fbpx

10 Things to Consider When Booking Your Wedding Band

10 Things to Consider When Booking Your Wedding Band

With a current trend of festival style multi day weddings and having both live music and a DJ becoming a popular choice it soon becomes apparent that there are a large number of bands available each one with their individual sound, style and requirements so how do you choose the best band for you?

We asked the folks over at Freak Music to answer this question and put together their Top Ten list, so grab a caffeine hit of choice and read further….

Top 10 Things to Consider When Booking Your Wedding Band

There are many ingredients that combine for a memorable wedding. Your wedding music is arguably one of the most important. While some guests will remember the ceremony or the venue, more of them are likely to think about whether they enjoyed the food and whether the evening entertainment led to them having a great time. We’re going to look at your wedding entertainment in this post.

Before you book a wedding band, consider these 10 things.

#1: Your Wedding Theme

Consider what kind of music would fit your wedding theme or mood.

A vintage themed wedding could use a Big Band or 20s Swing Band, while a folk music band might be a good fit for a rural, bohemian wedding.

You want to make sure the wedding music doesn’t feel out of place in the context of your theme.

#2: Your Personal Preferences

You don’t just want to focus on the theme; it’s important you also enjoy the music.

If you hate jazz music, don’t pick a jazz band just because you have an elegant wedding theme.

#3: Your Wedding Venue and Possible Limitations

Your chosen wedding venue is a crucial part of the equation of booking a wedding band. You need to consider:

• The size of the venue – How big of a band can you fit on the stage?
• The functionality of the space – Can a band play there or is a DJ better option? Just a band’s drummer may take up more room than a DJ!
• Any sound restrictions or limitations – Does the venue allow live music after a certain time of day, and how loud can the band play?

Furthermore, you should check if you can book any band or if the venue has contracts that only allow you to book with specific vendors.

#4: Your Wedding Entertainment Priorities

What does your wedding music mean to you? How important do you think your band is in the wider context of you being able to enjoy the wedding? Your wedding day is your big day; it’s your once-in-a-lifetime event. You shouldn’t spend a lot of time or money choosing a particular wedding band if it isn’t that high on your priority list.

#5: Your Wedding Budget

Throughout your wedding planning knowing and sticking to a budget is important.

You’ve now decided how important your wedding music is to you, so keep this in mind when deciding and allocating your wedding budget.

#6: Your Thoughts on How the Band Sounds

Never pick a wedding band without hearing them play first!

If the band doesn’t have any public gigs you could attend, they’ll usually have videos on YouTube or Facebook, or be able to send you some footage of them performing live.

Do all you can to check them out before you book them!

#7: Your Wedding Day Schedule

Think about your wedding day schedule and in when you want the band to play.

Sounds a bit obvious doesn’t it, but doesn’t have to be the case that a band simply turns up and performs a set.

For example, you could ask them to perform a particular song for the first dance or even for yours and your guests’ arrival at the reception venue. Speak with potential wedding bands about what they can do and go from there.

#8: Your Desire to Influence the Setlist

It’s also important to consider whether the band is open to song suggestions or not. Many wedding bands have a specific setlist – or at least a list of songs that you can choose from – and may not be able to accommodate any song requests, while others might want to have your input and be able to offer a greater degree of flexibility.

#9: Your Band’s Specific Requests

Wedding bands can have specific requests in terms of what they’d like you to provide them with. Do you need to provide them with catering? Will they require a changing area? Are they assuming that certain bits of kit and equipment will be available to use at the venue?

Make these part of your conversation with your wedding band; we’ve heard plenty of stories about bands who’ve turned up to weddings expecting there to be amps and other equipment only to find there isn’t!

#10: Your Plan B if Things go Wrong

Things can go wrong, so it pays to have a Plan B. Not only is it important your wedding band has the appropriate public liability insurance, you also need to know about their cancellation policies.

You should consider a Plan B for the worst-case scenario – your band cancelling close to the last minute (if they cancel on the day or don’t turn up you’ll probably just have to find a DJ). While you want the contract to detail what happens with the fee, you also want to be practical and think about the ways you can have some music on your big day.

As the above shows, you have many things to consider prior to booking your wedding band. Take your time and don’t rush it – you’ll know the right band when you hear them!

Thanks to the team at Freak Music for this great set of Top Ten Tips

 

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.