wedding bands

Fruit_and_Nut_Case

Approvedentertainment wrote: »

I have lots of bands available...

Band :spam:

Justengaged

We've just booked ours through alivenetwork.com. They're £880 and do a dj bit inbetween sets. Didn't think it was too bad compared to some prices coming in over £2k.


Have a look on there, you can set budget etc, might help

tillyscot

I would try and go direct to the band as opposed to paying the agency fees also a professional weddings band will have the necessary public liability and pat test certificates required by most venues where a 'pub band' might not be as familiar with the protocol at weddings. We booked ours called rock my reception as they had won an award at the highly thought of Wedding Industry Awards so we knew they wouldn't let us down. If you are still looking ask a bonafide wedding musician who is in the know to recommend a reliable group.

Miss_London_136

As a wedding musician a couple of things you should be aware of.
An agency does not just charge random "fees". They charge to supply you with quality sound equipment (you can't just play through a regular stereo if you have over a certain number of people due to sound quality), they charge also to guarantee you an act. If you go direct, and book a year in advance, and your lead singer breaks their leg the day before and cancels, who exactly are you going to call to send a replacement? A good agency should guarantee to sort that out for you.

Even if you do go direct, which is fine if you do your homework, do they have the right insurance that a lot of venue's will insist on for public liability? Is there equipment PAT tested?

Finally, remember, it is rarely just 2 hours. More likely your musician/s have had to pack up their equipment, travel to the venue, set up and sound check, then play, then pack down and leave. Please remember that you are paying for all of the above AND then a wage for the actual performer.

So yes, bands are expensive.

What you can do to cut costs is, book last minute and hope someone is free/will do a deal just to have work. Or you can have a duo/solo singer songwriter. You could also have a really great DJ for under £500.

Hope some of this info is useful. There is a LOT that can go wrong with live music, and personally I would rather want it to be the responsibility of an agency to get that right than myself.