Can you ask the wedding DJ to play your playlist?

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During dinner we had our own playlist from an ipod and some songs on a CD

For the evening I gave the DJ a playlist made up of songs our guests had requested via our wedding website, then we knew what music they wanted hear and I thought it would give a little direction and then the DJ played some fillers of the same genre(s) in!! We had a ball.

I say it all starts with picking a decent DJ though!!

Bizarre! One of the key reasons for picking our DJ was because he shared our musical taste, and thus we could have complete faith in him to play the right stuff for us. We gave him a short list of "must plays" (maybe 10 songs) but left the rest to him and his judgement.

DJs have pride in what they do and I hope they enjoy it immensely. They are professionals and very likely have a far better idea than the average punter about what works and what won't. Treating them like a human iPod is a bit off. Why not just have an iPod in that case?

You're paying for their experience and knowledge. A good DJ can read a crowd and know what will get them dancing. What if your guests aren't dancing to your music; do you expect the DJ to just stick to the list when he/she knows exactly what will fill a dancefloor? I think you're being more than a little arrogant. If you can do such a great job, just get an ipod.

Thanks

I gave a list of about 40 songs because we put together a playlist for the background music in the afternoon and as we were doing so we came across loads of tunes suitable for the evening but not the day.

It was a very varied mix (he and I have very different taste in music) but it gave a good flavour and he did some of ours and some of what he judged would work. I was happy with it

Stupid dupe

I agree with what Kentish Gal has said. We just went to meet our DJ and he wanted a list of tracks from us, mostly so he could judge where we were coming from musically (we have v different tastes as well) I trust him entirely to use his judgement as this is what he does. He has also asked for a list of things we definitely DON'T want to hear. Abba and novelty songs have gone on the list!

I don't think giving him a list of songs is arrogant at all unless you expressly forbid them to deviate - I think it is a good starting point to ensure that you get the type of tracks YOU want to hear as well as allowing them to keep the dancefloor full using their skills.

I suggest you look around for different styles of DJs so that his/her music taste will not be an issue from the start.

Mine has asked for a list of songs we like and then he will make sure he has them all before the day.

We're going to ask guests to RSVP with a song which would get them on the dancefloor.

Many DJs will take on a playlist for the whole evening - ask if yours will or not.

Some DJs choices might be crap in your opinion - but generally the better DJs will play songs that they know should work with most crowds.

If the venue has a suitable system to connect an ipod to that is a good way to go to save some money on getting a DJ to play. However there is an art in playing background music in varying the tempo, and indeed maintaining suitable sound levels and genre at varying times that an ipod cannot do.

What an excellent idea Cherrybloom. Never thought of that.

Had been wondering about the type of music the DJ plays as he comes with the venue its not one we choose ourselves. The venue just say he is very good and we need to pay him separately.

So will take your advice. Thank you

Never thought about it like this.

Sorry Cherrybloom but Ive changed my mind Maybe a short suggested playlist for the DJ would be better than a whole evenings sound

This is why I like this forum I get to have my mind changed the more I read lol

Agree with others that most (if not all?) DJs will want some suggestions from you so they get an idea of your tastes.

We gave ours a few songs we definitely wanted, a few we really didn't want, and then just an idea of what kind of stuff we wanted (e.g. some Motown, some indie, some 60s). I have to say he was great, I hardly left the dancefloor all evening!

I would think that most DJs would be a bit offended if they had no choice at all in what got played!

If you're going to programme the entire playlist you might as well just stick it on an iPod and save yourself a few quid.