The culmination of Sue Lin Yee and Jeff Hawthorne's wedding afternoon was a 10-course Chinese banquet, and the newlyweds did not want the disruption of an obnoxious disc jockey or a band that didn't share their tastes.
They wanted the music they loved, and they wanted to control how it was played.
So instead of booking a band or a DJ, they bought an MP3 player.
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"We could just get our own music and play whatever we wanted," Hawthorne said.
Yee, 35, and Hawthorne, 45, are among a growing number of couples tossing traditional wedding music options out with the bouquet. They are shunning DJs and bands in favor of MP3 players, which help them save money, avoid embarrassing songs or comments by DJs and give their weddings distinction.
The iPod weddings, as they are known, are about 10 percent of receptions, said Alan Fields, who suggests the option to couples in his book Bridal Bargains.
Kathleen Murray, a senior editor at theknot.com, a popular wedding Web site, agreed that the percentage is small but said the trend is spreading as couples try to put their mark on their wedding.
"It's nothing looked down upon," she said. "It's very hip and very personable."
With the average cost of weddings in the US creeping toward US$28,000, it can also be very affordable. Few DJs charge less than US$500 for a four-hour reception, and bands can cost up to 10 times more.
Many young couples already have access to an iPod or other MP3 player, which range in price from about US$80 to US$400. If their reception site provides sound equipment, the only added cost of an iPod wedding is the time it takes to program a playlist.
"It's a great way to save money if that's your goal," said Elaine Slaughter, the owner of Calla Lily Bride, an Atlanta wedding planning company.
One of Slaughter's clients used an iPod for the ceremony music at her December wedding. The wedding was small -- about 40 guests -- and held in a home. Slaughter said the iPod worked well, but the music was difficult to hear at times because it sat atop a staircase while the ceremony was being held downstairs.
DJs said those are the kinds of problems an experienced DJ can avoid.
"Being a DJ is more than just the music," said Rob Clark, owner of Rob Clark Entertainment and president of the Georgia Mobile DJ Association. "It's really being a coordinator behind the scenes."
The potential pitfalls of an iPod wedding are many, DJs warn. It is difficult to take requests or change playlists. Someone, usually a friend, has to act as the master of ceremonies, which prevents him from enjoying the reception.
Then there are the hidden costs. If the couple does not already have sound equipment, buying or renting it approaches the cost of simply hiring a DJ. Songs they don't already own are at least US$1 to download.
There's little evidence iPod weddings have hurt the Atlanta-area DJ business. But there are signs that it may be changing it.
Adrian Walker, a teacher and part-time DJ with KW Productions, said he has started offering the option of renting his sound equipment for use with MP3 players instead of hiring him for receptions.
Booking him costs US$300; renting his equipment costs half as much.
"A lot of couples now just want to save money and do things themselves," Walker said.
One bride doing her own music is Katherine Hall, who said she is likely to use an iPod for her May 2007 wedding reception.
The DJ at Hall's sister's wedding four years ago played "the typical dance party kind of songs," she said, which she doesn't want.
"You can only do the YMCA so many times," said Hall, 24.
Some couples who hold their receptions at the Four Seasons share that attitude, said hotel spokeswoman Marsha Middleton.
For more than a year, the hotel staff has seen brides ask DJs to play songs directly from their playlist-ready iPods so that only the tunes they want are used, Middleton said.
Yee, a health scientist, and Hawthorne, an electrical engineer, had the same desire for personalization for their September 2004 wedding.
Using an MP3 player -- which the couple still has -- during the Chinese banquet was the perfect balance between wanting music and keeping the spotlight on the meal and conversation.
"The focus was so much on food and eating, a DJ would have been strange, " Yee said.
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