Booked my band

Hadley1

So excited, I have just booked the band for our reception!!

(Well its fingers crossed that they are still free for next August). :rotfl:

sammy_wheeler

woo how exciting

Hadley1

Band has just confirmed - so very happy... Now just have to pay a deposit.:(

Just another quick question if I may... if you are having a 1st dance to a song made famous by a particular group would you let the band play a version of it?

Only raise it as a friend of mine had chasing cars, but wanted the original version not her band playing.

vax2002

Whats the song ?

Hadley1

Umm I love the 80's so the song I want is True by Spandau Ballet.

Spencer_Li

Can I be a bit cheeky and ask how much your band cost?

Also, did you get to hear them play before leaving a deposit?

I've been looking for a 5 piece band and have been getting quotes of between £1,500 and £2,000.

Is this normal?! I have no idea about these things.

My dad did say that whenever he's hired a band - the rule of thumb is £100 per person; e.g. 5 piece band ~£500.

I know that the type of band is different and as soon as you mention "wedding", the price goes up, but this is way off what we've been quoted!

We're having problems actually seeing the band perform as they mainly do private functions, which we obviously can't just turn up to.

I can't see how I can pay that amount of money without hearing them play live though!

shoe_gal_84

I have booked a band for our wedding next April and they took some finding. I contacted no end of local bands and most of them were charging well over £1000 and expected a dressing room and refreshments too.

I'm so thrilled with our choice, we have booked a band from Norfolk called The Abyss. They are a 3 piece band who will do 2 x 45 minute sets and we get to choose which songs they play from a list they have given us. I haggled a little with the price and ended up getting them for £450. This also includes the lead singer DJing whilst they are not playing.

I think this is a great deal, but would strongly recommend going to see a band live and would never book a band without seeing them. Luckily our band were playing a small pub so we went to see them and they were fab!

Our band say that for £50 they can learn any song for our first dance, but to be honest, I prefer to have the original!

MsShopper

Our band is a three-piece, doing two one-hour sets for £750. They're not DJing, but they will either provide a set playlist of music during their break or we can plug in our iPod to their speaker system, which is what we're doing.

They're also learning our first dance song for no extra charge. It's very similar to their style, so I'm hoping that will work out great.

We haven't seen them live, but have watched numerous show reels/live recordings on their website and YouTube.

Hadley1

I had various quotes from bands - anything from £450 to £2000 :eek:

the one I went for charging £895 and they learn the 1st dance.

hope that helps.

Spencer_Li

Hadley1 wrote: »

I had various quotes from bands - anything from £450 to £2000 :eek:

the one I went for charging £895 and they learn the 1st dance.

hope that helps.

That helps a lot - at least now I know what price range to be looking for.

We've heard recordings of a 5 piece band we like and have been quoted £1,400. They're doing a showcase in November, which we're hoping to go and see.

Not sure how we can negotiate a cheaper price, but in the meantime we'll keep on looking!

The wedding's not till July 2013 and I'm worried that a band might have split up before then!