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Every time I log into WeddingWire.com I see the following list of to do tasks:
Adding insult to injury, the due date of all of these tasks? October 2009. Whoops… I’d love to report that we’re well on our way to checking these off the list—but we are currently in paralysis mode.
Mr P and I both lovey love us some live music. We are 95% sure we want a band at the wedding. The 5% uncertainty? Neither of us has been to a wedding with a live band. Nor has either of us been to a Prom/Dance/Function with a live band. We have absolutely no idea what it would be like.
Further complicating this, I have a hankering for some old school hip-hop…
This speech is my recital, I think its very vital
To rock (a rhyme) that’s right (on time)
Its tricky is the title here we go
Run DMC, It’s Tricky
Just typing the lyrics, my little—OK not so little—Pretzel butt gets shaking and I start grooving to the beat in my head. Run DMC, LL Cool J, Beastie Boys, Sir Mix-a-Lot, De La Soul, Tribe Called Quest, Salt n Pepa… I can have an all night dance party with the music in my head. Despite my love of old school hip hop, we think we want a good old-fashioned rock band. Our love for rock n roll surpasses my love for hip hop, but will we miss the songs that leaves out? I am seriously pondering if a band exists that plays good ol’ fashioned rock and roll and can spin some old school hip hop, too.
I don’t think that we’re going to miraculously get invited to a wedding with a live band any time soon, so Mr Pretzel and I decided to ask you, the hive, to help us out.
we had a band at our wedding and they were worth. every. penny. if you were in the NY area i would totally recommend them. they played everything from journey to single lades (yes, beyonce!), to old school hip hop, to guns and roses. i really dont think our wedding would have been the same without them. but we knew exactly how they would sound because we heard them at another wedding. i would be scared to death to hire someone without first knowing how good they are. good luck on your search!
My friend got married a couple years ago and had a 10-piece African band. It was awesome! The music was so lively, and the band members would weave through all the tables with their drums.
That being said, I’m sure WW has a lot of bands listed… I’d just start there and read some reviews. There are a lot listed in DC, so I’m sure its the same wherever you are.
If you need some suggestions, I can ask Mr. Joey. He plays in a band (not sure it’s wedding music) but all our friends are in bands, know people in bands or are DJs.
For the past three years, my law school held a “Casino Night” in a hotel ballroom with a live 80s band. The atmosphere is pretty great, but it’s much larger than your typical wedding. Probably something like 500 people, but really I have no idea. You just have to find a band that is talented and knows how to play all the right songs–shouldn’t be too difficult! (Hopefully!) Good luck!
I’ve been to one wedding where the live band was awesome, and one wedding where it was ‘meh’. But the ‘meh’ one played only a very specific genre of music that didn’t really appeal to half the people there, so that was probably why. The atmosphere at the other wedding was great when the band was playing! Just make sure you have some filler music for when they take breaks. Do you have any local music schools/colleges? You could ask senior music students there, or even the faculty, if they have bands. Students probably have much less experience, though… Or ask your venue/photographer!
i was a BM in a wedding with a live band and it was awesome. everyone was dancing and they had a huge selection of songs.
Live music is a great way to get the party started! They can play to the crowd and really get people up and dancing. I love bands but I would caution you that one of the biggest failures is when the band only plays one type of music and only a small percentage of your guest list likes that music. You can have regular breaks with the dj/cd playing. I always tell people to audition the break music as well as the band. The usual band set up is that they start at dinner and play for an hour and take a 20 minute break. They continue this until the end usually. One way to go around this (you’ll have to ask your band) is have them take dinner time off and you can put on some sinatra or other back ground music and then come back and play for a couple hours straight. Then they will stop short of the end and the dj or sound guy will play top 40 hits for the last half hour or so. This works really well because you don’t have a ton of breaks where the flow really seems to stop.
My suggestion to book a band would be to go to wherever you like listening to live music. Go to those venues and ask for bands that play the kind of music you want to hear. Non-wedding bands are great! They are much more flexible than wedding bands and are usually much less.
What I did with my band was have them play during cocktail hour and dinner and the beginning of the dance set. Then we switched to a DJ. It was nice because we had the mood set with live music but everyone got to hear the songs they wanted. Our band was blues and the DJ was instructed to play a bit of country (for me) and some old school rap (for my fiance).
Seattle, as the birthplace of grunge and punk, shouldn’t be short of live bands, no? Try popular music venues? craigslist equivalent? Nevertheless, it is important for the band to be versatile… it is indeed a good idea to have a band that can play live and spin some DJ music too. Also keep your audience (guests) in mind.
@Mrs. Joey: I am thinking that Mr Pretzel and I need to have some beers with Mr Joey and you 
I would love to talk music and bands… it’s seriously stressing me out
@pren79: So I have this crazy idea that we will prolly never do- but I would love to have a Seattle themed set- Heart, Nirvana, Pearl Jam, The Presidents of the United States, Sir Mix-A-Lot… you see where I am going with this?
