Live music is a great addition to your wedding, especially if you want your guests to rock on and enjoy an evening of partying with you (how to keep the party going at your Wedding Reception). But before you dive into booking your favourite local band, check out these 5 tips to help you book the best wedding band.

Choose A Style

It is important to give some thought to what style of music you want played at your wedding.  When doing this consider your own musical preference and priorities for your wedding plus the age range of your guests.  Asking yourself some questions can also help you to determine the style of wedding band you are looking for. For example, do you want to set a certain type of mood at your wedding, or match your music to your wedding theme? Do you want your band to just play at a certain stage of your wedding and does that impact on the style of music you want played? Are you just after background music, or a wedding band that will bring everyone to the dance floor?

Plan Ahead

Like any good wedding vendor, a good wedding band gets snapped up quickly.  If you know that having a band at your wedding is a priority, start researching options at the beginning of your planning.  Doing this will give you time to watch performances on Youtube, get referrals from friends and family and possibly even catch your choice live if they are performing somewhere public.  As you start to narrow down choices contact your preferences for a price guide and ask them to outline exactly what is included and not included in their fee. The types of things to look out for are travel costs, what playing time the fee covers (including length of ‘sets’) and whether they require any special equipment on site or if they provide everything themselves.   You should also confirm how many band members there are and factor that into costs if you will providing your vendors with a meal at your Reception.

Choose Your Venue First

Decide on your Venue before you book your band so you can be sure that your Venue can accommodate a band. Yes it is true that most traditional wedding venues can accommodate a band, but smaller and more unique venues may not have the space and there could be restrictions in place regarding noise.  Before booking your band check that your venue has space for the band (and dancing) and also ask about access times and noise restrictions.

Determine Your Budget

At the I Do Crew we advocate setting your budget as one of the very first things you do when you start planning your wedding.  As you research options for entertainment at your wedding, including band costs, having a budget will help you to narrow down your choices and ensure you aren’t over-spending in this area.  If you are not sure of the costs of bands for weddings when you go to draw up your budget, you can do some initial research into costs so that the amount you allow in your budget is realistic.

Ask About Playlists

Most good wedding bands will have a big repertoire of songs that they can play at your wedding, but don’t assume that every band knows every song.   If there are songs you particularly want played at your wedding, speak to your wedding band about this before you book them to ensure that they will be able to include them.  

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