Hiring Wedding Musicians
You have the perfect wedding planned; gorgeous flowers, 
an exquisite cake, gourmet food, perfect decorations, and a dress that make you look like a million bucks. So what happens when the guests show up? Aside from looking on in awe at the happy couple, they're going to expect a fun-filled party complete with good food, good drink, and of course, good tunes. So leave the iPod back home in your gym bag and get yourself some great musicians.
What exactly qualifies someone as being a great musician? There are many ways to describe the perfect vocalist, ensemble, band, or DJ. However, the true measure of greatness lies in the musician's ability to set the mood, pace, and tone for the wedding. To do this, the artist must be flexible, professional, talented, and experienced with performing weddings. This ensures for a celebration that has a steady flow of energy, a room full of happy, dancing guests, and a bride and groom that can relax and have fun on their special day.
So how do you find and hire such talents to perform on your wedding day? Like with hiring any wedding vendor, you must first do your research. When it comes to searching for musicians, you can search by two methods: The traditional way of asking friends, family, and wedding vendors about their experience with local musical talent and see who they recommend, or the modern method of using the Internet. Many bands and musicians have informative Web sites wherein you can see or listen to demos. One great Web site that you should check out is GigMasters.com. It is thoughtfully organized and easy to navigate. Start by clicking on your favorite music style (or the one you want to play at the wedding) and then clicking on your city or local area. From there, this database then presents to you an impressive selection of artists with user ratings, estimated pay range, clips (audio and visual), photos, bios, song lists, and every other detail you would want to know about them. Using a method such as this for shopping for bands takes a lot of the hassle out of the process and it helps eliminate lengthy interviews.
Once you have found a few musicians that you are interested in, both for the ceremony and reception, you'll need to set up interviews. Typically, it is recommended to do this face to face, however, in some circumstances telephone interviews will have to suffice. Either way, you'll need to discuss several things with the potential musicians.
- Availability -- Make sure that they have the day of your wedding free and that this will be the only gig they are playing that day. You'd hate to have them running off before your guests were ready to leave. On the same note, make sure that you book the band you like as soon as possible. Some musicians book up to 18 months in advance.
- Location -- You need to let the musicians know where you are having the wedding (such as in a house of worship, backyard, fancy reception hall, Mexico, etc.). This allows them to plan accordingly and to see if their style will be compatible with yours and with that of the ceremony and/or reception site (volume regulations, for example). You also need to know a few details about them.
- Where are the musicians based?
- Must they travel to your wedding?
- How far are they willing to travel before you'll have to pay a travel fee?
- Have they worked the venue before (either ceremony or reception site)?
- Cost -- Be sure to inquire about how the band charges (flat fee or by the hour) and what they charge. Expect to pay anywhere from $1,500 to $10,000 depending on the number of hours they play, the number of musicians in the band or ensemble, the music quality, and the amount of experience they have had. Expect that a DJ will cost somewhere between $250 and $500 an hour on average. Don't forget to inquire about hidden fees.
- Travel fee?
- Early set up fee?
- Overtime fees?
- Meal and beverage requirements?
- Size -- Is the band large enough to perform for your large wedding (200 people or more)? Or is the band a trifle too big? Remember that they'll need adequate space to set up their equipment and instruments. Ask about what size weddings the band usually plays for, what the largest gig they've ever done is, and if they can add or subtract members to the group according to your needs or budget.
- Music Style -- You want the music style of the band/DJ to reflect your personality. Maybe you want someone fashionable and hip, or perhaps you are all about the classics. Be sure to ask some of the following questions:
- What type of music do they perform?
- Are they able to perform more than one type?
- How do they transition between different music genres?
- What is on their song list?
- Who are the musician's musical influences?
- Can you have guests request songs?
- If there is a particular song you want to be played, but it is one they are not familiar with, will they charge a fee to learn it?
- Performance -- For the reception, you'll need someone who has the ability to play master of ceremonies; introducing the first dance, directing toasts, getting the guests dancing, etc. To make sure that the candidates can perform this task, you should ask about their prior experience with weddings. Those without it may lack the knowledge of how it flows, when people start to get tired and how to get them energized again, and how to schedule breaks so that it doesn't disrupt the event at inopportune times.
- Demos -- Seeing a musician in action is even better than listening to them. Of course, you want to make sure that the quality of the music is up to par, but you also want to see how reception musicians manage emceeing, how DJs get the crowd moving, and what style the band has on stage. Some musicians might allow you to actually go and see them perform live at another gig.
- Technical Requirements -- The musicians should be able to provide their own instruments or other equipment that they might need. If there is something that they won't be able to provide, and that YOU have to supply, make sure that you have those details in writing in the contract. These items may include chairs, music stands, speakers, amplifiers, and CD players (for using during the break).
Contract Essentials
Once you have had a basic discussion of the issues mentioned above and you have decided that this is the band for you, it's time to write up a contract and seal the deal. To protect yourself and ensure that your wedding will go off without any technical difficulties, make sure to include all of the following in your written agreement.
- Contact information for both you and the musicians or their manager. Make sure to get the names of everyone and which instruments they will be playing. If you are hiring through an organization or company instead of dealing directly with the musicians, make sure that you will get the musicians you requested and not fill ins.
- The time and the location should be exact. With this information also include what time you expect the musicians to arrive so that they can set up before guests arrive. Make sure there is an exclusivity clause listed to ensure that they will play your event and your event only on the day of your wedding.
- Number of guests attending will need to be listed.
- A list of the equipment that you are supposed to supply or the fee that you will be paying them to supply the necessary equipment. The equipment that the musicians will be bringing should also be listed for additional clarification.
- Attire requirements should be specified so that you don't have your musicians showing up in shorts and t-shirt for a formal affair or a tux for your backyard barbecue.
- Performance details such as the length of the performance, the number of breaks and the length of breaks, and what will occur during the breaks (will they put on music? Can you give them a mix CD?). Also list any emceeing responsibilities that you expect of them.
- A play list and a do-not-play list should be included in the contract. You should also include any details about special songs that you want played that the band will be expected to learn and the fees, if any, for doing so. Also include a rough schedule of what songs will be played when and in what order.
- Fees and payment procedures should clearly be listed, including:
- The total cost based on the number of musicians, flat rate, or the hours expected to play.
- A breakdown of any additional costs that you might incur, such as overtime fees, and the specific rates for each.
- The deposit due and dates and amounts of the remaining payments.
- Hours of service.
- Any other services you want included or requests that the musicians have made.
- Refund and cancellation policies.
- Liability insurance information.
External Links
- PartyPop.com -- This is an index of local and national listings. You can search for bands, which then usually lead to their Web sites.
- TheKnot.com -- Band or DJ? The pros and cons of each.
- USABride.com -- Top wedding song lists.
- TheWeddingChannel.com -- How to choose your music based on your personality.
