Choosing Wedding Music
Music is an expense that can easily get out of hand quickly, particularly for the reception. The whole point of music is for everyone to enjoy the ceremony and have a good time at the reception. Fortunately, thanks to today’s technology and professional artists, music can be both high quality and inexpensive.
1. Wedding music.
a. Often the church or other wedding venue will have an organist and/or vocalist that charges reasonable fees and is well qualified.
b. Or perhaps you have friends that would be willing to play or sing at your wedding ceremony.
c. If you have a band for your reception, see if one or two of the band members can also provide music or vocals at the wedding. Sometimes they will agree to do this at little or no additional charge in order to get the reception booking.
d. Another alternative is a compilation of beautiful recorded wedding music that can be played through the wedding venue’s sound system. With today’s CD’s and iPods this is easily arranged and you know what you will be getting.
2. Reception music.
a. If you must have a band, make sure you know what you are getting. Either see the band playing in person or review their audition DVD. Make sure what members of the band will be present, what the charges are, how long they will play, what music selections they will play, what intermissions they will take, will they play CD music during intermissions, how will they dress, whether they will provide emcee services for the reception, what they will charge if you want to extend their agreed upon hours, etc. Don’t be afraid to ask for a discounted rate after they give you an initial quote. And if you are having an afternoon wedding, ask for a discounted rate since they will still be able to book another function that evening. Make sure any extras offered by the band (such as lighting, smoke or bubbles) are either included or at a reasonable price. Get a contract and check it closely.
b. If you do not want to pay for a band, a DJ may be a perfect fit, and is usually considerably cheaper. Many of the questions above for a band should also be asked of the DJ. Get quotes from at least three DJ’s and pick the one that suits you best. One advantage of a DJ is that since selected music is performed by a recording artist you know what you will be getting with respect to the quality of performance.
c. If you really want to save money and still have great music, get a reliable friend to be the DJ. Just set up your selection of songs, hook up the CD player or iPod to the reception hall’s sound system (or bring your own sound system) and enjoy the music.
