Wedding music ~ band, dj, mc, ipad

The Wedding music can make or break your Wedding evening.  Don’t regret your choice of music.

During my hundreds of Weddings I have seen almost everything when it comes to music.  From smartphone music all the way to 20 piece bands with MCs and lighting shows. What works for you all depends on your answers to the following questions.

1) What type of music do I love?

2) Will my guests enjoy all of my music?

3) How much do I want to spend?

4) How much space do I have at the location?

5) How are the acoustics at the location, and will the music project though the location?

6) Do I have a lot of people who dance?

7) How do I want the evening to feel?

8) What is my perfect music situation?  If I cannot afford this, how do I get most of it?

9) Will this music choice add or subtract from the day?

10) Who will pick the music to be played?

All of these questions will help you form your opinion on the perfect Wedding music entertainment.

Live music is wonderful.  They keep the crowd moving and take requests, but mostly play their set playlists.  They might get your suggestions on a playlist prior to the Wedding or they may have a standard playlist for all their Weddings.  Sometimes the noise level of live music can be quite high, and hard to chat amongst family and friends.  The light shows can be everything from really cool to simple, or even nothing.  Live music can be string bands, soloists, and lots more.  Most of the bands that I see are three to eight person bands.  The investment can be pretty large when you include travel and larger bands.  Bands are priced from a thousand dollars up to tens of thousands of dollars.

DJs have their own niche in Wedding music.  They come at all different rates.  You should be really comfortable with your DJ prior to booking.  Drop in on one of their events and watch how they perform.  This is sole person who is in charge of running your Wedding reception and keeping people moving on the dance floor.  They have to be able to speak on the mic and coordinate events and timing for the Wedding reception.  They can range from simple, play music DJs, to DJs that offer almost everything, including uplighting, photobooths, light shows, video shows, slideshows, and lots more.  Some DJs know how to mix music which adds another dimension to the evening.  Just because they have a mixing board doesn’t mean they can mix either.  I have seen DJ’s priced from a few hundred dollars all the way up to multiple thousands of dollars.

Ipad, smartphone music can be a bit of a gamble on your Wedding day.  Most of the time they are not backed up with more equipment if they are to fail.  For small events without dancing this might be a good choice.  Make sure to designate one person to be in charge of the music.  If you can have backup available this is a good idea too.

You can see that the choice should not be as simple as who your friend chose for their entertainment.  You should talk about what you want as a couple and make sure to find the person who best fits your needs for the evening.

Good luck in your search and be informed of your Wedding music options.

Information by Paul Retherford Wedding Photography