Weddingbee Blog

When we first started planning our wedding, I assumed we would hire a DJ for our reception and Mr Corn assumed we would hire a band. I loved the idea of a band, but I was convinced that we wouldn’t be able to find one that we could afford that wasn’t cheesy.

I. Was. Wrong.

We hired The Belltones, a five piece band “specializing in Swing, Sinatra, Motown and Disco”.

I had no idea how to even attempt to look for a band, but it actually was really, really easy. When we first started looking, we were interested in a Zydeco band, so on a whim I Googled ‘Zydeco Band’ and the first post that came up was from a site called Gigmasters. One click led me to an amazing place where I was able to look up bands by style, type of event, even the state my event was in! Even more, I could see individual websites of the bands, I could listen to mp3’s, see pictures and read reviews. And incredibly, I could also look up ceremony musicians and DJs!! I swear, this was the easiest process; if only all the cake bakers and photographers in the world had a one-stop-shop like this set up!!

Below is a video of our first dance. Keep in mind we knowingly did not hire a professional videographer and the fact that we have this is purely bonus. I am posting it here so you can hear how great the Belltones were. We danced to “Exactly Like You” as perfomed by The Belltones:

Using Gigmasters was very easy and we eventually hired our ceremony musicians through them as well. We did have to pay a nominal fee to go through the service, but to be able to have access to so many different options was absolutely worth it.Below is another video that highlights how well our band was able to roll with the punches. Here’s the setup… because of a situation in Rhode Island a few years ago, there are new regulations on announcing fire exits. The Belltones are a Massachusetts Band, so I am pretty sure they were surprised that this was still required even though we were in an open tent. They handled it wonderfully and with grace and humor that our guests really appreciated. Believe me, I know how important the regulations are and I appreciate the safety precautions, but I am also glad that they were able to keep the announcement from changing the tone of the evening…

One of the biggest things I look for in a vendor is feeling like they really care about your event. Throughout the process of hiring and working with the Belltones they were very professional and curteous. They answered emails and phone calls timely and they were personable. I highly recommend them and have included their contact information below, including a link to their website. Please let them know you heard about them from me. We really, really loved them and would love for others to get to experience how great they were.

The Belltones
George Farrell
info@thebelltones.com
978-774-6203

ed note: please see our vendor policy