Do You Need To Hire A DJ For Your Wedding?

Written by Erin in Budget and Finance,Planning Tools and Tips

After looking at the costs of hiring a DJ at your wedding, you may be wondering if there are other options, as you may not have a huge budget to work with. Don’t stress! This article will share affordable music options to still have a great wedding.

You do not need a professional DJ to play music at your wedding. There are affordable and convenient ways to have your ideal playlist going for hours and reduce costs, such as making your own wedding playlist on Spotify or having a talented musical friend play during the ceremony.

Let’s explore why you don’t need a DJ at your wedding, the pros and cons of not using a DJ, and the different methods you can use to organize and play your own music at your wedding.

A Professional Or DIY DJ Is Not A Must-Have For Your Wedding

There are plenty of options to choose from when it comes to sorting out the music side of things for your special day. When you are newly engaged and starting to plan your wedding, you may only be aware of the more traditional or common routes for your music options such as hiring a skilled DJ to be in charge of the music or hiring a fancy band to play throughout your wedding.
Before we dive into the different options you have available, let’s look into a common reason why a bride-to-be may decide to look for another option. Generally, when starting to plan your wedding, you will become aware of the costs of all the different aspects, such as venue, dress, makeup, photography, flowers, and so on that go into a wedding ceremony.
Cost is a huge factor regarding what you can afford at your wedding, and some things may be higher on your priority list than a DJ is. Let’s take a look at the average cost of hiring a DJ to play at your wedding for 4 – 5 hours.

Source: https://fash.com/costs/wedding-dj-cost

This graph shows that the average cost of hiring a low-end DJ for 4 – 5 hours is $610 USD, an average DJ is priced at $820 USD and a high-end DJ will cost around $1290 USD. If you spend time getting quotes from a few DJs, you may find that their rate will often reflect their skills and the time they will spend creating the perfect set for your special day.

By looking at these numbers, we can definitely see why many brides-to-be are looking for alternatives to hiring a professional DJ and instead DIY-ing it themselves or getting a friend to be responsible for the music during the wedding.

It is very common for couples not to hire a DJ at their wedding these days and instead work with what they can do – so don’t lose hope. There are fantastic alternatives.

Ways To DIY Your Own Wedding Music

Here are some popular ways that couples are choosing to ditch DJs and play their own music their way.

Stream Your Own Music Playlist From Spotify

Nearly everyone has the Spotify music app where you can stream music from your phone, laptop, or other devices. This app allows you to listen to your favorite artists and discover new songs and albums in certain music genres.

You can follow pre-made playlists or you can create your own based on your favorite artists and songs. Making your own music playlist on Spotify for your wedding is a great and popular choice. You will need to have your own speakers as well if the venue doesn’t have one.

You will need a Spotify account and download the app to your device. For playing music at a wedding, you will want to be on the Spotify Premium plan to ensure no ads are played during the event. It only costs $14.99 USD per month and you can cancel your plan after the wedding if you don’t want to keep it.
There are also other similar apps to Spotify, such as Apple Music, which works in a similar way as well. Feel free to explore different ones to find what you like best.

Get Your Talented Musical Friends To Play

Do you have friends that play in a band or play an instrument? Do you think it would be appropriate for your wedding music? Why not ask them if they want to play for a couple of hours at your wedding? They will most likely have a much more affordable rate than a DJ, and you trust them.
They may already be guests at your wedding or perhaps you just ask them to come and play for an hour or two during a certain part of the event. Just ensure that their music suits the atmosphere of the wedding you want to create.Hire DJ Equipment
Do you have a friend or family member that loves making music and dabbles in DJ-ing that would be happy to be your DIY DJ for the night? Hire the equipment for them to use and let them do their thing. It is important to make sure that they know what they are doing and have some experience to avoid a disaster at your wedding.

Utilize The Basic Music Playing Devices

There are many different kinds of weddings. Some take place at fancy venues and some are simple and at home in the backyard. If you are having an at home wedding with a more laid back vibe, and are not fussed about what songs or music are played, you could work with the sound system you already have, and play some CDs or pick songs off YouTube to play.
Some people just like to have some sort of noise in the background and do not pay a lot of detail to the specific music being played unless it was for a particular dance or walking down the aisle. You may not even want music! Perhaps just the sound of nature and the gasps and cries of your loved ones.
There are no rules when it comes to your own unique wedding and what you must have or need. It is your special day, so take a look at your budget, decide how important the music is for you, and base your choice on what is within your budget and will be suitable for your big day!

