playlist
How to DIY
your wedding
For our own wedding, we opted to make our own playlists, rented a speaker (for around $150), and plugged in an iPod. One of our more outgoing friends MC’d when we needed, i.e., to announce speeches, the first dances, and that it was time for Patrick and me to shove my mom’s beautiful cake (hey oh! - homemade desserts also saving us money) in our faces. Plus, Patrick and I have pretty indie tastes in music, so I knew I wouldn’t like 90% of the playlists a DJ would give us. We went a bit more mainstream with our music choices for the wedding to make sure our guests knew some tunes. But, choosing our own music ultimately meant that every minute of our wedding would have an ambient sound that we loved, which made it all the more special. We’ve been to several other weddings where they made their own playlists, and it never feels like you’re missing something or the dancing isn’t as upbeat as with a DJ.
moments
Music helps create
REMEMBER TO CHOOSE AN ENTRANCE SONG
We went super cheesy, with our entrance and exit songs. Since we got married at Kualoa Ranch (Jurassic Park), we played John Williams’ Overture to Jurassic Park as guests entered. It was a fun joke to great our guests with since we weren’t there to greet them!
CHOOSE AN EXIT SONG TOO!
Cocktail Hour Playlist
Reception & Dance Playlist
Getting Ready Playlist
MELLOW VIBES
CLASSIC DANCE SONGS
MELLOW & UPLIFTING
FAVORITE SONGS ON THIS PLAYLIST
FAVORITE SONGS ON THIS PLAYLIST
FAVORITE SONGS ON THIS PLAYLIST
We did have a local musician play for our cocktail hour, but you could easily fill in this gap with more songs from the iPod. Several fantastic solo musicians across the island play ukulele and guitar. They provide a beautiful addition and performance piece to your wedding. The perks, as solo artists they’re cheaper than a big band or DJ, and you can supplement the rest of the night with an iPod.
Choose upbeat tunes and more dance music. We went a bit more classic for this part of the evening to make sure plenty of people had the opportunity to dance.
Upbeat tunes and MY favorite music that Patrick vetoed from other lists.
