Wedding Band Cost

I love live bands and they bring such a great atmosphere to a wedding evening. Not sure of their prices but I would think that's about the norm. Is the £2000 for the 7 people?

No thats whats a bit odd the 7 piece are £1650 (Normally £1900 with agency fees) the 4 peice is £2000) I have to say my prefered is the 7 piece they're great fun and get everyone up dancing.

Ours is £850 for a 3 piece. We're in the midlands.

Thaks Tracey - Looks like the price is about right then as there is 7 of them... that will blow the budget! x

Completely worth it though Karen. Saturdays wedding for me had a live band that also did a bit of barn dancing. Amazing atmosphere and pictures to be had!

My band's doing 2 hours as a jazz trio and then 2 hours as a five piece party band and altogether that's £1495

We've got our band for £500 (5 members, doing rock/indie covers) and we're norfolk/suffolk

? i think its time for my bed... i just read the question as a wedding band as in band wedding ring and then got very confused as i read the rest of the posts lol

We are either getting married in Essex (where we live now) or Berkshire (where I'm from) so I've just started looking out for bands as I know we definitely want one at our wedding.

Ive budgeted £1500 for a band so am hoping we will find something for that price or thereabouts.

What's the name of the 7 piece band Karen?

Paying for a good band usually is the best thing to do as they bring good quality sound equipment, lights and generally can set up a whole band from just 2 plug sockets!

My band have a 5 or 6 piece option and I think we are doing a deal where you can get a duo in the afternoon as well with sax/keyboard playing jazz standards as well as the party band in the evening

Ours is a 6 piece jazz band, playing 3 x 40 minute sets, and is £250 with a discount of £50 because we know one of the members, so he's waiving his portion.

I can't believe some of the prices people are willing to pay ? Mind you, we used to run our own dance company and my OH is a sound and lighting theatre technician so we have our own rig, and are doing out own main playlist and the jazz band are just filling in. We wouldn't have paid more than £300, would have only had our own playlist.

I totally agree with us all of this! The duo we had at my dad's 60th charged £250, yet when we asked them about the wedding they quoted £850!!! So there was no chance we were going with them! We've found a good band who have agreed £450 now, taking H2B to see them at the weekend and hope he likes them.

Also if you regularly see the band in your local I feel like it makes it less special somehow...

It's usually a better price if you can approach a band direct or through friends of friends rather than go through an agency

Wow and I thought my band was pricey ( but worth it ) ...im paying 1100 for a 4 piece band...Im from Scotland though so I guess it would be more expensive in England.

I found the band we will use (as long as they can do our date) and they're £1200 inc £200 for travel expenses as they'll be coming a fairly long way so will Have to stay overnight.

Ive seen them at our friend's wedding so we know they're good.

Hi,

I just wanted to add to this. I have worked in venues for many years now and trust me when I say that anything over £1000 for a three or four piece is a rip off. There are professional wedding bands out there that gig every week several times for weddings and charge £750 to £900 at the most. They do this as their full time job this is why they dont charge the earth. The lower priced bands are probably guys that also have normal jobs and normally play pubs. Not saying they arent good but they're arent wedding bands. A wedding band has to offer something special to keep people on the dance floor.

The ones that charge over £1000 you will find are normally corporate function bands that aren't really suitable for a wedding.

Also to charge extra for travel and other costs is sometimes also not needed. A good band will travel over the UK and quote this within their fee and not as an extra additional charge.

Ona personal note the band we hired last year played two sets of live music and provided dj style music for the whole night included in the fee. They charged us £800. The also offered to learn our first dance which was a great touch. I would recommend them highly.

Just my opinion

I don't think it's fair to say they're a rip off...if people can afford it and are happy to pay it, and feel they're getting good value for money, then nobody's being ripped off.

The two live bands I've seen at weddings were the one we'll hopefully have at £1200, and another which are around the £1500 mark. I'd budgeted for this as I would rather have a band I know are good than risk a band I haven't seen in that setting, and be disappointed.

As for travel costs, they have to cover their petrol...you can't quote someone the same price if you're travelling an additional 100 miles to play for them. They're a business at the end of the day, and they need to make profit or at least cover their costs for expenses

Hi,

let me start again as I think you misunderstood. The person who started this thread said they had recieved a quote for a 4 piece at £2000. Thats steep! If they have travel costs say £200 then its still £1800 for four people. That's a lot of money or one nights work. It a bit weird when a four piece quotes that high. Break that down between four people and thats a huge amount. I know they are talented but that's one high wage.

As for offending people - pay what you want to pay its your choice all I was saying was that you need to check that your band is worth it. Just because someone charges more doesnt mean you are getting something better. Oh and also paying more doesnt remove any risks. I have seen bands booked who charged more and then on the night were no different to bands charging £200 less. I didnt take a risk by booking a band for £800 either, I had seen them and heard them before I booked them. A sign of a good band is that they will try and arrange this for you.

I also wasnt having a go about travel costs. I run a business and understand about overheads, bills and making a profit. If they are a professional band though and have an accountant some of they costs are part of their expenses and I just feel one quote from people is enough without all the extras sometimes. There are also bands who dont charge for over night stays. They travel back after a gig. Long night sometimes, but again it's their job. Bands travel, it's part of their job, all I was saying was check out any additional costs.

At the end of the day it's your wedding and I'm sure people wouldnt have paid what I did for some things at mine, it's a personal choice but somethings need to checked a little more carefully, such as a four piece band charging £2000.

I don't think Kirst misunderstood at all - she just responded to your post?

Our band was £1000. We'd seen them at a friends wedding and knew they were ace. And they were.

They were local to our venue but would have charged more to travel further. That's just good business sense.

I think my point was missed. I wasnt saying all bands over £800 are too much but just responding to £2000 being way too much.

I get charging to travel but just check how much! I understand business sense and profit.

I responded to the part of your post suggesting that said...

Which suggests to me you think anything over £1k is a ridiculous amount of money to spend on a band. Which is fine, as it's your opinion. But just because you think that, isn't necessarily helpful to the OP if she is happy (and can afford) to spend more on a band.

I think we all have different priorities when it comes to wedding costs. Personally, I could never bring myself to spend £1,000+ on a dress I'll only wear for a matter of hours, but I know that most women are happy to and I don't pass judgement on that. I'd rather spend that money on something everyone can enjoy, not just me.

I'm happy to pay £1,500 for my band because they're brilliant. I'm also in London, which means things are more expensive anyway if you want good quality. And they're not a corporate band, they play weddings all the time. I'm not really bothered about whether it's all they do in life, I just want them to be good and for everyone I love to have a fabulous time.

There are a variety of bands available, and the saying is true, you get what you pay for. Try tdn management, they have some great bands, really reasonable prices. X

I did exactly this!!! I opened it up, saw the prices and thought "holy crap, I am thinking £150 each"..... then the penny dropped!