Band - too OTT for a small wedding??

Sorry, should have said - small wedding refers to a fairly small venue, but we have 70 day guests and perhaps another 30 (potentially many more but hard to know who will travel for the evening only!!) evening guests x

I'm debating this one and I've got similar numbers to you, but we do have a bar area guests could go to.

OH is in a band and my CBM has suggested they do a mini set to showcase my amazing OH!! ? But they do very similar music to the band you're describing so i'm wondering if they're suitable for a wedding. We'd have a disco too tho

Well for a start they will not be able to play every single number on that set list in, say, 2 1 hour sets.

theres a hugeeeee range there which will go down a storm with young and old alike and I think given their repertoire and experience they will have a good idea what the crowd will like.

I wasnt too sure about our band once they arrived and were playing....they evenplayed a ceilidh number which I did not want BUT was reminded thats always a good floor breaker.....and the dance floor was never empty and everyone said they loved the band. Maybe I didnt appreciate it as much being the bride.

just to say the band 'You'll know yourselves once you've sussed out the relatives!' which sound better than dont play this or that...... a good selection of 60s 70s 80s and a few popular hits will get them up, leave the rage at home lolol......

Hi

Yes, absolutely - as TeeHee says above, you'll be looking at about 14 or 15 of those tracks per hour. I would let them know what you DON'T want and then give them the vibe of the evening that you're after. They will no doubt have sets (made up from that enormous list above) that they know work in sequence and they'll be able to help you. I usually manage to pursuade our clients (wedding or otherwise) to leave the ordering of the night to us as we know what works in sequence and of course we vary things on the night depending on what's happening. Leave them to do that as they'll know their sets, but make sure that they know what not to play.

Please INSIST with the management company that you are able to talk to the band direct. Otherwise you will suffer with Chinese Whispers and worst case scenario will be that they will start playing Rage against the Machine as someone forgot to pass on a message or send an email. I hate management / agents for that very reason, but that's another story. Please insist!!

To answer your original question, of course I'm bound to say go for a band but there are some good DJs out there too. Its what you think the majority of your guests want. I'm constantly reminded at gigs how much of a novelty for your guests it can be to have good live musicians there and I know a lot of live bands get testimonials to that effect.

Hope that helps

Tony

RS

Hi there! I'm now looking for a band just like this for my wedding in September 2013 - could you let me know what they are called please?

Thanks!

Hello! Definitely not too small! your guest count sounds perfect and with that set list they should just about appeal to everyone as all good bands should : )

We played a wedding in Oxfordshire last week where there were 50 guests, it was one of the best gigs we've ever done, intimate but everyone seemed well up for it

Good luck!

J

Hi SouthB2B

I've written an article recently on band vs DJ vs singer, which you will find helpful:

http://wedding-blog-uk.blogspot.co.uk/2012/11/wedding-dj-vs-wedding-band-vs-wedding.html

Set list of the band you're debating looks great! I don't think there's ever too few guests for live entertainment - I did two weddings with less than 30 guests last year, although I'm a singer so I guess would be a little less "in your face" than a band for very small numbers.

Also very much agree with what Tony says, really important to speak to the band directly, particularly where song requests are concerned. I share his thoughts in agents, they can cause mis-communication so deal with the band directly when you get down to the nitty gritty.

Good luck an dlet you know how you get on!

James

I wouldn't say a band is too OTT for your wedding at all!

We're having a small wedding too with 70-80 coming in the evening and we've decided on a band to start the night off.

What are you're guests like? Will they want to dance? My only concern was that the dance floor might look empty if not everyone dances, but I know mine and OH's friends will definately be getting up and family will only need a little encouragement.