What should I look for when choosing a band or DJ for my wedding?
Posted by Nellie Bloom on Fri, Mar 11, 2011
Happily, one of our favorite wedding questions to answer.
Congratulations on your upcoming wedding! Choosing the right band, or DJ for your excellent party is the key to a real celebratory celebration. Every couple spends a good amount of time deciding the genre or mix of music they would like to have during cocktails, dinner and reception. The good news is that it's easier now than its ever been to make everyone happy on the dance floor. Between playlists, bands with built in DJs and all kinds of technological advances in music - your reception dance floor will be packed with everyone from groomsmen to Grandma. Music genre and style are as personal as the bride's wedding dress but every other variable that makes a musician, band and DJ a wise wedding choice are the same.
Ready? Here you go - The Wedding Top Five!
1) Established and Experienced
An established Band or DJ has testimonials, event insurance (most venues require insurance - reputable entertainers have it) and plenty of experience performing at weddings in particular. A fabulous club DJ or band is fabulous! For a club. If they aren't experienced in the completely different vibe and logistics of a wedding your special day could have some serious gliches on the party front. DJ's loading in during cocktails, equipment power gliches, bands sound checking during the ceremony - it just won't happen if you've got solid recommendations from venues, clients and your wedding planner. Also, a secret wedding success weapon is having an experienced band leader or agency on your team - they've seen everything you can see in the wedding world and can offer advice on entertainment pacing, table placement and even speech schedules.
2) Master of Ceremonies or Tortured Timeline Blues?
An experienced MC is critical for smooth event flow and sticking to your carefully crafted timeline. Your experienced MC will move the reception along easily from special dances to cake cutting to departure. A great MC cares about your timeline and delivers upbeat announcements and directives without sounding like the whole wedding party is supposed to be buying a car from him. An inexperienced DJ or MC can mistake "goof" for high energy or may not have the wedding experience to realize what is appropriate at a luau is not cool on your special day.
3) Flexibility
Flexibility in everything from your band learning special songs, to rehearsing with family members who sing or play instruments to crafting specialized dance sets. Your band or DJ should be great listeners, accessible and knowledgable. Beware, though, the band or DJ who says "we'll do whatever you want." You are hiring professionals will loads of experience - their job is to advise you how, in their experience, your wedding reception will be most successful.
4) Advancing the Show
Making sure the wedding reception is fun for everyone means that no detail has been missed. This definitely applies to reception music. Your band contact person or DJ should call you well in advance of your happy day and ask the right questions to make sure the event is seamless. Some of these right questions are about:
1) Accessiblity2) Space - size, indoor/outdoor..3) Guests4) Attire5) Demographic6) Musical preferences7) Logistics including stage, power, lighting..
If your entertainment provider isn't asking these questions then there is a big chance details are getting by without a proper think through. Which could mean blown fuses, inappropriate tuneage and more chaos than any bride wants on her wedding day.
5) Friendly and Appreciative
Many bands and DJ's love a good wedding. Happy vibe, packed dance floor, good party. There are however, entertainers who don't care for weddings but do them anyway. These aren't the folks you want at your lovely celebration. They can be burned out, bummed out and just not the right fit for wedding receptions. One way to screen potential malecontents is how responsive and friendly they are in your early conversations. Friendly and appreciative is great, a good rapport is much better than a stilted one - the golden ticket in service is real information and advice. You want your entertainment provider to say "for your guest demographic, we agree Raise Your Glass is a great dance tune - we recommend it in the second set verses the first."
Excellent live music or an accomplished DJ? Luckily these days you can have the best of both. Whatever you decide - these Top Five will insure you are on the dance floor instead of the phone. Happy Planning!
Thank you to our friends at A Day in Your Life Photography for the use of their excellent work.
Happy Nuptials! We love a good wedding. Got a wedding query? Call Melissa or Annie at our office and they'll get started on a solution.