Your wedding is fast approaching! You’ve dreamt of this day since you were little, and now, finally, your happily-ever-after is just around the corner. So, you should make it a time of great joy, booming exaltation, and overwhelming passions and emotions.
Your wedding day is a significant milestone, filled with love, joy, and the promise of a lifetime spent together. It’s a day when dreams become reality and emotions run high. To make your wedding truly unforgettable, you need to plan every aspect with care and attention to detail. From selecting the perfect venue to how wonderful you will be in that gorgeous dress with a diamond ring.
After those long months of planning and preparation, you would want to ensure that everything’s ready. Now, all that is left is to dot some I’s, cross some T’s, and get your planning filed away… you simply can’t leave anything to chance on that magical day.
One of those pesky I’s is music; your nuptial soundtrack. That little tidbit will either break or make your day. In fact, it’s as important as your dress, your hors d’oeuvre, and where to sit your estranged relatives.
Music is partly what adds dynamism to the event. It is what compels people to get off their chairs and really bring the house down. So, you have to start rifling through your options and picking out the perfect wedding band, where do you start?
Here are 5 questions you have to ask yourself before you pick a live band for your wedding:
1. How Many Guests Am I Expecting?
There’s a tipping point to picking a band, a Goldilocks Ratio, where everything has to be “just right” for a band to actually gel with the crowd. You need to know how many people you invited to your nuptials because the larger the gathering, the larger the band you’ll need.
If you have a packed house, you simply can’t have a lone-wolf with a Taylor guitar singing his heart out to an acoustic rendition of “Don’t Stop Believing.” You need the pomp and circumstance that a jam-packed room with rowdy celebrants demands.
A collection of trained musicians, not just a one or two, that know how to draw in the crowd and snake charm them away from the bar and into the dance-floor. You need a spectacle that will visually impact your guest and a show that sounds big and looks exciting. For all of that to happen, you first need to know how many people are going to get an R.S.V.P.
2. Where Is My Wedding Going To Take Place?
Location! Location! Location! To get in contact with a band and start hatching out the contracts, you’ll need to get your wedding venue locked because it’s a matter of logistics.
If your wedding is a long way out of town, not only the guests will need overnight accommodations but also the band members. You’ll need to have this tidbit of info in your pocket way before you start interviewing possible bands.
3. When Is My Wedding Date?
You’re not the only one getting hitched that day. In Canada, there are about 3000+ weddings every week. Hence, the demand for wedding stuff and preparation is high.
Bands are a prized commodity, so they are in high demand. Some bands receive more than 25 inquiries a day about possible gigs.
For these melodic cats to keep things fair they need to see some scratch. In other words, they need a deposit, paid and in their bank account, to confirm a booking. Check with them in advance and lock in your wedding date performance ASAP.
4. Do I Want To Have Dancing With a Live Band or A DJ?
It’s all about the vibe you want your wedding to have. The music is one of the things most people remember from a wedding. It sets the atmosphere and reflects your personality.
Both not only carry the musical ambiance. But as performers, they also pay close attention to the “feel” of the room and escort the guests through their musical repertoire accordingly. They are ringmasters, and oftentimes, interact with the crowd.
For that end of the night jamboree, both a DJ and a band will work just fine. They afford the climax a different vibe and said vibe is personal in nature. There are things a DJ can do that a band can’t and vice-versa.
To keep it simple, you have to ask yourself this set of questions: “What do I want for the final moments? Where do I want to transport my guests? A music hall and concert or a night-club?” Both are awesome answers and you can do no wrong with either.
If you’re still on the fence, some bands even provide a mashup of both services – live music as part of the DJ service.
5. Do I Want To Have Live Music At The Ceremony and Cocktail?
Nowadays, there are services out there that really streamline the whole musical process as far as a wedding is concerned. They are well aware that a wedding, aside from being one of the happiest moments in your life, is also one of the most stressful. As such, they offer countless customized packages for that day.
Why is this important and what does this have to do with the initial question? Let’s say you want to have live music during the ceremony, the cocktail, and the reception. You can either interview and deal with a score of different suppliers or you can deal with just one that synchs everything up and takes the weight off your shoulders.
For your convenience, you can look for one supplier tasked with having a band present at the ceremony, at the cocktail, and at the reception/party.
Wrapping It All Up
Once you answer all these 5 questions, you’ll be able to make an informed decision as to what sort of band you’ll want for your wedding day. More importantly, you will be able to figure out how to perfectly negotiate with them.
