I am getting married in October of 2007 and I am currently searching for a DJ for the reception. I wanted to know if making a music playlist for the entire wedding reception was a bad idea? Am I showing a prospective DJ disrespect by not allowing him or her to choose the songs that will be played? I have been to several wedding receptions where the DJ is awful, so I wanted to be hands on when selecting the songs for my reception. I'll hang up and listen. Thnx.
I had a list for my wedding. He was specifically instructed to not play Ricky Martin (this was 2001) or any of the "latin explosion", any boy bands, and the chicken dance. I hate the damn chicken dance... I had specific music for him to play. I don't think it's disrespectful at all. You're paying him so you should get the music you want to hear.
Probably a good idea to atleast go over what kind of music u would like for different parts of the ceremony. My brother hired a DJ for his wedding last year....lets just say halfway through the wedding I took over the DJ duties since it was so horrible and since I had DJ experience in the past I just told the DJ to step aside for an hour.
there should be no problem with you choosing the songs.. I'm sure he's a wedding DJ because of the money and not for the art
i used to dj in college and one of my close friends got married in 2005, he gave me a playlist to play during the reception. I had no problem at all and was relieved he had one. I like to please everyone on the dance floor so his list helped out alot. Plus it was their night so the goal was to make it special for them.
So...what if you just use the sound system and an iPod or something? Are weddings cooler when you have a band/DJ? I've wondered for awhile.
My mom's husband is a DJ and does a lot of weddings. I don't think the DJ will feel disrespected as long as the check clears.
You tell that DJ waht you want!!! My son and 2 of his friends are DJ's and play weddings, receptions, parties, etc. They appreciate the client giving them their musical preferences and specific songs. It takes pressure off them.... Have fun- do not be afraid to include "Ice Ice Baby" if you like to dance to it. the DJ will be happy to oblige....
Be sure to tell the DJ to include Thriller. Then maybe this can happen: <object width="425" height="350"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/OPmYbP0F4Zw"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/OPmYbP0F4Zw" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="350"></embed></object>
Here's a shamless plug for my good buddy: http://partyman.net/partyman/ Good DJ 'ing is not an easy job. My friend keeps 5 seperate systems totally up to date with every top 100 video/song file that ever comes out and he has years and years worth. I think he said he has 8 or 9 terrabytes of memory. He's been doing this stuff for decades, he DJ'ed at Mo's in Katy for years but has moved his nightly gig to a new bar....Sharkey's I think is the name. And he has done literally hundreds of weddings, can do any style and can pull up any request pretty much instantly. I don't know what he charges, I never asked, but I can gurantee he is a pro.
One of my closest friends co-owns a DJ company with his brother. They are very good. http://www.djbrothers.com
Ok, that was super gay...Although, my friend at work performed the MJackson dance to Billie Jean at his wedding...Something about MJ...
In regards to Wedding Gigs- more than half of a DJ's business comes from references. Any Smart DJ would gladly use a playlist you give them. They understand the importance of doing a great job. I've Done Wedding Video's for 10yrs now, and I can tell you that every DJ I've worked with (that was worth anything) payed very close attention to what the wedding party wanted to hear. It actually makes their job easier. It would only be rude or disrespectful if the DJ had a big EGO...and then you wouldn't want to use that DJ anyway. Good Luck. Oh yeah...don't skimp on a cheap videographer. Many people pay a lot of money for a good photographer, but the videographer actually has a harder job, and they should spend a lot of time editing the final video. Make sure they're a good quality videographer as well.
