Are you looking for wedding band musicians to play on your big day? Here are some tips on how to hire the perfect group!
Congratulations — you’ve gotten engaged!
Now that you’ve crossed this milestone, it’s time to book the venue, buy the cake, and of course, find a great band to play at your reception.
With everything else that goes into your wedding, finding a band should be the least of your worries. It will be if you know what you’re doing. You just need to know how to find musicians, do research on them, and know what questions to ask.
To help you make your first dance the highlight of the wedding experience, we’re going to go over the process of choosing the best wedding band musicians that will make your reception one your guests will never forget.
1. Plan in Advance
After you’ve decided what your venue is you need to start looking for the band. Finding a venue first allows you to get a feel for what space can handle as far as entertainment goes.
In terms of timeframe, it’s a good idea to book the musician on the entertainment network based website like Alive Network at least a year before the wedding takes place. If you try to book it any closer than that, they may not be available.
2. How to Get Started
To get started with this, you need to decide how you want to go about finding them. There are a few ways that you can go about this. The first way is to attend a concert that the band is playing.
The second thing you can do is get the opinion of a friend or family member who was once in your shoes. Google will be your best friend during this process because all you’ll have to do is type in band names and look at reviews.
3. Music Style
Sometimes you don’t always get the chance to view a band live before you decide to book them for your wedding. This is okay but you do need to figure out what their music style is beforehand somehow.
You don’t want to host a cocktail style reception and accidentally hire a punk band. The styles won’t exactly mesh together. You can do this by either going to their website or looking for videos online.
4. Don’t Be Afraid to Ask Questions
No one can give you more legit information on a band then the band itself. It’s for this reason that you want to call up anyone that you’re considering and ask them questions. Here are a few sample questions that you should have ready when they pick up the phone.
The first thing you should ask them is how big the band is. This lets you know if they will even fit in your venue. So you can get a general idea of what they may sound like, you’ll need to know what sorts of instruments they play.
You need to ask how flexible they can be so you’ll know if they can adjust their performance style to meet your needs. You should ask where you can hear a list of their most recent songs. That way you can make any special demands if needed.
5. Band vs. DJ
A band is going to be visually more impactful to your guests than a DJ. This is especially true if you have a very large number of guests. Both a band and DJ require at least three breaks a night unless you plan to pay them extra not to.
You may be asking about the limitations of a band vs. a DJ. A DJ can play just about any song that you ask but the right band can do this exact same thing. Really, the only large advantage a DJ has over a band is space.
Bands have several large instruments that you have to account for but if your venue is fairly large it won’t be too much of a problem.
6. Go See Them Perform
When you go to a dealership to buy a new car, you probably aren’t going to buy one and drive it off the lot. You’re going to test drive it first. This is the same mindset you should have with a wedding band.
You should plan to attend one of their live performances to see not only how well they play but how they work for a crowd. There is no better research than this. Again, if you can’t do this you should at least try to find videos online of their performances.
Any Extra Things You Need to Know
There will be additional costs in hiring a band. For example, if it’s outdoors (and even if it’s not), you’ll need to prepare for the band to bring generators with them. You should plan for them to play softer music at around 10 pm because if not, neighbors will complain.
You should also prepare a nice room for them with refreshments — the talent needs to eat too! Note that if you decide to have your reception in a hotel, you’ll avoid half these roadblocks.
Choosing Wedding Band Musicians Who Will Be Perfect for Your Big Day
Your wedding is the biggest day of your life. You’ll need to hire only the best for the occasion.
You need to do research by either Googling them or watching them live. Know exactly what to ask when you call and find someone who’s flexible and will suit your needs.
Use these tips on choosing wedding band musicians to find one that is as special as your love.
Weddings are a lot of work so you’re going to need some top notch advice. Visit our wedding archives for more great ideas.