Pros And Cons Of Not Hiring A DJ For Your Wedding

There can be both pros and cons to not hiring a DJ. It all comes down to what is most important to you and what help you have from friends, family, or other people who can take care of the music and sound side of things. Let’s go through the list of pros and cons.

Pros

Full Control Over The Playlist

Not hiring a DJ gives you control over what songs are being played on your big day. Creating your own wedding playlist gives you complete control and the freedom to add whatever songs you desire to your playlist and choose what order you want them to play in.
It is a great idea to have separate playlists for the different stages of your wedding, such as pre-ceremony, ceremony, dinner, dancing, and so on. This way you can easily adjust the songs according to the mood you want to create.

Cost

Not hiring a DJ is a lot cheaper than hiring one! Other music-playing methods, such as having a Spotify Premium subscription or paying a friend to play their instrument or have their band come for a few hours, will be a lot cheaper than paying a DJ to play at your wedding.

You Can Adjust The Music

You may want to adjust the music throughout the night as people may have requested, or you want to change the mood. You will be able to do this easily yourself or get a friend or family member to do it.

Cons

It Will Take Time To Organize

Creating your own playlist or organizing your own method of music delivery will take time to organize before your wedding. Not only planning the songs but also making sure that you do a sound and equipment check the day before to ensure everything works as it should.
Therefore, it may take more time than it would to lock in a DJ and let them do their thing.

Back-Up Equipment Will Be Needed

You may need to have your playlist on two devices just in case something happens with the first one, such as a battery dying or technical issues. This JBL speaker is a great wireless streaming device to have.

You May Feel More Pressure And Stress

You may find you feel more stressed about your wedding day because it may be up to you or a friend to keep the music playing and running smoothly.
Ensuring that the right playlist is selected for the right part of the wedding may cause some anxiety compared to if you knew a professional wedding DJ is an expert at this kind of thing.

Poorer Sound Quality And No Professional Help If Issues Arise

If you are organizing your own music and are not an expert in the sound field, the music quality may be poorer than if you had a DJ and you won’t have any expert advice if there are any technical issues with any equipment.
It’s really important to test all the equipment you will be using, so you can prepare for any issues that might come up. Make sure to have backup battery packs and ‘offline’ music available.
Overall, there are both pros and cons and it will be a unique choice for every bride to determine what they choose and why, but for a wedding on a budget, there are definitely options and pros to not hiring a DJ.

Are you struggling to decide how much you need to spend on your wedding?
Download our free calculator here to help you finalise your wedding budget number.

Frequently Asked Questions

What Equipment Do I Need To Play Music At A Wedding?

You will need either a laptop, computer, phone, or another device to play music. Along with that, you may need extension cords, chargers, a microphone for any announcements or speeches, speakers, and other technical sound equipment, depending on how you want the sound quality to be.
You may bring these items from home, borrow them from a friend or rent them from a rental store. It would also be a good idea to ask the wedding venue what equipment they have that you can use during your wedding. Don’t forget to bring a backup device just in case there are issues with your original one.

How Important Is A DJ At A Wedding?

The importance of the DJ comes down to how much you want them to do. If you want your DJ to play the music as well as provide other services such as being the MC, making announcements, and setting up sound and lighting equipment, they may be more important to you.
However, a DJ is not really important if you are handling your own music and do not require a DJ’s other services.

How Many Songs Do I Need For My Wedding?

Aim to have around 20 songs per hour. Weddings can vary in length, so work out the rough time frame of your wedding and ensure you have plenty of songs on your playlists for the different stages of the event. You don’t want to run out of music, so the more songs you have on your playlist, the better.

How Do I Reduce Wedding Costs While On A Budget?

To reduce the cost of your wedding, you could only invite close friends and family, have the wedding at home or outdoors, have it during the week instead of the weekend, pick and arrange your own flowers and consider what food will be available.
DIY what you can and pay for the services such as a professional photographer that you won’t be able to do yourself that you may really want. You can still have a beautiful wedding no matter what your budget looks like!
Our article here shows you how to decide your highest priorities for your wedding and set the right budget.

Final Words

You do not need to hire a professional or DIY DJ for your wedding. If you are planning your special day on a small budget, you just need to prioritize the most important aspects and be open to other cheaper alternatives for the rest! Plenty of people have had a successful wedding day by doing their own music and so can you! Happy wedding planning!

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