5 Must Have Tips When Booking Your Wedding Band

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5 Must Have Tips When Booking Your Wedding Band
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Tip 1

• Bands Aint Bands
• Should you accept a throw-together band  just
  because the gig is your wedding?
• What actually makes a band  a band is when the
  same group of musicians do hundreds of gigs
  together as one unit. Its the combination. This
  cant be replicated easily. Think of what
  happened to INXS after Michael Hutchence died?
  The band has kept going, but its never been as
  good. Similarly, think of it like a great
  football team. If you can keep the same
  combination going out onto the field unchanged
  for a whole season, they will run rings around an
  all star team thrown together for one game. Do
  you want your wedding to be a well paid band
  rehearsal or would you prefer a well oiled
  machine? Is it actually a band or has it been
  tailor-made (in other words thrown-together)
  to accommodate your budget.
• Tip 1 Beware of fake bands.

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Tip 2

• Work Ethic
• How long will the band actually play for?
• I went to a wedding as a guest earlier this year.
  The bride and groom booked a 1950s style rock
  and roll band to play. Being a musician, I was
  intrigued to watch how long they played for. The
  reception went for five hours, during which they
  played two sets a 45 minute set and a 35 minute
  set. Thats an hour and twenty minutes out of
  five hours. The rest of the time they just sat
  around. When I told the guys in my band about it,
  they couldnt believe how little they played. We
  normally aim to play 5 X 45 minutes or the
  equivalent there of. I didnt become a musician
  to sit around on breaks. Do you want your band to
  actually work, or do you want them sitting around
  drinking up  your bar tab?

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Tip 3

• A Wedding Band Specialises in playing at Wedding
• What makes playing at a wedding different to
  other types of gigs?
• The first consideration with a wedding is the
  diversity in the ages of guests. Generally, ages
  can range from 18 to 80. In addition to friends,
  therell be parents, grand-parents, uncles,
  aunties, cousins and maybe some work colleagues.
  A diverse audience needs a band with a diverse
  repertoire.

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• The second consideration is that wedding
  receptions are usually a minimum of five hours
  long. The reception will usually unfold in
  stages. Guests arrive sober and typically want to
  talk and catch up with friends and family while
  partaking in pre-dinner drinks. Its great to
  have the band playing as guests arrive. It adds
  atmosphere and can be lots of fun  but it cant
  be obtrusive. If its a sit-down dinner style
  reception, can the band create ambience without
  intruding upon guests conversations? When it
  comes to dancing, how many different age groups
  will be enticed into dancing? The appeal of the
  band needs to be inclusive of a broad range of
  ages.
• Tip 3 Book a band that will appeal to multiple
  age groups

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Tip 4

• Ill Be There For You
• Who are you dealing with?
• When you talk to the person representing the
  band, are you dealing with someone who will
  actually be there at the wedding? Often, the
  person youll be dealing with will be an agent or
   professional salesperson who wont be there. If
  you can cut out the middle-man youll be far
  better off. Talking to and building a rapport
  with the band leader will lead to a better
  performance by the band. Its all about
  relationships. If the band feel like they know
  you, theyll do a better job for you. Its as
  simple as that. If theres no relationship, your
  wedding will be merely a pay-packet. No
  relationship equals no vibe.
• Tip 4 Its a genuine advantage to be dealing
  directly with the band-leader.

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Tip 5

• How many weddings have you been to?
• If you havent been to many weddings, a great
  idea is to let your friends and acquaintances
  (and even other suppliers) do your leg work for
  you. Good, strong, credible referrals are ten
  times better than well constructed
  websites. Chances are that your photographer has
  been to hundreds of weddings. Ask him/her for
  their ideas on the best bands going around town.
  Venues will often have a preferred suppliers
  list, but you need to be wary as to whether the
  band is on the list due to their merits, or
  because they have paid to be on the list. Ask
  around your friends, colleagues and
  acquaintances. If the name of a band comes up two
  or three times, chances are you are onto
  something.