luxury” and affordability of an iPod wedding to replace the cost of a DJ? We’ll give you a few reasons why that may not a good choice.
Remember, this is the ONLY event in your life that you can’t re-do, take-back, change, or spend any amount of money after the fact to make it better. Once it’s over, it’s over, good or bad.
I understand that you are deciding between an iPod and a real DJ. There are many pros and cons to an iPod v.s. a real DJ. Many eventually choose a professional DJ over an iPod. The only factor is cost, but what you get with a Professional DJ is much better.
You don’t have to “man” the DJ. The DJ can take requests and knows what to play. With an iPod, you have to always load the songs, pick the songs, and play them. If you do assign someone to “man” the iPod, they may not always want to tend to the music and may want to mingle leaving the iPod vulnerable to other guests who think their music selections get priority. A DJ stays with the sound system. A DJ also knows appropriate volume levels. A DJ interacts with the crowd and makes appropriate announcements. We have top-quality songs. This means that there isn’t low-quality or poor-sounding music. The iPod is limited as to how much music you can play. We have over 2 million songs. The sound system for an iPod is going to be less than desirable. We provide high-end sound systems. an iPod has varying volumes that come from the songs. So when played, some are louder, and some are quieter. When you have a DJ, he can control the sound levels appropriately. The iPod doesn’t set up or take down the equipment, we do!
Now, the cost of a professional DJ and sound system V.S. iPod. an iPod is relatively cheap. Unless you rent a professional sound system. The experienced, well-knowledged DJ armed with all the appropriate gear and skills is a bit more, but usually well worth the hassle of an unprofessional iPod.
Some of the comments that we get and the answers to them are below.
“With the budget I’m on, I’m thinking about it. At least I know what’s being played. I’m just confused as to how to do it.”
That’s a common statement. However, Through our company, DJ Sound Productions, you CAN have your own playlist. You create the list, and we take care of the rest. You don’t have to plug in the playlist, you don’t have to monitor the playlist. You don’t have to make sure every song is of high quality. And if you want to switch up a song, add a song, delete a song, With a DJ, the music never stops. Make the simple quick request and that’s it! Now you don’t have to be confused.
“What about creating a playlist on iTunes and then hooking the laptop into the sound system? We are having our 16-year-old tech-savvy nephew run the system and troubleshoot any problems (he’s a good kid and we trust him) Also, we have asked one of the groomsmen to serve as MC for the evening.”
Ok. Great, you have it figured out! But do you really know? The nephew may be a good “kid” but he’s still a kid. Can you expect him to stand there and man the iPod? Does he know what to do when requests come in? Does the music have to stop to plug in the guest’s requests? Does your nephew have wedding experience in DJing that can get people to the dance floor appropriately and know what to say to get your guests excited about the dance? Don’t you think that your “kid nephew” won’t want to spend time with those that he knows?
The Groomsman as an MC. You know that you’ll be able to find him when announcements need to be made and then make them in a timely matter? If the venue needs an announcement made, does he have to run up there to make those? Are you sure as the night progresses that there won’t be an impromptu “drunken speech”? And most of all, don’t you think the Groomsman wants to spend time with the Groom?
“I’m using my laptop. Idk if you know this already, but if you set up your wedding website there’s a section where you can have ppl request music they’d like to hear at your wedding. I plan on using that, one of my fears w/ using my laptop is that ppl won’t like the music, but that way we can get a lot of variety if everyone’s giving input.”
This is true, there are places (and we have one too) where guests can request their music. However, on the night of your wedding, how do you know that your guest requests have the best interest of ALL guests in mind? Now, you eliminate a guest’s music request. They get upset. How do you handle this? Our DJ’s are professionally trained to handle this type of situation. Variety is great. But the wrong variety can kill the dance and the wedding. A professional DJ knows what variety works with your wedding Guests. This is ONLY learned by DJing hundreds of weddings and getting that experience that your iPod or computer doesn’t have.
“My venue has a sound system and I can hook the iPod into that and let it roll!”
Great! But did you read your venue contract? Most wedding venues in the state of Minnesota require that a professional “man” the sound system. And did they charge you for the use of that sound system? Although, you can get buy with hiring a DJ by the hour and NOT using their sound system. This can still be cheaper if the wedding venue didn’t charge you for the use of their sound system.
“My iPod sounds great. We’ll have no problem”
Yep, they always do sound great over your headphones or a small speaker system. But what about the professional audio system that’s needed for a large group of people? This needs a much better sound processor. Most iPods have compressed music. 128kps or 192kps. We have 320kps high-quality .mp3s and software that processes the music at a high rate so that the song doesn’t cut out, sound scratchy, or not play at all. That’s why your iPod comes with only one option, small speakers, called headphones.
In the end. If you have a budget that’s way too small to have any type of DJ at your wedding, then you have no choice but to use an iPod. With proper planning, researching, searching, and a little more saved money, you can go professional. An iPod can never replace the benefits of a well-qualified, professionally trained and experienced wedding DJ.