Why a Jukebox is better than a DJ for a Wedding Reception Party

Posted on 20/12/2017 By Christian mcFarquhar

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We undertake some 400 or more jukebox hires per year and have been doing so for 20 years. We have grown and grown and I can remember the the first ever hire we did for a wedding couple in Cambridge some 20 years ago. We now cover the whole of the UK.

Back in the day it was quite an unusual sight for a jukebox to be hired for a wedding reception and often the wedding venues, hotels and staff had never seen one hired for a wedding or party. We would often get asked “what’s that for?” – “are they having that with a DJ?”. But then when we picked the jukebox up we had the same staff and venues asking for our details and recounting the success of the night and telling us that they would recommend us to future brides and grooms booking their venues.

Nowadays we don’t cut such a stir and hotels and venues by and large are used to seeing our jukeboxes – or one of our competitors who also hire out jukeboxes. In some ways this is good – but there is small part of me that misses being ground-breaking in this regard.

When we normally write posts about the Jukebox -v- DJ debate we try to be as fair to DJs as we can. There are some very good DJs out there – but sadly it is a profession that is given a bad reputation by the lazy DJs who have no skill for the job and think that a laptop and a few flashy lights warrants them to call themselves a DJ – not it doesn’t. No more than the ownership of a trowel and a bag of cement would warrant you calling yourself a bricklayer. So this post is going to be very pro Jukebox and maybe a bit negative about DJs – but read our other posts where we are a bit kinder towards DJs.

So why is a Jukebox better than a DJ?

The setup.
You can choose what is loaded on the jukebox, add your own music and have full control over the functionality. Your guests will only then be choosing from what you have decided to be available. You can also leave it to us and we will use our knowledge, built up over the years, to provide a mix of great music covering all the decades and some 40,000 songs to choose from.

The delivery. (have the jukebox all day if you wish)
If it suits you, you can have the jukebox delivered for your wedding all day. So if you want some music to see you through the meal playing in the background etc. Its there for you.

The collection.
We are happy to collect the jukebox the following day. So the jukebox will keep partying as long as you do.

The look.
Jukeboxes simply look great. They put a smile on peoples’ faces and add to the mood of your wedding party. No scruffy DJ and his mate or girlfriend lingering around your wedding.

Choosing the music.
We’ve all done it. Had a few drinks gone up to the DJ and asked for that killer track to be played that you know your family or friends love. Only for the DJ to ignore you and play his or her idea of a good track. The jukebox will play what you want and when you want it. DJs do have a habit of trying to demonstrate that they have some superior music knowledge rather than playing what their client wants. When you speak to DJs they seem to blame the partygoers not being a ‘good crowd’ when the party flops. I never hear them say that maybe they should have done a better job.

Volume
You are in full control.

First dances.
You can choose whatever song you like. We can pre-load an unusual song for you or load it on the day. Also there’s no panic – no trying to communicate with the DJ and getting them to time it being played as you wish. Have your first dance and the subsequent songs queued up when you want them. Just press press pause, then play. Its that simple.

Music by consensus.
With a DJ, the music choices are generally made by either the DJ his or herself with no consultation to you or by those friends and family brave enough to approach them and ask for a song. This can then mean that the music choices for the night are dominated by just a few people.

The jukebox is a much more democratic affair. The jukebox is normally positioned by the dance floor, which normally means that it is the people up and dancing that more readily choose subsequent songs and then keep dancing.

Friends and family approach the jukebox in twos and threes and have some fun browsing through the songs and choosing them. Generally everyone has some input and have greater ownership over the songs and are more likely to dance and have fun.

We always hear from hirers and partygoers and the venues themselves just how many more people were up and dancing than do normally with a DJ.

Get people off their chairs and mixing.
People love jukeboxes. They just have something about them. People, who would otherwise never have got out of their chairs all evening, approach the jukebox, talk to other guests about the music and get involved. Jukeboxes are great ice-breakers. When you see a DJ – there is usually a sort of no go zone in front of them – where people fear to tread. Not with a jukebox – it draws people in – it doesn’t ward them off.

Skip forward – Skip Back, or not. Keep the dance-floor filled.
With the best will in the world we can all choose duff songs. You choose that killer song that in your head sounded great – but it just falls flat. Maybe the moment wasn’t right or you remembered it differently than it actually sounds. We’ve all done it. With the jukebox this isn’t a problem. Simply skip forward and the jukebox will move onto the next song and get the dancing back into full swing before everyone has left the dance floor. Now a DJ just won’t do this. How many weddings and parties have you been to where the dance floor is emptied by a dodgy song being played by the DJ? Have you ever seen them put their hands up, realise that its not working, and put on a replacement? No, neither have I. They persevere with it and kill the mood.

And don’t worry about people skipping forward when you don’t want them to – you can hide these controls with a secret code.

The end of the night.
DJs seemingly feel obliged to wind up the night by slowing things down towards the end of the evening and start playing slow songs, ballads and New York New York a few songs in from the end of the night. If this is for you – then you can do with this with the jukebox too. But we more often see wedding guests getting the last few songs to be uplifting full on dancing songs and finish the night with a last blowout song.

Don’t take our word for it – ask around – speak to venues – read some online reviews.
In the course of writing this I have done the same. What I found was that DJs are very negative about jukeboxes and its easy to fathom why. No-one likes to be outdone by a machine or have their livelihood affected. But when you read the reviews of people who have hired them or been to parties where a jukebox was used – the reviews are nothing but positive and enthusiastic, with reports of how well the wedding party went.

Here’s a DJs view on the same subject: All are notably negative.
http://www.weddingdjalliance.co.uk/wedding_dj_or_jukebox.php

and another:
https://www.partyeventsunlimited.co.uk/blog/the-wedding-dj-vs-jukebox-for-a-wedding-reception/

and another – I personally love this one. I can’t help but feel that Dave doesn’t like jukeboxes.
http://www.clarkey.co.uk/hire-a-wedding-jukebox-not-until-youve-read-this/

Now here are some from guests and people who have hired them:All are Notably positive.
https://www.hitched.co.uk/chat/forums/thread/juke-box-hire-268259/

At the end of the day – you decide. There are some great DJs out there and they deserve to be successful. Get some reviews, speak to people who have hired them and if it’s for you – go with a DJ. But also do the same for Jukeboxes – ask around – check us out and give us a call if its of interest. we would love to hear from you.

Other posts by us regarding DJ or Jukeboxes:

http://blog.jukebox45s.co.uk/tag/dj-or-jukebox-for-a-wedding/

http://blog.jukebox45s.co.uk/jukebox-v-dj/

https://blog.jukebox45s.co.uk/wedding-first-dances/