Choosing A Wedding Band:

Music for Your Special Day

Your wedding day will most likely be one of the most memorable occasions in your life. Choosing a wedding band is as important as any other element of planning your wedding and is the most important element in terms of how much fun you and your guests will have. To make the best decision regarding wedding musicians, you must first know what type of music you desire for the occasion, a rough estimate of how many guests you'll have and the size of the reception room.

Choosing the Right Music:

Your wedding music should reflect your taste and style at the same time keeping in mind your guests so everyone can have a great time. The wedding band and company you choose should help you determine the styles of music you want to emphasize and the musical styles you don't want to hear. Each wedding band has a different sound and their repertoire will emphasize different styles. It's important for you to choose a band that you think will create the feel you want at your wedding. Some bands are conservative while others are more cutting edge doing more alternative music and current hits.

One thing to consider is if the band will learn a few new songs if you request them. You'll get a feel for how committed they are to making you happy by their response. There are some great wedding bands that can masterfully play a vast range of styles including: jazz, Sinatra, Big Band, Swing, 50's, Motown, R&B, Soul, Funk, Disco, 60's-70's Rock, 80's and Contemporary music styles. What songs the band records on their demo will give you a good idea of how traditional or unique they are. (You can listen to numerous musical samples for Stitely Entertainment on their Chicago wedding band page!).

It's always good to meet the leader of the band if possible since they will be setting the tone for your wedding by emceeing the event. You can also get a feel for how much they really want to make you happy by giving you the music you want. The band leader not only keeps the dance floor filled but is responsible for the flow of your event, so make sure they have a standard of partnering with the other vendors to ensure a smooth event where everyone is working together to make your wedding a joyous occasion.

Other things to consider:

Other factors to consider are reliability and stability. It is important to make sure that a band/organization being considered for a wedding reception has been together for a reasonable amount of time. If something would happen to one of the musicians on the way to your wedding, does the band have enough resources to replace them?

Choosing the size of the band and the instrumentation will depend on the wedding reception venue's size, the number of guests and your budget. Ideally, you want to match the size of the room and guests with the size of the band to motivate the crowd to dance and celebrate. Some wedding bands are more flexible than others to find the right size for you. Budget may be the driving force in your decision, but a general rule for selecting the size of your wedding band when you want a wide variety of music is: 100 or less guests 6-8 piece band; 100-200 guests, 8-10 piece band; 200-300 guests, 9-14 piece band;, 300+ guests, 10-17 piece band.

Some other considerations to take into account when deciding on a wedding music band include:

1. The number of years experience the band has performing at weddings
2. The quality of sound system and if they use a professional engineer
3. The range of music they perform convincingly
4. Whether or not they have liability insurance
5. Payment and cancellation policies