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Selecting a Band
for your Wedding
The wedding band on your
finger symbolizes your marital vows. But the wedding band at your
reception is the one that your guests will remember, for better or for
worse.
One of the most important
aspects of selecting a good band is their versatility. Do you want
your guests — including grandparents — to hear Broadway tunes,
jazz, Country and Western, or a band that can mix it all up?
The key is to go see them live, according to WeddingChannel.com’s
Editor-In-Chief Susan Lee Smith.
This advice helps as the couple will find out after hearing bands that
are a little too versatile.
Another suggestion from Smith:
make sure the band is not too loud. It’s a good idea to use a sound
decibel counter when seeing the band live, and if need be, asking them
to tone it down for the wedding.
"You have to go over with them how loud they should be,” Smith
advised.
A couple should also make
written agreements with the band on issues such as how band members
should dress, whether they may drink alcohol, and even what the band
name is, to avoid having any unexpected surprises on the dance floor.
One good way to find a band is at a wedding showcase, a one-stop
wedding shop that allows couples to book limos, browse for a band, and
pick up flowers. Prices for bands average about $1,000, depending on
the size of the band, and whether you live in a small town or a big
city.
Wedding Band Tips
Planning is everything when it comes to picking a band, whether it’s
tallying the budget, or choosing the timing of the music.
You should plan to spend about 5 percent of your wedding budget on a
band, and start shopping around for one about four to six months prior
to the wedding, said Susan Lee Smith, editor-in-chief of Wedding
Channnel.com.
The average wedding costs $19,000, meaning nearly $1,000 should be
devoted to the costs of music for the reception, and also a church
musician, if needed. Overall, prices for wedding bands generally range
from $500 to $5,000, and can be higher if you select something more
elaborate, such as a 10-piece band or larger.
“What a lot of couples are doing now is having a band for the first
half of the wedding, either playing just instrumental music, or with a
vocalist,” Smith said. “Then when the band wraps up, a DJ comes in
for the second half, and it becomes a disco.”
If a couple chooses a non-traditional wedding band, such as a bar
band, they should make sure the band knows when it should pause for
breaks. |
