Live Wedding Music

How to book a wedding band

The one way to guarantee a memorable end to your wedding is day is to hire a live band. The live atmosphere is an excuse for people to get up and dance to the music, even if they're usually not the type. Whether it's motown, swing, pop/ or rock you're into, then you'll most certainly have been browsing on google and found it a little overwhelming. With so many bands to choose from, all at different prices and many appearing to be similar at what they do, it can hard to pick the right band.

Most people haven't really ever had a reason to book a wedding band before, so if you're not sure how it works, hopefully this article will give you a point in the right direction! I'm going to take you through the process of how to find a wedding band, some guidelines about the wedding reception running order and some things to think about before hiring a band.

Where do I start?

Before booking a band, you obviously want to hear the music that you like so if you're looking for a swing band, the easiest thing to do is type it in Google and see who comes up. Of course, it's difficult to know how good a band is live but their demo's, website and photos are usually a good indication of how serious a band is. If a band's been together for 8 years and are coming up at the top on Google, they must be doing something right. If you want to be 100% sure about a band you either need to watch them play live or book through a reputable entertainment agency. Watching a band play live first isn't as easy as it might sound because event bands very rarely play in public. Hiring a band through a music agency means they've been checked out and are up to a high standard. Remember, you usually get what you pay for!

Booking your Band

Once you've found a band you like, make an inquiry sending over the date, location of the wedding and rough timings. Most bands will quote for 2 x 45 minute sets or 3 x 40 minutes. If the band is available and you want to go ahead, the band or agency will send over a contract, which would be signed by yourself and the band. A deposit of around 20% - 30% is usually required to secure the booking.

Payment

With the deposit paid, you'll be expected to pay the remaining fee to the agency a few weeks before the date or alternatively you may need to pay the band on the night, it all depends on the route you've gone down.

Article submitted by Adam Mezzatesta