What gets a party started better than a band?!
If you’re looking for a sure-fire way to have guests up out of their seats during the reception, than you might want to consider hiring a wedding band to crank up the energy. A band will no doubt help create an electric atmosphere as you dance the night away with the ones you love, making memories that will last a lifetime.
You might be wondering if there is enough wiggle room in your budget for a band on the big day, but don’t rule the idea out just yet! This week we caught up from the team from Entertainment Nation for their top tips on how to save money on your wedding band…
Book Early
An appropriate way to begin a post on WeddingDates – book early! As soon as you’ve got your date in the diary and your venue is sorted, get on to booking your band. As a wedding band grows in popularity, they inevitably increase their rates to reflect their increase in renown. By booking a year or two in advance you’ll pay this year’s fee once your big day comes around, rather than the inevitably inflated fee you’d pay if you booked at a later date.
Book Late
Paradoxically, and terrifying/thrilling depending upon your risk taking tendencies, you could leave booking your wedding band until as late as you can bear to leave it. Most of the best bands will be booked up, especially on summer Saturdays and Sundays, but if you manage to find a band with an open slot to fill at short notice, you’re going to be in a great position to negotiate a deal.
Make sure your wedding band is self-contained
If the band’s bringing along all the sound and lighting equipment, it saves you the expense of hiring it yourself, not to mention the hassle of getting it set up. A single booking and you get the full live concert experience.
Get your band to DJ for you
There’s no need to book an extra DJ if the band does the job for you. Look for a band that offers a manned DJ service as part of their package. A member of the band will plug into all that fancy kit they’ve brought along and play a party playlist to keep the energy high – they’ll also be on hand to take the inevitable requests for “Livin’ on a Prayer” and “Come On Eileen” from that one groomsman with the tie wrapped round his head.
Bigger isn’t always better
If you’re booking entertainment on a budget, the fewer musicians you book to play, the less you need to pay. With the high-end kit today’s musicians have access to, plus ingenious use of tech like loop pedals, soloists and duos can make just as big an impact as a much larger band. Add a percussionist to the mix and you’ve got a compact group who’ll still get everyone dancing – at a fraction of the price.
Go Local
The fewer miles your band has to travel to get to your venue, the less you’ll pay in travel expenses and the lower the likelihood they’ll arrive drained from a mission on Britain’s motorways. Plus, you’re helping save the environment and supporting your local music scene, so you can feel virtuous about saving a bit of cash.
We hope these tips help you to make the most out of your wedding entertainment budget. For more ideas, advice and the best wedding bands for hire head on over to https://www.entertainment-nation.co.uk/wedding-bands
