I have a lot of music on my I Pod or Laptop, Can I just use it instead of a DJ to play music for my reception?

Of course, you could always bring your own personal iPod and just play your own personal favorites that you downloaded from ITunes.  Of course your I-Pod doesn't come with a sound system and wireless mic so you'll need to rent that.  It also does not come with a light show.   It' can't take requests or "Mix" the songs which means there will be a pause between songs where your guests will exit the dance floor.  The most important aspect is something that might not not jump out at you until the most important day of your life: Who is going to help coordinate the details of your reception with your photographer and caterer and other wedding vendors? Who is going to introduce the wedding party and announce all the special dances and other reception formalities such as the cake cutting and Bouquet toss?  Who is going to introduce the Toasts? Who is going to help "get the party started" after dinner? Who is going to announce your First Dance? See what I mean. If you opt for this money saving route, most likely these responsibilities will end up resting on your shoulders and instead of relaxing and enjoying the greatest day of your life with your family and friends, you will suddenly have become the MC and DJ at your own event! You could also cut corners with your food selection and have pizzas delivered to the venue but is this a wise decision? Your friends and family might never let you live it down. Yet some couple's don't mind doing something similar with their reception entertainment.  Don't your guests deserve something better?  Sure, Hiring a professional costs more than a do-it-yourself project. But, is your wedding reception really a do-it-yourself project?

A DJ is a professional that knows through years of experience which songs to play and at the right time to keep your dance floor full with all your guests having a great time! This only comes from training and years of experience of performing at weddings and an extensive knowledge of music, equipment, and public speaking skills to make a successful event.

If you decide to hire your friend, he or she will be responsible for properly introducing the wedding party, the co-ordination of all the reception events and knowing how to get the party started and to keep it going for 4-5 hours or longer. Do they have a back up plan if their laptop were to crash? There are many things that can go wrong that you might not have even thought about. Unless your DJ friend is a true professional he/she may not have even thought of these small details that can mean the difference between a successful and memorable reception or a wedding nightmare.

Even if your friend or relative has a lot of music in their digital collection, laptop or I Pod does not mean that they know which songs will "Fill" the dance floor and which songs will "Kill" the dance floor. Say they have 5,000 songs in their library. There are 60 minutes in an hour. Most songs average 4 minutes in length. 60 minutes divided by 4 minutes per song = 15 songs per hour. If your reception is 5 hours long, 5 x 15 = 75 songs total that can be played in the allotted time frame. The other 4,925 songs don't matter!!! What makes the difference between hiring a professional DJ and using your friend is that a professional DJ will know exactly which 75 songs out of the 5,000 to play that will match both your desires and the desires of your guests to keep them on the dance floor without interuption. There is a genuine craft to sequencing these songs in an appealing fashion, entertaining the maximum number of people at any one time (keeping the most people on the dance floor), yet managing a degree of creativity from one event to another to reflect the bride and groom's uniqueness and style. Even a person well versed in pop music does not have the intangible quality of being able to choose songs for an audience beyond their own musical taste or preference. Songs like "Cha Cha Slide, Y.M.C.A., Electric Slide, etc.. rarely show up on a personal MP3 player or laptop, as they are not great listening songs, but they're great party songs! A DJ is a professional that knows through years of experience which songs to play and at the right time to keep your dance floor full with all of your guests having a great time! This only comes from training and years of experience performing at weddings and an extensive knowledge of knowing which songs "Work" to make a successful and memorable event.

The bottom line is that, just as with anything in life, you'll get what you pay for.  Sure you can hire a friend or use an I-pod with a rented sound system with nobody at the helm. You'll still be married at the end of the day.  Just don't expect your reception to be the one that everyone talks about for years to come. You can also probably find someone who dabbles in the business as a side job and cuts corners by illegally downloading music for free from virus infested share websites and maybe things may go well if his laptop doesn't crash during the event Or you can hire a Full-Time, Professional, Reputable Company and pay slightly more for your own peace of mind knowing that " You're in Good Hands"!!!

Imagine this terrifying scenario:

You arrive at your reception and let the DJ (Your Friend) know that the bridal party has arrived and you are ready to be introduced. Your Friend (The DJ) scrambles to find the list of names that you emailed to him 2 weeks before your big day. He/she grabs the mic and starts announcing the wedding party without even walking out to greet the wedding party and make sure they are lined up in the proper order. After butchering some of your best friend's names and announcing some of them in the wrong order, you shrug it off and hope that all goes well for the rest of the reception. He/she announces your First Dance immediately after you are introduced and half way thru the song, you realize that the photographer is not taking pictures. The photographer, had not arrived yet and was held up in traffic. The DJ (Your Friend) did not notice this or even bother to check before introducing the wedding party and announcing the First Dance. Because of the DJ's lack of experience and inattention to detail, you will never have pictures to cherish of these two very important reception events.

Later on, after dinner, when everyone should be up dancing and having fun, you notice that nobody is on the dance floor. You wait patiently and think maybe it's still early, they will dance eventually. An hour goes by and still nobody has danced. Guests have requested songs and they are now making you aware that The DJ (Your Friend) has not played any of the songs they requested. (Your Friend) The DJ, informs you that the only music he has on his IPod are Hip Hop tracks. Your guests have requested a variety of music ranging from Oldies and Disco to Country and Classic Rock and even a Big Band song. Unfortunately, Your Friend (The DJ) was unprepared for such a diverse range of musical tastes. After an hour and a half of unedited Hip Hop tracks with explicit lyrics, your guests start leaving early before the party has even begun. Then you realize that you have not done any of the other reception formalities such as the Father/ Daughter Dance, Bouquet/ Garter Toss or the Dollar Dance. By the time you inform Your Friend (The DJ) that you have not yet done these very important reception events most of your guests have already left and your perfect day has turned into the most disastrous day you never thought could happen!

There are thousands of brides and grooms who thought they could just get a friend, family member or co-worker to to play some CD’s or use their I Pod at their wedding or special event and regret not hiring a professional DJ! After all the time, effort and expense you have put into planning your event, is it really worth risking the success of your once in a lifetime event to save a little money. After all, you only have one wedding day and only one chance to hire the right entertainment. Hiring the Right Entertainment is the single most important factor in the success of your once in a lifetime wedding celebration!