Wedding bands (music) yay or nay?

BlissPhilly

If you are having a live band at your reception...

Why did you choose a band over a DJ?

What precentage of your budget did it cost you?

How did you go about choosing the band?

As a wedding guest which one was more entertaining to you ...the wedding with the DJ or the wedding with the live band?

starrynight84

I chose a band because I really strongly dislike cheesy DJs ( I know there are noncheesy ones) and because I love the energy and excitement a band can infuse into a wedding. Our band is about 15% of our budget.

melisrodis

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_pennsylvania-philadelphia_wedding-bands-music-yay-or-nay?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:105Discussion:abdeb8e4-2dcd-4f8a-b553-03314d3c56cbPost:390b038e-08b9-4522-956f-bcb1f5f15994">Wedding bands (music) yay or nay?</a>:
[QUOTE]If you are having a live band at your reception...
Why did you choose a band over a DJ?
<strong>I was nervous about finding the right DJ and whether I would be able to.  It's almost easier to 'sample' bands than it is to 'sample' DJs.  Plus, the FI and I don't agree about music.  I like top 40 for dancing and he totally DOESN'T.  So having a couple of top 40 songs played by live musicians was acceptable to him.  And my family likes to swing dance -- nothing like a live band for that!  Plus the band we ended up choosing had LOTS OF VARIETY!!  </strong>
What precentage of your budget did it cost you?
<strong>It was our splurge.  About 20%.</strong>
How did you go about choosing the band?
<strong>I went to a bunch of showcases, listened to abunch of samples, watched youtube/vimeo videos, and looked at their websites.</strong>
As a wedding guest which one was more entertaining to you ...the wedding with the DJ or the wedding with the live band?
<strong>I am happily entertained by either -- as long as they're good either way!</strong>
Posted by BlissPhilly[/QUOTE]

Cackle6

I went back and forth on this. I sing in a band, so I really did want a live band, but wasn't sure it was in our budget. After going to a few weddings with live bands, and a few with some pretty bad DJ's, I decided that I really REALLY wanted a live band at our wedding thankfully my H is awesome and agreed we could add a little to the budget for it. We got a fantastic deal though, and it ended up being around 10% of our total budget (and we managed to only go over our original budget by $1000).

Our wedding was in MN, so I wasn't able to go see the two bands I liked, but my parents were awesome and went for me, and said hands down that the one band was the one that would fit us best, and boy were they right. It was the highlight of our reception. The only times the dance floor wasn't packed was when the band took a break. 

We also had an in house DJ for during band breaks. This was a last minute thing for us, as we ended up coming in under the venue minimum, and their in house DJ cost went towards the minimum so we went ahead and booked it, and I'm SO glad we did. He did the WP intros, and also played great music between the band sets so most people stayed on the dance floor even then.

So long story short, I would go for a live band. I don't for a minute regret spending money on it. But if you can, do both, unless the band has someone who can also DJ for you.

ezetner

Live bands are great but limited to the music they know and guests can only make limited request. vs, a good DJ can get the song at the very moment if they did not have it on the spot for you and your guest. www.delawarevalleydjs.com

jojo01041982

ezentner:  guess you can't read the TOS NO Vendors!!  you have been reported!