ipod disco anyone?

Hi sarah

I went to a wedding last year where the couple had and iPod DJ Tehy had a good mixture of music and they did have any problems!

Also I replied to your post about the tiara - here is the link just incase you dint see it x

http://www.princesssparkle.co.uk/warren-york-diamante-pearl-bridal-tiara-4232-p-266.html

We did an ipod disco and it was really good.

We chose enough songs for 4 hours of music (just in case) and then I sent the list to Sandy Sounds and she put it into a 'disco' order, some songs work better together etc.

We used one of these and the sound was excellent, we just bought some basic disco lights from argos.

You can also try Maplins for a range of lights or go to a Disco shop and some do hiring of lights as well as sound equipment.

It could be worth checking with your local Trading Standards Office.

Without knowing all the details the venue could be breaking the law by doing this.

"Restrictive Practices"

It's worth a phone call at least

This is called 'closed practice' and is not allowed. There was a hotel taken to court and charged for this last year. Venues can offer their own DJ, or suggest a good supplier, but not stop you from hiring your own. They can insist on certain requirements such as seeing the DJ's PAT and PLI certificates, but this isn't a problem for most DJs.

The advantages to having a DJ rather than an i-pod.

A DJ can take requests

A DJ can order the music, source tracks you want but may not have and group it appropriately into sets such that it flows and keeps the momentum on the dance floor.

A DJ watches the dance floor and alters the music to suit reactions of the guests

The personality of the DJ enhances the atmosphere of your evening, keeping things flowing and make them fun.

Also, if you are having an i-pod, are you hiring speakers and lights? If so, who sets them up? Who deals with any blips that may occur during the evening?

Sarah....not trying to dampen your idea, just throwing up a few things you may not have thought of. Hope it helps.

Sorry...while writing my lengthy reply I missed all the previous ones.

Phil....I think you're right...it is restrictive practice not closed practice.

Thanks for that - very interesting about it being illegal! The other DJ has just got back to me saying they're already booked anyway... H2B isn't a fan of discos and so doesn't mind giving the venue a load of CDs to put in a playlist for us (they can't do the ipod apparently).

The venue is the top floor of a bar (lovely old 16th century building and we're in the eaves) so it's not like there'll be loads of empty space if we don't have a DJ. Will have to weigh up the pros and cons.

Thanks Little_Jen - I am very tempted by that one!

We went to a wedding last year where the disco was run off an iPod... well sort of, they played the songs on their laptop hooked up to the venue PA and it was great. Everyone danced the night away as they had picked all the music to suit their guests (they asked what people wanted to hear on the invites). They didn't hire any lights or anything, just dimmed the room lights and it was perfect. Hope this helps!! xxx

Ooh didn't realise there were legalities, I suppose it's all to do with the song copyrights etc.

Our's was abroad so perhaps that's why it was fine for us...sorry

It's the venue being restrictive over what DJs we use that's illegal, not the actual ipod disco ?

Hi Sarah,

I haven't done this for my wedding yet...(not till October) but my fiance and I did this for my 1920's themed birthday party In September. It worked great. He does sound engineering/ music making/ other music stuff (lol) so speakers etc were no problem for us. We just borrowed floor lights from a friend but also used cheap flashing ones from Argos!

It worked really well, we just made an i-tunes playlist and ran it off my laptop which he connected to the speakers. We made 5 hours of music and were able to control how long we wanted jazz to play for while people mingled and gradually build it in to a good dance!! We will definately be doing this at the wedding with Best Men keeping an eye just to be sure, but as long as you have your laptop charged and plugged in to be sure then I think it could be a good bet for you guys!

We were able to change the order of songs easily too just by going over to the laptop as we could sense when people were fading.

Just thought i'd let you know that it went well for me too.

xx

Hiya tahdah,

That setup looks ideal for what I'm after. Can you give me any details of what it is and where you bought/hired it?

Thanks,

Mal.