Live Music At Your Wedding?

About the author:

Dave Gardiner has worked as a musician, guitar teacher and music journalist for most of his life. He is currently performing with his wife Allie in The Precious Things, a Brides magazine wedding band of the year for 2010 based in Northumberland. Find out more at www.thepreciousthings.co.uk


Live Music at your Wedding?

Brides and grooms face some difficult decisions and bewildering choices if they are contemplating booking musical entertainment for their big day. Let's look at some of the key issues.

Firstly let's be clear: a lot of "live" music nowadays simply isn't. We can all accept that a solo singer will have to use prerecorded backing tracks and sing along to them - a kind of upmarket karaoke - but there are lots of three, four and five piece bands who are either filling out their sound with such tracks or blatantly miming to a full recording. If this matters to you, look for the bands that state in their marketing that they play absolutely live.

Secondly, the competition in the music business is intense and fewer and fewer pubs are offering live music of any sort. Thus the wedding market is flooded with displaced pub bands aspiring to be "wedding" or "function" bands who simply don't have the experience, equipment or professionalism to provide the sort of service brides ought to expect,

Thirdly (and lastly for now in case this all gets too depressing) a lot of wedding bands are drawn from pools of musicians - often just whoever is available on the night - rather than having a regular lineup. They may be very capable individuals but if they are not used to working as a regular unit the music may lack energy and any sense of performance. The music stands and studious facial expressions are tell-tale signs!

This all sounds very daunting so how do couples make the right choices? One piece of better news is that finding bands to choose from has never been easier. Most will have a website with some samples of their music and testimonials from satisfied customers. While there may be some scope for misrepresentation (using fake references for example) it's usually easy to spot the genuine bands by making an enquiry about availability and prices and then engaging them in some sort of dialogue about your requirements before parting with any money.

There is probably little benefit in using an agency to book your band unless you feel some reassurance in that. Remember, though, that the agent will add 20-25% to the cost and this either comes from the band or the customer and generally a bit of both.

What sort of band do you need? Obviously price is a factor - a trio will usually be cheaper than an eight-piece soul band - but maybe you should start by considering the age range and tastes of your guest list. You can't really go far wrong with a band covering a wide range of styles and eras unless you're very clear the audience will appreciate more of a consistent theme, or that theme complements the style of the celebration in some way. An obvious example would be some sort of "Rat Pack" tribute act at a casino-themed event.

Many genuine wedding bands will offer pre-recorded music to be played in their breaks or even from when guests first arrive and after the live music finishes. If they will light your dancefloor as well you can save the additional cost of a disco if you can do without the DJ's chatter!

Cost is always an issue. Customers may think a quote from a band is a lot of money for a couple of hours work. Please bear in mind, though, that those two hours are all the public see. The work and travelling that goes into a wedding performance can often mean a ten or twelve hour day for five or six people who also spend a lot of time and money on overheads such as public liability insurance, websites, costumes, rehearsals, transport and the maintenance of some very expensive (not to mention heavy) sound and lighting equipment.

Truly live music from capable musicians who genuinely love what they do creates a unique atmosphere which can make an event like a wedding reception even more special. Brides and grooms should discuss their ideas together well in advance and agree what they want and how much they can spend on it. Then the search for the ideal act begins. Use the internet (you're using it now so it's not difficult) to do some searches narrowed down to your part of the country - you'll pay a lot more for a band that has to travel a long way, especially overnight. Then email them your date, venue and the approximate times the band will need to be on-site so they can give a reasonable estimate of cost. Obviously it will cost more if they have to arrive at noon to set up because guests will be in the same room all afternoon and evening rather than coming at 5pm. Expect to pay a deposit (maybe 25%) to secure your date and then for both parties to agree and sign a contract setting out what you expect of each other, what happens if either party cancels and so on. The band will be most concerned about arrival and departure times, ease of access, a decent-sized stage or other area to perform in, enough elecrical power (especially for marquee events), a room to get changed in if possible and ideally some food and soft drinks if it's a long day.

Like all good things, the best live music is worth the time and effort put in to getting it right and that goes for both performer and customer.

By David Gardiner
David Gardiner – The Precious Things

www.thepreciousthings.co.uk