COUPLES are ditching the traditional `cheesy' wedding DJ and saying 'I do' to their iPods.

Wedding organisers say newlyweds no longer want mobile discos with flashing lights pumping out corny classics such as Agadoo, The Birdie Song or `anything by Phil Collins' at their receptions.

Instead, they are compiling personalised playlists for their big day, then hooking up their MP3 players to speakers.

In the last year, more than two thirds of couples who held their reception at Salford's Lowry Hotel chose their own tracks to give their bash a more individual atmosphere.

But professional wedding DJs have hit back, saying that youngsters don't consider that older relatives often prefer a 70s disco to get them dancing.

Jonny Draper, 27, and Emma Latham, 28, from Withington, are one couple who plan to use an iPod at their wedding in December.

Relevant

Jonny said: "We want to put our own stamp on the day and choose music we think is appropriate, relevant and that our families will enjoy.

"Not hiring a DJ means we can take control of the music and it allows us to spend the money we save elsewhere on the wedding.

"We're going to have a band later in the evening, but we'd prefer an iPod to a cheesy DJ.

"We're a few months away yet, but Always on My Mind by Elvis and All You Need is Love by The Beatles are already on the list."

Anna Parson, wedding co-ordinator at the Lowry Hotel, says demand for live wedding entertainers remains high, including bands, `Rat Pack' crooners and string quartets, but mobile discos are becoming surplus to requirements.

She said: "There's been an amazing growth in the number of couples choosing to use an electronic playlist at their wedding rather than hiring the traditional DJ."

But DJ Billy King, who has been getting wedding guests up on the dancefloor for more than 18 years, has defended his art.

He said: "I think iPod weddings are an atrocious idea, ridiculous. If you don't have a DJ, who is going to create the atmosphere?

"If you ask guests to choose a song for the iPod, you'll get the Arctic Monkeys or The Killers, and they'll do just that - kill the atmosphere.

"After a few drinks, it's Amarillo, Come On Eileen and songs by The Nolans that everyone can enjoy.

"They might be cheesy, but they fill the dancefloor."

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