It's a nice day for an iPod wedding - The PASH Wedding Forums and Message Boards

cru5h · #1 02-17-2006, 03:06 PM

By Alorie Gilbert [link to actual article]
Staff Writer, CNET News.com
Published: September 20, 2005

cru5h · #2 02-17-2006, 03:07 PM

All comments in the article are things to consider.

I'm still working on finding the exact answer to the "how many songs for a _ hour reception?" question. We can estimate songs are between 3-4 minutes long each and multiply it out like that.

Complicated Woman · #3 02-17-2006, 03:11 PM

Once you make a playlist on iTunes, it will give you the length at the bottom of the screen. You can always add to or take away from it. I happen to have a playlist that has about 60 songs and it's 3 hours and 50 minutes. Figure about 60 - 65 songs = 4 hours?

Steven Galvez · #4 02-17-2006, 03:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Complicated Woman

Figure about 60 - 65 songs = 4 hours?

Unless, of course, Stairway to Heaven is in the mix. Then it'll be a lot less. A lot.

Complicated Woman · #5 02-17-2006, 03:16 PM

Not at my wedding! Tom hears that song and whines the whole time. It makes the 17 minutes seem even longer...

feb-bride · #6 02-17-2006, 03:16 PM

I'm still glad I went with a professional DJ. IMO, if you have a good DJ, they do more than just play songs. They're able to "read" the crowd in terms of which music is getting a response and which music is not, and they can adjust the style of music they're playing to get the guests off their feet and on the dance floor.

I didn't want any of my guests "working" at my reception, so I would not have felt comfortable asking anyone to be in charge of anything, particularly something as important as the reception music. IMO, the music makes or breaks the reception (in most cases).

cru5h · #7 02-17-2006, 03:18 PM

For me, most DJs won't be playing everything we want. And I definitely don't need an MC/announcer, other than when we come in, "Introducing Mr. and Mrs. _______."

There's a genre of music Richy and I (and our old friends) like that most DJs don't have since that genre died back in the early 90s. I think Richy would completely LOVE to do the iPod thing and put songs together. He loves DJing himself. So that would make him feel more a part of the planning process in a way that he actually likes to be involved.

So either we'll break down and hire the only DJ we know who has those songs (but is Richy's ex-wife's ex-boyfriend LOL friend of the family though) or we'll do the iPod thing. We have a mess of songs downloaded already.

And I have to disagree with the person in the article who said that we're not picking out our favorite songs - in our case, we are. You can pick your favorite songs out because I guarantee they're favorites of a good chunk of your guests too. Then you throw in other popular ones if you're hung up on getting people to dance. You can have the best of both worlds.

Marrying_the_Good_Husband · #8 02-17-2006, 03:54 PM

The burning question left by the article: Do people really WANT to dance to YMCA?!?!

AHHHHH!!!!! It's a conspiracy. (I don't know by whom, yet. I don't think the Village People, necessarily.) But, please. YMCA? The Chicken Dance? The Twist remix? I don't think people really LIKE dancing to these songs--it's just EXPECTED at weddings. Ok, cake cutting, YMCA....

cru5h · #9 02-17-2006, 04:33 PM

I abhor YMCA, The Chicken Dance and even the Twist. I went to the skating rink enough in my life to where I'm pretty much done with that crap until the end of time.

feb-bride · #10 02-17-2006, 07:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Marrying_the_Good_Husband

The burning question left by the article: Do people really WANT to dance to YMCA?!?!

AHHHHH!!!!! It's a conspiracy. (I don't know by whom, yet. I don't think the Village People, necessarily.) But, please. YMCA? The Chicken Dance? The Twist remix? I don't think people really LIKE dancing to these songs--it's just EXPECTED at weddings. Ok, cake cutting, YMCA....

I never thought of "YMCA" in that way (that it's expected). That song seems to just automatically get people out on the dance floor.

They did play it at my wedding, and I didn't mind. I was GLAD that they didn't do the chicken dance, electric slide, or the twist, though I didn't tell the DJ that he could not do those dances.

Marrying_the_Good_Husband · #11 02-19-2006, 04:15 PM

Sheepishly admitting, I

the electric slide.

Marge129 · #12 02-19-2006, 04:21 PM

I

the electric slide, too! (And the chicken dance!) All the others can go away.

*hiding*

cru5h · #13 02-19-2006, 05:40 PM

I feel obligated to electric slide, but the YMCA and Chicken dance are off limits.

cru5h · #14 02-20-2006, 02:29 AM

Found the article I was looking for. Nothing as interesting as I thought it was, but it's helpful.

Taken from Brides magazine (only $2.99 this month, by the way)...not word-for-word or anything. Just trying to help anyone who's considering their iPod.

This will also come in handy for those doing DJs who ask for a playlist. Now you know about how many to use.

They suggest you have someone you know, who's tech-savvy and would LIKE to do this, man the iPod. (pressing play before everyone's there and pausing if need be)

They suggest working on playlists a few months in advance, getting music from iTunes (or wherever you DL music from) and borrowing friends' CDs.

Create separate playlists for the cocktail hour (15-20 medium-tempo tunes), dinner (35 mellow songs), post-dinner (45-50 fast-dance favorites and some slow songs).

Back up playlists on CD and bring a CD player with you just in case.

Common sense:
Charge your iPod before the wedding.
Make sure it's plugged in.
Do a run through well before the wedding.

SuzyBride · #15 02-20-2006, 04:17 AM

We had YMCA and loved it! It made for some excellent pics!

We also had the electric slide, but a big fat NO on the chicken dance!

Complicated Woman · #16 08-05-2006, 04:17 PM

Just wanted to say that my friends did go the iPod route at their wedding last night and it was really great!

The music was really good, there was a good mix, and there wasn't anything that made everyone groan.

Tom and I are definitely going to do this now. It was probably the best music I've ever heard at a reception -- fun, family friendly without being lame, and best of all, EVERY song was a song that the bride and groom liked a lot and were excited to hear, and their enthusiasm for the music had everyone going.

They also took requests from friends and family prior to making the playlist, and so a lot of people were excited to hear the song they suggested come on. I just can't recommend this route enough.