Is anyone else really not excited about booking a DJ?

I got married near Grantham and had a band called the Dollars. They were absolutely brilliant and dj'd inbetween sets. They were about £1000 and worth every penny.

We had the same worries but the band we wanted offer a dj service for only an extra £100, means they DJ before, between after the sets. Work sout a lot cheaper than hiring a band and a DJ, I bet a lot of bands offer this service if you enquire.

If you are clear beforehand of what you do/dont want played, the DJ should follow your wishes. I asked, for example, for no reggae, no heavy metal or rapping styles full of explitives. I did provide a fairly consice list to go by for music while eating & dancing later on, but also didnt mind requests from guests direct to the DJ. A good wedding DJ should be able to tell the difference between a wedding party & a club in Ibiza with glow sticks everywhere!!!

A band will usually play DJ music between sets anyway. I originally wanted a band but didnt have one for a few reasons:

- I was recommended a DJ from friends & he was fantastic. I had no recommendations of bands so had nothing to go buy in regards to how good they would be.

- If you have a few favourite songs you want played, a band covering that song just wont be the same as the actual radio version of the song

- You'll have to provide a crew meal for each member of the band, if there are say 6 people in the band, that really adds to costs

- My DJ was also the MC which not all bands I contacted were willing to do

- The bands I got quotes for were significantly more expensive than a DJ, & I was happy to use the money saved on other things

I was like this about flowers, I wanted them but really hate paying so much for something that would die!! We went for a d.j, I have been to a few weddings where the d.j has sung a as well which has gone down really well, would this be an option for you?

We are going for a band, as kharv / jojo said they will fill in with music too.

We are just not disc d/j type people!

You don't have to have a DJ at all. We're not and the last 2 weddings I've been to didn't either. I personally cannot stand the typical cheesy wedding music that DJs usually play, so I am compiling my own playlist of music specifically chosen by me and OH, then we will just rig our laptop up to a friends speaker system on the night. We've done it plenty of times at birthday parties and like I say the last 2 weddings I went to did the same. Its a guaranteed way of making sure you only play your own music and its cheaper

We weren't that fussed to begin with, but in the end it was the first thing we booked! He's a lovely guy who said he'll play every song as we want it, he won't throw in super-cheesy music unless we want it.

We're doing exactly the same thing, for exactly the same reason. We're using something like Media Player so people can choose songs they like, but only from our list.

One of the first things we booked was our DJ, because he's so lovely, and knows all the music in the world (well, maybe not, but it seems that way!) He gives you an online log in for his site, so you can choose your own music, and log ins for you guests so they can choose music too (don't worry, if they choose something you don't like, you can delete it!), so he won't play anything you don't like ?

I'm in Derby, so not a million miles away from you. His name's Paul from Spirits High Entertainments (http://www.spiritshigh.org.uk/)

As others have suggested there are as many options for wedding DJs as there are for flowers. Get a clear idea of what you want or do not want and then start ringing round.

For example, you can get a club style DJ or a DJ that is specialised in rock music for instance (or any other type of music for that matter). But before you start ringing around get some idea of how you want your night to go, do you want the DJ to use the microphone all night (a personality DJ) or do you want them to just play music and make announcements whenever it is nessecary but no other times.

Do you want the DJs equipment to be bold and in your face to make a statement or do you want something subtle and discreet.

Ask questions ..... arrange a meeting face to face .... ask more questions.

Once you are happy with a DJ and they are giving you all the right answers then they are the ones to book.

Don't book on price alone, but then again don't think that paying for the highest quote means you will get the best service. A wedding DJ is as personal a choice as any other part of your wedding day, they will be at your wedding for approximately a third of your day so you need to be confident in your selection.

You can book other items such as a DIY disco where you can hire the equipment and play your own music or you can get a band to play music in between the sets. But a DJ is there to judge the crowd and make song selections based on years of experience, that is why a good DJ will cost a bit of money, they have years of knowledge and experience to understand which songs work well and at what time of the night to play them.

Well, i think music may let the guests relax~~it is really good!

I love booking DJ. It is the main thing of entertainment...

Thank you so much for all the help! I think I need to start talking to DJs and find one that's on my wavelength. Will look into the people you have suggested. xxx

Me too! We're going down the jukebox road, more fun and suits our theme and amount of people coming

Booking the dj was fine. Especially after we saw him at the wedding fair and he reassured me that he will play music I like for at least part of the evening. My main problem with wedding djs are that they play the same old rubbish. Ideally I want my reception music to not be worse than what they play in my spinning class! Not really a band fan.

Not enjoying the flower part I love flowers too

I'm not fussed about a DJ either, just want one who will let us choose what music we'd like (and more importantly lets us give him/her a "please do not play this" list!). Fortunately OH gets the job of finding and booking the DJ as I booked the photographer!

Having a DJ is fine as long as you thoroughly research them beforehand. Check their testimonial page and then see them do a set live in advance if you can, See if they have video clips on their website, as this is one of the most reliable indicators of how they will look and sound on the day.