5 Tips to Plan a Smooth iPod Wedding
By Tim and Ryan O'Neill
The Wedding Music Experts
“Do it yourself” has long been a popular option when it comes to
home improvement, and now – thanks to these uncertain economic times
causing many couples to scale back on their wedding budgets – “DIY”
is becoming more and more popular during ceremonies and receptions.
According to a recent MyWeddingMusic.com survey, more than 45 percent
of couples are planning to forgo live musicians and use recorded music
for their ceremonies, and 41 percent are depending on their own iPods
to spin the tunes for their wedding dances.
Here are some tips to help make using recorded music go smoothly:
Designate a Driver – Pick a tech-savvy friend or
cousin (someone who’ll be happy to help, not annoyed) to be in charge
of running the music and making sure that things are going smoothly.
Double Up – Be sure to have all your songs loaded
on two iPods or MP3 players, so that if something happens to one,
you’ll have a back-up. Nothing puts a quicker end to a party than
not having any entertainment. And imagine walking down the aisle to
the sounds of…nothing. Or worse – humming.
Charge It – Great – you’ve got two players ready
to go. Be sure that they’re both charged on the big day, and that
you have the chargers along for each of them. Running out of battery
at the gym is mildly annoying; running out of juice at your own wedding
would be disastrous.
Shake It Up – Be sure to program a good variety
of music for your reception. A polka for Grandma, a waltz for Aunt
Jane, and yes, even some Alice in Chains if that’s what your betrothed
loves and wants to hear (please, keep it to one song). Be sure to
pick some top crowd pleasers – party standards, disco and club faves
– that’ll get people on the dance floor and keep them there.
Do a Test Run – Before the big day, take the player
to both your ceremony and reception venues and test it out with their
sound systems. Test transitioning between songs, adjusting volume,
and fading out (for when your walk up the aisle is complete or the
song selection fails to lure anyone to the dance floor).
Make Some Playlists – This is the fun part. You
are in control, and the world’s entire library of recorded music is
at your disposal. You can waltz up the aisle to The Ramones, if you’d
like. You can program the entire evening into one playlist to minimize
fiddling with the player. Be sure to keep separate lists for your
ceremony music, reception music and dance music. You wouldn’t want
“Dancing Queen” to accidentally find its way into church while you’re
lighting the Unity Candle.
