Please help me find the right musicians!

Do you mean for an evening reception or during the day?

Also where are you getting married? Does the venue have any suggestions?

We found our band and DJ though an agency recommended by our venue.

Hi Laura_Lee, ?

Ideally we'd like some live music for the ceremony maybe about 4 songs.

Then whilst we have our photo's taken our guests are gonna have a drink so maybe a half an hour of live music to keep them entertained!

I also hoped that we may be able to have a lively hour or so of music after the wedding breakfast to warm the guests up before the DJ. I haven't booked a DJ either.

Does anyone know if anyone does a package with live music and a DJ for a 'sensible' price!!!

We are getting married at Llangoed Hall in Brecon, but I want a duo ideally and they don't have one on their books!.

I'm in a bit of shock!

I've just googled 'live music and DJ package' and the company Vocal Show came up and for what i'm looking at it looks like it could cost about £1000.That's just a solo singer aswell!

Oh dear, maybe I need to rethink my wedding music! Our budget is around £650. There must be someone who can do a couple of sets and a DJ for around £650.

I'll keep trying!

I think Vocal Show is a HIB on here... don't quote me on that though.

We are having a quartet for the day and band and DJ for the evening and its all coming in at £2k. Depends what your priorities are for your budget.

Some bands do a 'band and DJ' package whereby the DJ is a dedicated DJ......hence the high price. On the other hand some bands offer a DJ service and all it amounts to is the sound man throwing a few CDs on....and that is not DJing.

Unfortunately, you get what you pay for. I can't talk for bands and mucisians, but certainly for DJs you are looking at £300 - £700 for a decent one. If you find one for less, ask yourself why he is so cheap and not demanding the same price as his counterparts.

It might be worth weighing up whether you have two cheap services....or just one good one.

I'm in NI. Ceilidh dancing is very popular for weddings out here.....but not everyone can afford a band and a DJ....hence I offer Ceilidh dancing with the disco. It might be worth putting your original idea to the back of your mind and have a good hunt through what different options are available.

If you want to find a good (and approved) wedding DJ in your area try www.weddingdja.co.uk

Hope that helps..

Hi there,

Solo piano or violin-piano duo at a reasonable price here - we can provide a tailor-made soundtrack of your choice of music from any genre. We've played for the prime minister and on tour around the UK and Europe, and also at some of London's top hotels. Would be pleased to help create the right atmosphere for the ceremony and / or reception.

Simon

www.celebratewithmusic.co.uk

Have you looked at a band that provides DJ style music as part of the package? Works out cheaper and the music is professionally mixed. Great option

I'd be happy to help you with that one!

Thanks for all of your advice! I really appreciate it but I think I've found a winner!

There's an acoustic duo called Taylormade they actually came from a personal recommendation of one of work colleagues who said they were fantastic and their disco was great.

Has anyone heard of them?

I googled them and I actually found them in the directory on hitched aswell. I had a look at their website (www.taylormadeacoustic.com) and they do a complete music package which was exactly what i'm looking for. They have demo's on their website and they sound beautiful.

They initially quoted me for £750 for 6 songs at the ceremony and 2 x 45 minute sets in the evening and the DJ for the night but i went back to them and told them my budget was £650 and they said they'd be happy to meet me in the middle at £700! We can stretch to that which is great!

When I googled them I found a few other acoustic duo's but with their music package Taylormade were the most competitive by far as well as sounding the best on their demo's!

So it proves there are people out there who don't want to rip you off!!

We had Luca (Vocal Show) at our wedding (funnily enough i've just commented on another thread about this ? and his wife(?) Sally was our DJ. They were absolutely amazing ?.

I do find that statement a tad offensive. Charging what you are worth is not ripping people off. If you are there for the ceremony right through to the end of the night you're looking at more than 10 hours, and then there is travelling and arrival time and setting up time prior to the ceremony, then pack up time and travelling home when the evening has finished. You could be looking at being on the go for more than 14 hours. Now thats not counting preparation time or client meeting time. I know i have spent days on preparation, so i can't imagine how long musicians take to prepare for your important event. So in effect, with having two musicians, they are working all those hours for just £350 each......would you? Compare that with hiring in chair covers for £350+

Sandy - I shouldnt worry - I think youll find Kirsty knows EXACTLY how much effort is involved as unless Im very much mistaken (in which I will apologise profusely) this is another attempt at advertising by a non-hitched member. Not only has Kirsty only posted on here 4 times (this thread), but according to taylormade's profile on freeindex (http://www.freeindex.co.uk/profile(taylormade-acoustic)_159132.htm) you'll find Kirsty Thomas leaving a comment about how great this band was at her wedding on 12th June 2009!!!!! Having another one so soon Kirsty? Geez - my first wedding only lasted 2 years, but 2 weeks is REALLY going some. Now go away or pay to advertise.

Incidentally, Majox - we're actually having Luca and Vocal show, so good to hear you've been pleased - he's certainly been really helpful so far.

Busted!!!

Wow! This is the first thread i have ever posted on here and your reaction is unbelievable. I don't know how I offended you by saying that I managed to find something good for my budget. I'm sorry I offended you, but it seems when you mention the word 'wedding', prices triple for most things (or is it just me!????).

I'm amazed at the claim that I'm advertising a band when I'm just trying to find one - bit cynical don't you think??? I'm sure there's more than one Kirsty Thomas in the world. Its not a very unique name (unfortunately) as I went to school with another Kirsty Thomas and it was quite annoying!

Thanks to those of you who have genuinely offered to help me here, but I won't be on here much if this is the reaction I get!!!! Suppliers shouldn't be allowed on here anyway in my opinion, it should be unbiased otherwise it's no help.

Not sure if I'll be posting anymore after this!

I think if you look back a lot of hitchers ask directly for HIB help....and have been very grateful for their input. Also ....all the HIbs on here try to help and contribute in a non biased way.

A prime example was a question about venues. A fellow HIB had been a photographer at most of them and could give an unbiased opinion about each.....how invaluable is that.

As for prices tripling when its a wedding, I can only talk from an entertainers point of view, but the work load triples too. When i do a birthday party i wouldn't dream of travelling for two hours to meet my client beforehand....i do with a wedding. After a short conversation on the phone, you turn up and play for a general party. For a wedding it has to be right, and that often involves long discussions with the bride and getting special pieces of music, mixing certain things, visiting the venue beforehand, altering the rig to fit in with their remit, etc....I could go on.

Kirsty, I did actually say if I was mistaken I would apologise profusely, so I hardly think my reaction is unbelievable...However, there are rules for advertisers to post on here and unfortuantly we get a lot of people trying to get around the rules. I actually think the LISTED suppliers on here are actually very helpful (as you will have noticed from Sandy above).

I agree - I am sure there is more than 1 Kirsty Thomas in the world. I still find it amazing that another Kirsty Thomas (also from Nottingham I see if you look at my earlier link) got married 2 weeks ago, happened to book this band you mention (and this is all you have actually posted about so far - no introduction, no information on your wedding), but if you are genuine, then as I say I apologise and welcome to the boards - we're actually a very friendly bunch on here and you'll find lots of people willing to give great advice.

So, against my better judgement, I'll take you at your word, so CONGRATULATIONS on your engagement and I look forward to your introduction - when are you getting married?