Tips on Hiring a Band for Your Wedding Reception
Hiring a band for your wedding? Here are some tips. Whether you hire us or not, it's always good to gather up as much information as you can before you make a decision*.
Wedding day. I don't want to scare you, but it's one of the single biggest events of your life. You want to get it right. The other side of that coin is that if you stress out too much about it, you'll ruin your day anyway. So, the goal here is to make it exactly what you want with as little stress as possible. Piece of cake right? Ok, it sounds easier than it is, but it's all about the planning beforehand.
I say to all my brides and grooms (and planners, and coordinators, and future in-laws) - On the day of your wedding, all you should have to do is repeat what the preacher tells you and just experience your day. Some folks hire a wedding planner/coordinator. This is a huge help if you find the right person and can afford the investment.
If you can't get a planner or coordinator, then get your planning done beforehand. Working with Blind Manifest, we'll help you with planning and coordinating the reception as much as we can. There's a big timeline template we use that works as a start. We've done a lot of these, where we can't help, we can at least point you in the right direction and give you some ideas.
So... What's the Vibe?
The key here is know what you want. Close your eyes. Can you picture the "vibe" of your reception? Do you see it more laid-back with people at tables dining and chatting? Do you see a big party? Do you see both? What about the music? What's your favorite? What about your partner? Sure, weddings happen all the time and a lot of them have many things in common. No two are alike. They are as unique as you and your future spouse. Make it yours. Start with the feel, the experience, then work towards building that experience.
"So what should I be looking for?" you might ask. Wedding reception entertainment, when done well, is both memorable and unnoticed. What I mean by this is you two, the happy couple all dressed up and just married, are the stars of this reception. Your guests came to celebrate you, not the music, not the food, not the ambience.
As entertainers, we influence the mood of the room. That's it. When your guests leave, they should be saying: "she looked so beautiful!", "what a sweet first dance", "oh, when the best man danced with the bride's 6 year old cousin, that was the cutest thing", "remember when grandpa started break dancing?", that sort of thing. Nowhere in any of those comments is "the band" the focus. These memories are of you two and your reception. All we did was influence the room to make their own memories.
Do your homework!
You see that big stack of magazines with the dresses that you've got there? Remember all those web sites with the little lace things that go on the tables? The candles? The guest gifts? You did a lot of research on those… Have you researched entertainment? (and I don't mean just reading the stuff on some band's Web site, like this. Did I mention I have the ulterior motive of you hiring us?)
When you're deciding on entertainment for your wedding, here are some good 'wedding industry / web magazine' links that give you more information. The more information you have, the better your decision on who to hire. Yeah, of course we want you to hire us, but be informed… then come back and hire us.
http://wedding.theknot.com/wedding-planning/wedding-music-ideas/articles/wedding-reception-music-bands-vs-djs.aspx
http://weddings.weddingchannel.com/wedding-planning-ideas/wedding-music/articles/how-to-hire-a_band-or-dj-must-knows.aspx
http://www.weddingzone.net/px-ms006.htm
http://weddings.whatitcosts.com/wedding-music-band.htm
Ready to get started?
Click here to start the process of booking Blind Manifest for your Wedding Reception!
