Wrapping up the evening early

My only concern is that unless you are paying the going rate for the whole evening they may cancel you if they get a whole evening booking. Can you use recorded music rather than a DJ if need be.

I agree with Jayne in regards to looking into recorded music - we have the same issue in that we're not having a DJ as tbh, not a lot of us would dance (so I didn't want to pay for an empty dancefloor) and also I don't really mind people starting to leave or move on elsewhere at about 9-10pm, as I haven't paid for the room, we'vej ust paid for people's meals (we got a good deal!)

If you can hook it up to a good pair of speakers, it shouldn't be too bad. You can also then sit and make a big like of the music you like for your playlist and stick it on shuffle.

I think that perhaps DJ's will charge you for the full night - although they will play whatever time's you want - so prepare for this.

On the other hand, if you don't ask you don't get - so you could enquire with a few to see if they will do a reduced rate?

I think you need to discuss it with a few dj's. They are so cheap compared to other wedding suppliers that you might find it doesn't make a lot of difference.

How about a live act? We have hired an acoustic singer for our reception who is happy to do 3 x 40min sets at the time we choose so you may find them a little more flexible? x

"I think you need to discuss it with a few dj's. They are so cheap compared to other wedding suppliers that you might find it doesn't make a lot of difference. "

It's worth pointing out that there is usually a good reason why some DJs are extremely cheap, they can often be quite memorable but not for the reason the client was hoping for!

There are many DJs who are expert at reading the crowd and creating an atmosphere that results in people that rarely dance getting up and having a good time on the dance floor (however this type of DJ is rarely cheap!). Additionally there can be some weddings where there aren't many dancers and so the dance floor may not be busy but can still have a good atmosphere as appropriate music is being played. A bad and/or inexperienced DJ will often panic when nobody dances resulting in them playing a complete hodgepot of eras and genres with no flow between them which sounds a mess and is not conducive for a good atmosphere.

My suggestion would be to stay away from booking a cheap DJ because apart from the possible dangers I've just mentioned there are also the other potential dangers mentioned in previous posts of them not turning up due to receiving a slightly better paying booking, not having insurance, shoddy equipment and many other reasons why they should be avoided.

Hmm, yes, good shout on the iPod idea, guys ? We aren't having that many guests anyway so I def don't want to fork out for a full night's DJing. So an iPod is probably the safest option for us. None of us are big dancers anyway, and probably the music will end up just being background music while everyone chats and hits the bar!

Thanks for all your replies!

This seems a bit bizarre to me, I'd be disappointed if there wasn't a DJ & party after the wedding.

Do your guests know they will have to leave early? Is it in a hotel?

Just wondered what people will do in the evening once the wedding is over.

We're lucky that all our guests apart from two are pretty local, so nobody (apart from those two) is having to travel far or arrange overnight accommodation - everyone will just go home afterwards. And as our guest list is 99% made up of people over 60 or couples with little children under four, we figured that nobody would hang around very late anyway. Three hours of music seems like a reasonable amount for people who aren't big partiers. We'll be making sure the invitations state that OH and I are leaving at 9, but anyone who wants to stay on later can. I guess every bride has to plan for their own particular crowd