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This photo is courtesy of MHunter. I ordered my OOT bags from the same company in the same color.


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Centerpieces we rented from MBellish








Hair and Veil



Che Bella Veil


Naugi Comb


Desserts

Gateaux



DIY Music - How it Went for Us and Some Tips

I know that this is not for everyone, but if you're technologically savvy (or know someone you know is), and you have very specific ideas about the music you want to hear on your wedding day then this is a great option. We used this at our wedding and it was a huge success. Not only did we save money, but we also got to personalize our entire reception. Our dance floor was packed all night long, and many guests commented on how much they liked the music. When I first started planning I had a hard time finding information on this topic anywhere so I have gathered some resources here for people who are interested.

diybride.com has a downloadable instruction sheet with tips on the number of songs needed, equipment, etc.

indiebride.com has several people who have done this successfully and have good tips to share. Search the kvetch section for DIY music or iPOD reception.

indiebride.com post by a former radio/club DJ with some good tips on how exactly to do this.

General Tips and Info:
1. Equipment needed: speakers, amplifier, heavy duty speaker cable, microphone, a powerstrip plus extension cord(s), and something to output the music (stereo, iPod, laptop, etc.) A lot of these things can be rented, do a google search for audio equipment rental and call around.
2. If you are thinking about using an iPod there are a few things to consider: you cannot rearrange an ipod playlist as you go so you're setlist will not be flexible; you cannot blend song endings and beginnings into each other (it is really annoying to have a 3-5 sec gap between songs and it may be a dance floor clearer); sometimes ipods turn off for no apparent reason. 3. We used a laptop with iTunes (software that comes free with the iPod), and I highly recoomend this option. The playlist was flexible, and our best man and groomsmen tweaked the playlist at a few places throughout the reception. It was great to have that option. Also we used the feature on iTunes called crossfade so that we could blend the beginnings and endings of songs together. No annoying gaps! 4. For the cocktail hour we used burned CD's and played them in the laptop's CD player. If you don't want to use itunes this is another good option to use for the whole evening. Make sure you have a system to keep track of which songs are on which CD's. We accidentally played one CD twice during the dinner, but we realized it pretty quickly and I doubt that anyone but us noticed.
5. Designate someone (probably an extroverted someone) to play host for the evening and make the typical DJ/Band announcements. (cake cutting, dinner is served, time for toasts, etc.) This was one thing our guests really enjoyed. Our best man was emcee for the evening and he was hilarious. It was much more personal to have a member of the wedding party in this role, rather than a stranger.
6. Put specific people in charge of setting up and taking down the equipment. Maybe you know people who play music and know about speaker cables and amplifiers, that would be ideal.
7. Have a back-up plan.
8. Play your set list and listen to how things flow. Do a trial run of the equipment set-up to make sure everything works and whoever is supposed to knows how to put it all together.
9. If your friends know how to use iTunes and you have a carefully crafted setlist then hide the laptop or find a way to prevent people from adding or moving songs around because chances are after a few cocktails they will. (Maybe you won't care by that point anyway)


If you have more tips and advice please share with them with me! I have collected a few playlists and am working on putting together the playlist that we used. If you would like a copy email me at jessicalou@antiartica.com.

Personal Photos







Me and my other MOH at her Oct 2003 wedding











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Listen to Minnesota Public Radio's new music station 89.3 The Current
This is one of the most original and fantastic radio stations EVER





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