Wedding Musicians & Bands Article - Tips on Finding The Perfect Wedding Musicians at Bride1.com

Courtesy of Common Ground Band, Boston

Live music adds many wonderful elements to any gathering. A band is visually entertaining, creates excitement, energy and fun for your guests. The band will act as your partner and will help you to orchestrate perfect moments to be caught on film, video and create memories to last a lifetime. In a wedding reception talented musicians and singers evoke emotion thru exchange with the bride, groom, family and guests. Professional wedding bands do not take that role lightly.

Finding a band: First…like all wedding planning, start early. It is not unusual for wedding vendors in general to book popular dates a year in advance. Most bands have websites and you can find them through geographic searches on the internet or from popular wedding websites which link to vendors. Ask a friend who they used. You’ll find that if a band is already booked they will usually refer others to you. It should not take long to identify a handful of potentials.

Choosing a band does not have to be a difficult task. A look at the song list is a good place to begin. But just because you don’t see a song that you like or want in particular does not mean that the band won’t play it!! Talk to the band leader and you’ll find that he or she will be very happy to bring special songs of your choice that may not appear on the song list. Most bands will send you a package of material with a video or CD and that is a great way to start but you should try to get out and see the bands you like. Viewing the band live can be arranged through conversation with the band leader.

Ceremony and Cocktail music. Most bands will have 1 or 2 musicians that you can hire to perform for your ceremony and or cocktail hour prior to the reception should you want that.

The MC: The bands’ front person acts as MC. He or she will be a skilled public speaker able to address the audience professionally precisely timing and announcing the various events that will happen through-out the day. This is done through coordination with the customer in advance. A worksheet is provided which tells the MC exactly when you want special events to take place. The MC is with you during the bridal party line-up too and final checks are done to assure proper order of names and pronunciations are correct.

Song selections: Many bands have a wide range of styles and extensive repertoire. Appropriate songs for special dances will be on their list but usually they will also allow you to suggest up to four songs that may not appear on their list. They will prepare those songs for your reception. In four or five hours the band can not play every song on its list. It’s common for the client to go thru the song list and highlight selections they would like to have played, or not played. During the performance the band leader will “read” the crowd and call songs as they go along feeding off the energy that is created. He or she will not leave gaps between songs. As the crowd responds the band leader knows how to keep the energy up or cool it down if need be. Requests are always considered but the band leader reserves the right to hold the request if the timing is not suitable at that moment…unless of course the request comes from the Bride or Groom!!

About volume: Most bands have a great sense of volume and they usually have played any given venue before so they should know the sound of the room. But sometimes the room can reverberate sound to a certain area that might be annoying to a few of the guests....no problem. Speak to the band leader and you’ll find that things will change pronto.

Breaks: Most receptions are either a four or five hour format. In four hours the band should take about 45 minutes of break time in total. Thirty minutes of that time is during dinner. During any break the band will provide background music on CD or DJ style to keep the party pumping between sets. At least one band member will be minding the music at all times throughout the day and with the exception of dinner someone should be on-stage all the time.

Arrival, Dress and set-up: It is common for a band to arrive two hours early, be set up and dressed in formal attire by the time guests are arriving. Bands know their gear. Extensive sound checks are not required.

Choose live music: Musicians spend years developing their skills for precise performance. “Live Music” can be flexible too. A live band has total control over timing, and timing is critical in creating perfect moments to be remembered long after the party is over.

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