Will this work - Big Band, followed by DJ

gottadance64

So I am a swing dancer and a lot of my friends are as well. I'm doing a vintage 30s/40s wedding and wanted to have my fave big band at the wedding, but I know that a some of my relatives and some of his won't get into that so we are thinking that we'll have the Big Band after dinner - say from 7:30 - 9:30 and then a DJ from 9:30 - midnight. My concern is that if the band ends at 9:30, there they'll be in my reception ballroom, breaking down all of their equipment for who knows how long. That seems weird and intrusive. Normally a band would break down when the night is over and everyone's leaving anyway, so who cares. This is an 18 piece big band, so them breaking down could have a negative impact on the vibe in the room when the party's really just getting going.

I really, really hate to think of not having my band at our wedding, but I just don't see how this could work.  Fortunately if we decide not to go this way, the DJ is a national champion swing dancer who has some of the BEST swing dance music in his collection, so we could just have him mix it up - some swing dance music and some regular dance music.

What say you - big band breaking down at 9:30 too intrusive?

jcg98

If the DJ is any good, people will be dancing and not watching the band break down. I wouldn't worry about it. If you want the band, have the band. As long as they have access to the exit, they are professionals and probably will break down as unobtrusively as possible. It won't ruin your vibe.

LindyLou2012

We swing dance too! Our dj is a swing dance instructor as well, and we decided to just have him create a playlist of 50's/60's/swing music to play during the reception. Simple.

I think that if music is playing, people will dance, and probably not notice the band breaking down their equipment.