[aephi alum]

At most of the weddings I've been to, there has been a band. I can only remember a DJ at two weddings I've attended in the past five years. In the first case, money was the driving factor (and the DJ, accordingly, sucked - you get what you pay for); in the second case, it was a small garden party (second wedding for both bride and groom) so they didn't want to do anything too elaborate.

My husband and I had a band. We'd heard them play at a friend's wedding, and they were very good, so we booked them. They had a pretty extensive repertoire - IIRC, they gave us a list, and we could indicate "must play" and "do not play" songs, as well as specifying songs for the first dance, exit dance, etc. I don't recall them taking any very long breaks, except of course during the meal.

Since we're talking about tackiness, I'll add that neither choice (band or DJ) is necessarily tacky. Honestly, I'd rather hear a good DJ than a bad band.