So You Want A Band At Your Wedding?

If you are planning on having a band at your wedding reception this page may help to answer some of your questions.  We have a lot of experience with playing weddings, from Grand Marques in Stately Homes, London Hotels to Village Halls.  I type as I speak so please do not critique this section on its grammar, if I had to check it to make sure it made perfect sense then it would never get posted!

What Can You Expect To Pay?

A good wedding band will charge anything between £500 to £2000+ (bear in mind that the average DJ will charge £200+ and that is for one guy to play records), a live bands rate will depend on a number of things which are  covered below:

The Time Of Year 

• Supply and demand - you should expect to pay more for a wedding band in August than if you decide to get married in February.  A band that has built up a reputation -especially with agents- as being a good wedding band will usually be in a position to dictate which bookings they want to take, certainly at the busier times of the year.  

The number of people in the band? 

• What you pay will be split between the members of the band, therefore don't be surprised to find that a 9-piece soul band wants more than a four piece!   Additionally there is the matter of space, the venue for your evening function may dictate the size of the band you can have, infact in some cases you may find that due to the size of your function room you will only have room for a disco.  

How Long Will The Band Be Required For?  

• This may initially seem like a stupid question, but how long the bands' day is does not equate to how long they are on stage and ultimately this will be factored into how much the band will cost.  This is particularly relevant to weddings where the evening function may be in the same room  as the afternoon reception.  In most cases the band will be required to set-up and sound checked before the reception starts.  Lets say for example that your reception starts at 1600, we require 1 hour to set up and sound check which means that we would have to be there by 1430! Add on to this traveling to the venue and it soon becomes apparent that in most cases the band will have done a 12 hour day by the time the pack-up and get home.  The cheapest option will always be a local band that can set-up as close as possible to the start of your evening function.

How Long Will The Band Play For?

• Live bands will usually play either  3 x 45 minute sets or 2 x 1 hour + sets (we actually prefer 2 longer sets, the reason?  45 minutes of music usually equates to about 10 songs which means that just when you have everyone in the party/dance mood it's time to stop for a break! We prefer to do 2 x 75(ish)  minute sets,  when we are ready for a break the guests usually is a well!   Ultimately though it is up to  the customer.

What Type Of Band Should I Be Looking For?

• Simple this one - I love Pink Floyd therefore because it's my wedding I am going to have a Pink Floyd Tribute Band! (Perfect Alibi area excellent).  Unfortunately it doesn't work like that, despite it being 'your day' you have your guests to think about and at most weddings - because of the generations being bridged - you will have to try and please all the people all the time - you may like soul music but will your guests be happy with an entire evening of it?

• The other option that some people go for is to have a  particular type of Tribute Band (Abba, Commitments, Madonna...)  I won't prattle on about these too much other than it is usually best to go through a reputable agent so you know that the "Robbie Williams" you are getting is not just a weekend karaoke pub singer with a shaved head,  a James Bond suit and a collection of well dodgy backing tapes!  Most Tribute Bands will usually do one 45 - 60 minute set which covers that particular artists greatest hits (which is great if everyone likes that artist and not so great if they don't) so with most tribute acts you will probably also need a dj.

Can We Come and See You?

• Unfortunately nearly all of our bookings are for private parties, weddings or corporate function, it can therefore be very difficult to get permission to have someone else 'pop in'.  Our demo cd is recorded live straight from the mixing desk (not in a recording studio where everything aspect can be polished to perfection)  so what you hear on the cd is what you get.  We can also provided contact details of clients - their comments after all are what a band should build its reputation on.