Looking For An Evening Band For Your Wedding?
The most important aspect of booking your wedding band is doing it EARLY! Bands can often get booked up over a year in advance, and popular summer dates in particular get filled very quickly. (Some bands offer discounts for off-peak months (eg. November, December, January and February) or weekday bookings – a good option if you’re on a particularly tight budget.)
What size of band do you have in mind?
Bands come in many different shapes and sizes, as you can see from our sample page here. Do you want a floor-pumping, large cover band like The Dancefloor Elite? Or perhaps a more intimate set-up, such as The Illusions, would better suit your perfect vibe?
Dancefloor Elite
The Illusions
How much live music will they play?
Typically an evening package would include lights, a PA system, 2 hours of live music and a party playlist to play in between their sets.
Tuxedo
By far the most important moment and memory of your evening. Your band will be more than happy to learn your first dance song even if it’s not on their repertoire list, don’t be afraid to pick something a little unusual!
Let’s throw the spotlight on….
Pete, The Bears
The Bears
What instrument do you play?
I play the drums in The Bears, but I also play trumpet, piano and guitar to varying degrees of success.
When did you start playing the drums?
I started playing the drums at the age of 12, after my trumpet teacher kept telling me I was speeding up when I was playing. Drums seemed like a practical solution at the time….had I considered loading them in and out of my car for the rest of my life I might have felt differently!
How long have you been playing together?
I have been playing with The Bears about 9 years, however they’ve been together about 13.
How did band get together initially?
You’ll have to ask them as I wasn’t around. I imagine they all got fed-up with their day jobs!
Have you got any favourite memories?
My favourite memories are always things that have made me laugh, or unusual venues. For example we’ve played a number of gigs at a VERY rich families house, we play in their ‘garage'…..which has a number of revolving floors for their car collection and a bowling alley!
Most memorable past gigs?
For weddings, the gigs that stick in the head are always the ones where the couple have injected a little of their own personality into proceedings. We have played many less than salubrious clubs and bars over the years… I have stories to tell but not in polite company ;)
Moving on to…
Rob, More is More
More is More
What instrument do you play?
The band is made up of baritone, tenor and alto saxophones, and a custom made portable drum kit of Rob's own creation.
When did you start playing?
We started playing between the ages of 10-14.
How long have you been playing together?
I think we started around 2015, so getting on for 5 years now.
How did the band get together initially?
The band happened by accident really. Alex and Rob were inspired by a video we saw of Too Many Zooz busking on the subway, so they got a few friends together from our university (Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance) and went busking in London. As we are jazz students we are very comfortable improvising, and so instead of rehearsing any repertoire we went out to improvise collectively as a group. We'd go busking with various friends from the conservatoire initially, but after a while we found it was always the four of us really enjoyed playing the music together and ended up just becoming the core members of the group. The more we played together the more we came up with our band sound, and the more we'd be able to read each other's intentions through musical and non musical cues. After a while we'd find through improvising we would come up with ideas we liked which would then become our songs.5 years later and here we are!
Have you got any favourite memories?
We've had some really great times at festivals, we went to Bestival a few years back and stayed from Wednesday - Sunday, it was quite intense being at a festival for that length but a real bonding moment for the band! There's also the time we went on a country side retreat to Alex's (baritone sax) family home to write our EP, we spent a lot of time making music, drinking, playing Rick and Morty Monopoly and just generally having a good time!
Most memorable past gigs?
A few spring to mind, our set at Boomtown last year was a pretty great gig, we had a really receptive audience that were really into the music and made it a really lively performance! There have also been some memorable wedding bookings - being booked to perform on the sand dunes barefoot while guests had their drinks reception on the beach was a real highlight, a really nice touch for a lovely wedding! We were once booked to surprise guests when they came out of the wedding ceremony and lead them pied piper style down the road to their next venue, that was great fun marching them down the streets of London! It also posed the challenge of trying to hide Rob's drum kit behind a fairly narrow set of trees which was good fun!
Now your booking is confirmed (congrats!), here are some last
bits to keep in mind…
Who will provide the playlist for between sets?
Your band will be used to providing a party playlist for their breaks, but they can connect up your own playlist if you would prefer!
Can the band take a few requests?
Usually bands will be more than happy to take some requests – just let us know what you have in mind and we can pass it by them!
Does your venue use a sound limiter?
Some venues have restrictions on sound levels (often due to residences / other venues nearby). If they do use one, make sure your band know the kind of sound limiter they use and what level of noise it permits so they can adjust their volume levels. Otherwise the party could be quite suddenly left in silence in the middle of your favourite song!
How much space do they need?
This will vary with different line-ups and sizes of band. Best to check with your group and pass that information onto your venue.
Do you have any songs you really don’t want to be played?
It is quite common to give the band a ‘don’t play’ list – although if you are not that bothered about exactly what is played, the band will have no problem creating their own set list based on experience on what works best at parties to keep the excitement rippling!
Will the band need food / drink?
Refreshment will always be very welcome, especially for evening slots. Trust us, your band will thank you for it!