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Complete Project: DIY Wedding Reception Music, skill level 2-3

Looking for a way to cut costs for your wedding reception?  Does your reception venue have a sound system you can borrow, or do you have access to a large portable stereo system?  You can create music CD's yourself!  It's easy!  Here's how...

You will need:  Blank CD-R (music/data) CD's, a computer with a CD burner & software, internet access, music download sites and/or your own music CD's, permanent marker, CD "sleeves" or hard cases, and some sort of stereo system at your wedding reception venue.

Step 1:  You have some decisions to make. What is your reception going to be like?  Sit down dinner?  Informal dessert bar with mingling?  Dancing? More traditional with cake cutting, first dance, garter & bouquet tossing, etc?  You should first examine this, and also the length of your reception.  Create a sequence of reception events list for yourselves with an approximate timeline.

Step 2: Once you know the "feel", length and order of events for your wedding reception, make a corresponding list of the songs you'd like to have.  Put them in order according to your timeline. 
Here's our general suggestions for your reception music - Get a volunteer to be in charge of the music. Your guests will most likely start arriving before you will, unless your ceremony and reception are in the same location. Even so, you'll be getting photos taken.  Have 30 min worth of songs to play while guests are arriving/mingling, according to the "feel" you'd like to present (i.e., classical music, jazz, spiritual songs, R&B, etc). Do you have a song you'd like to play as you officially arrive at the reception? Send a bridesmaid or groomsman in to alert the person in charge of the music to play that song now. Try to strategically place that song about 35 min into the 1st CD.  Refer to your reception events timeline beyond that to "schedule" which songs to be played and when. That will help you to organize your music!

Step 3:  Download all the songs you want, or copy them onto your computer's hard drive from CD's that you already own.  Click here for quick links to music download sites.  Remember where these files are saved (remember the "file path" so you can locate them easily on your hard drive).

Step 4:  Open your CD burner software, and create a new music CD.  Follow the burning software's directions.  It will create a "song list" for you. Place each song on the list in the correct order.  You may need 2 song lists for your reception.  One CD may not hold enough music for the entire reception!

Step 5: Burn the CD.  Caution - do not try to burn the songs individually.  You need to create your entire song list, in the correct order, then do the 'burning' all at once!  Follow your CD burner software's on-screen instructions.

Step 6:  Make duplicate copies or 2... then use your marker to clearly mark "Wedding Reception Music CD #1", "Reception Music CD #2", etc., on their top sides.  If you want to, place a label with the song names on there as well.  If you have specific songs for specific reception events, i.e. cake cutting, first dance, etc., mark those song #'s and event names on the labels.

Step 7:  Test the CD's to make sure they work.  Not just on the computer, but also test them in another CD player (i.e., car, boom box, audio system, etc).

Step 8:  Protect your CD's by placing them into sleeves or hard cases and put them in a logical spot for safe keeping until the wedding. 

You just saved some $$!  Sit back and be proud of your accomplishment, and know that you'll have exactly what you want to hear during your wedding reception.  Ahhhhh the bliss....

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