When it comes to planning a wedding reception that’s memorable for all the right reasons, there are two key elements that tend to make or break the night’s celebrations. It’s not your choice of dress or flowers, your shoes or table setting, or even your speeches or seating plan; the two elements that you need to get right are your food and entertainment. After all, no one ever remembers what type of flowers you had or what car brought you to the reception but they sure will talk about what they ate and the top wedding songs they danced to!
And while we’re going to focus more on the entertainment side of things in this article, it is extremely important to sample firsthand both your food and entertainment before you book. Ensuring that you hire the bestYork wedding band for your reception isn’t that difficult when you pose the following questions to your shortlisted options:
- Do you specialize in any type of music?
Some wedding bands might specialize in a certain genre of music such as jazz, folk or rock. That’s great if you’re looking for a specific type of music to be played at your wedding, but maybe not so much if you want a mix of genres.
- Can you play particular songs?
If you’ve got particular songs that you want played at your wedding, you need to ensure that your chosen wedding band will be able to perform them. Not every vocalist will be able to tackle an Adele or ACDC hit.
- Will you bring your own lighting and special effects equipment?
Some wedding bands will bring a full set of lighting equipment, smoke machines and other special effects equipment. Others may require you to rent this equipment if you want it at your wedding.
- Can you ensure sound control?
The last thing you want is for older guests or young children to become uncomfortable or even frightened by loud, bellowing sounds coming from the speakers while your wedding band is playing to the crowd. With that said, make sure to ask your wedding band how, or if, they can ensure sound control if needed.
- What attire will you wear?
You’ll want your band to wear professional attire to match the fancy theme of your wedding day so ensure that your wedding band is comfortable adhering to this kind of dress code.
- Can you cater to song requests on the night?
Always ask how equipped they are to cater for song requests on the night. For some, this may simply not be an option while others will be more open to requests for popular wedding songs.
- How long will you play for?
Always ask a wedding band how long they are willing to play for. You might think you are getting a great price only to discover on the night that this price only covers one hour of playing time.
- How many weddings have you played at in the past?
Many bands call themselves “wedding bands” but some are far more experienced at playing at these special occasions than others.
- How do you get people on the dancefloor?
Ask a wedding band how they intend to get wedding guests who are slow to move from their seats onto the dancefloor. Are they willing to change up their set list if needed during the night or hype up the crowd over the microphone?
- Can we come to see you play at a wedding?
Enquire to see if there’s an opportunity to see them play live at a wedding before booking. Seeing a band play live at a wedding is a totally different experience to seeing them play live in an intimate bar so this one is a must.
We hope this list of questions goes a long way to helping you choose the best wedding band to entertain your guests on your special day.