Try craigslist! It’s how we found our band. Then people are contacting you on your terms. Yeah, you get a lot of crap responses, but it’s worth it. We ended up gettting a response from one of the same bands we had researched before and found out that they could play classical music for our ceremony and rock or jazz or both for our reception. We are super excited!
I think it can be great if they play a WIDE variety. The weddings I went to w/ a band I was rarely up dancing for a continuous time, when they changed up songs they all sounded the same. We have always had more fun when there was a DJ so there was no question for us. I like bands when I am chilling drinking a beer, but not when I want to dance me a$$ off to 80’s, hip hop, and even some good ol NJ fist pumpers
The last 3 wedding’s I’ve been to have had a live band and all 3 were epic, legendary, so-much-fun weddings…I think the band really makes a crowd come together, so if that’s the vibe you want, then a band is definitely worth it!
I found GigMaster’s to be somewhat helpful in at least starting my search..GL!
I would start the search with booking agencies. I’m not sure which ones operate in Washington, but out here, we looked at Sam Hill Entertainment and East Coast Entertainment. They manage a lot of bands and it was easy to search the wesites for sounds that we were looking for. Good luck!
i have to say I have never been to a wedding with a live band. It sounds like a super fun idea though!
Here are my answers, love!
Have you been to a wedding with a live band? A few! One was amazing, but it was a 12 piece “big band” that cost almost $20K, so yeah, not realistic for everyone. Otherwise, the bands have been fun, but we had just as much fun dancing to the songs that played during their breaks!
What was the atmosphere like? The crazy expensive band was awesome, other wise the weddings were like any other party I felt
Logistically, how did the evening unfold?
What were some things you thought worked well, and didn’t work well? I think it’s nice for people who don’t want to dance to have something to look at - it is a performance, afterall! I also think the talent of those people is amazing! Only negative - I know my friends didn’t get to hear some of their favorite songs because the band couldn’t or didn’t play them
Just wanted to chime in that you could have your old school hip hop playing during the band’s breaks! Or you could have them finish up early (say like 1 hr before your reception is over) and just do your tunes then?
GOOD LUCK!!
(we are doing a DJ because we can’t afford or fit a band!)
I’ve been to a wedding with a reggae band (they were awesome), an orchestra (not bad), and a local band (so fun but I’m biased cause I love them). Try Perfect World Entertainment - http://perfectworldentertainment.com/ - they have bands all over the west coast and will travel anywhere. They also have different bands that will play different genres - rock, disco, 80’s, etc.
I agree with Cheeseburger. You can get the best of both worlds by hiring a live band, and then having them play some hip hop from an ipod during their breaks. We’re hiring a band (I’m soooo excited about them), and this is pretty much what we’re doing. We’re having them play some of the songs that we love to dance to, but aren’t in their repertoire, during their breaks.
I think live music sounds like a blast! Never been to a wedding or anything with a live band, though, so I don’t have any experience to share.
Pretzel, there are tons of great wedding bands in Seattle that play a variety of music, including covers of current stuff and I’m sure could work in the rock music that you love. I would suggest getting a wedding band (vs. a local Seattle band or a craigslist band) just because I’m assuming your guest list is going to include a variety of ages, such as parents and relatives, who might also like to get up and boogey but who may not be the biggest fans of Pearl Jam (although I have to say, I love your idea of having a “Seattle” themed set!). A wedding band will also act as your MC for your wedding (important for keeping the party moving along), where a band that isn’t experienced playing weddings might not be as familiar with.
My friends had a band called The Hit Men, awesome variety of music (I think they played everything from James Brown to Beyonce) and they were reasonably priced (we ended up going with another band). Send me a message if you want their contact info, I can’t find their website right now but they are definitely worth checking out!
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Mrs. Pretzel, Seattle Age and Occupation: 32 Learning, Training, and Development Specialist Fiance's Age and Occupation: 28 Manufacturing Engineer Engagement Date: September 2, 2009 Wedding Date: July 2010 Venue: Catholic Church & The Engine Room at Georgetown Studios About Me: I’m just a thirty-something girl who never dreamed of weddings, poofy dresses, or ritzy receptions. I am a rabid knitter, except recently, wedding projects have replaced my yarn and needles. I’ve been fiercely independent since the age of 2 and 30 years later I think my family and friends had given up on me settling down and getting married. Ironically, I had to go all the way to Seattle to find a boy from Purdue. We fell in love over Seattle Beers and cooking together. I love NASCAR, he loves Legos. I can talk like a Muppet and he can fit a whole McDonald’s cheeseburger in his mouth. We are a two reception couple, currently planning a brewery inspired bash.
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