Booking live entertainment for your wedding or event
Live music is a key element that ties everything together and makes an event a memorable one. Weeks, months, even years after your event, most people won't remember the food, presentations or speeches. What most guests will remember is the ambiance, mood and reminiscence that a live musical performance provides, and nothing has the impact of live music! You want to show your guests that you've made a conscious effort to make your wedding or event an enjoyable, fun, and memorable affair.
Choosing the right style of music and performer for your wedding or event
For ceremony or dinner & cocktail type of events, you want musicians whose volume is just below the level of conversation. You don't want upbeat and pounding rock music, you want ambiance. You may want to consider strictly instrumental music, or music with some light vocals.
If your event is going to include a Dance or Party type atmosphere such as a wedding reception, choosing the right band will create memories, choosing the wrong band will send everybody home early.
Music Type: Do you want rock, big band, Motown, country, ethnic, hip hop or a band that plays a variety? This decision will greatly depend on the demographics of your guests. If the event is an anniversary party for your grandparents, or a retirement party where a good majority of the guests are of an older generations, a band that specializes in hard rock music isn't going to be a good choice. If it's a going to be a mix of age groups, then a band or performer that plays a variety of hits that spans the generations would likely be the best choice.
If you want live musical entertainment for your event that's provides more of a show type entertainment, maybe an impersonator or tribute band would be ideal. Imagine having Elvis or the Beatles perform at your event, this can be a very memorable and even spellbinding experience for your guests.This can be a good choice for a birthday party or an anniversary, especially if the performer interacts with the audience or guests, even grandma's heart will skip a beat having Elvis or Frank Sinatra walk over and sing a special song just to her.
Finding and booking a performer
One way is through recommendations or referrals from friends or family, assuming their recommendations are actually the type of performer you're seeking for your event. Another way is to use a booking agent that will try and find the most suitable performer for your type of event, but it will be more expensive as agents attach a booking fee on top of the performer's fee, which typically ranges between $200 and $500. Another option is to use Book Musicians Direct where you can browse through a wide variety of performers and choose the one that best suits your needs and budget. And best of all our service is totally free for clients. Many of the performers include photos as well as video and audio samples in their profiles.
Once you have narrowed down your choices to 3 or 4 performers, contact each performer by requesting a quote or to check for availability. Once you have selected your performer and have agreed to terms, it's time to seal the deal and get it writing in the form of a contract or performance agreement. This will be supplied by the performer and include all the pertinent information such as date, times, venue, cancellations, breaks, set-up time, method of payment, etc. It is customary to place a deposit between 30% and 50%, with the balance due immediately following the performance.
Regarding hospitality, always provide the performer(s) with reasonable amounts of free water, soda or coffee during the performance. For performances over four hours, it is recommended that you offer at least sandwiches to the musicians. It is acceptable to either limit or deny the performer(s) access to alcohol. Tipping the performer(s) is welcome, but not required.
Give the musicians and/or band advance notice about what they should wear. Decide if you want the musicians in formal attire (tuxedos), business casual (sports jacket with or without a tie) or just casual. Female musicians should dress accordingly. If you're hiring an impersonator or tribute band the attire will usually be costumes.
If the performer's fee exceeds your budget, it's time to evaluate the situation, and perhaps you can cut back in another areas so you can book the best performer that you can afford. Often people will spend more for a big fancy ice sculpture than they will for a band or performer, which is a major mistake. Top musicians and performers deserve to be paid what they are worth. If you want the best, you will need to pay accordingly. Remember that choosing the right band or performer can make or break your entire event.
