Band Vs DJ

sep72fendr · March 2010

Yes, I know this isn't etiquette, but the reception board isn't as lively or quick as you all are.

I'm torn between doing a band or a DJ. I love the big band feel and sound (Fi and I are having a traditional formal country club wedding) but a lot oef our guests will be our college friends and want them to have fun as well with a DJ for popular songs. Anyone else have that dilema? How did you solve it? What did you pay for a band? For a DJ?

AlexiaANDRobert · March 2010

I just prefer DJs.

For prices, you might want to check your local board, I bet it varies by region.

Good luck!

ac_in_dc · March 2010

A band was out of our budget, but we could afford a very good DJ. Plus we planned our wedding in 6 months and good bands book up *very* fast.

For a big wedding, though, I think bands are awesome of you can afford it. Why don't you audition a few and look at prices/recs/etc? If none of the bands you see/hear excite you than it's always possible to get an excellent DJ about 6-9 months in advance.

AlexiaANDRobert · March 2010

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_etiquette_band-vs-dj?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:9Discussion:c65c2ada-4709-49aa-b37d-d9e369a5bf08Post:2fbdaad2-c77b-4845-947e-c2debd1f9758">Re: Band Vs DJ</a>:
[QUOTE]A band was out of our budget, but we could afford a very good DJ. Plus we planned our wedding in 6 months and good bands book up *very* fast. For a big wedding, though, I think bands are awesome of you can afford it. Why don't you audition a few and look at prices/recs/etc? If none of the bands you see/hear excite you than it's always possible to get an excellent DJ about 6-9 months in advance.
Posted by ac_in_dc[/QUOTE]

Oh man... watching band video/DVD auditions are hilarious!!!! Some of these guys are ridiculous.

ohwhynot · March 2010

We're hiring a band. It was the ONE thing that fi really wanted - a live band, so we're making it a budget priority. The band will play a lot of beatles covers (we almost got a beatles tribute band, but then fi's first choice was available, so we booked them) and they're considered a "power pop" band so their music is very dance-able.

They are giving us a big break on price because the lead singer is friends with my fi, so we're paying $900 for a 4-piece band. We plan to tip $200 on top of that, and we have to rent a stage for them, too. I think a DJ would have been around $400 for our area.

LoveBugBaby · March 2010

We prefer a DJ, FI and I like a wide range of music. While I know some bands have the ability to play different sounding music, it's still all coming from the same voice, etc.... if that makes sense...

We really don't care to go see popular/local bands play either, so this helped make our decision for our wedding!

I just like having more of an option!

bbyckes · March 2010

We went with a DJ - it's in our budget, but probably would have gone with a DJ anyway. Our DJ is $500 - we found that to be mid-range for our area. I wanted someone reliable through a reputable company. I could have gone bargain basement, but just wanted to rest in the middle of the road. I asked for a discount and received one and they also threw in a lighting package. Ask for extras, you'll be surprised at what businesses will do.

maratea · March 2010

We had a band, that was the one thing H wanted most. It was a Chicago-based band that H knew. The only bad thing was we had to rent sound equipment for them because they didn't have their own. We are friends with the guys and we knew their music style, but they offered to play anything we wanted. Everyone at the reception loved them, and I think they might even play at my cousin's wedding next year. It was their first wedding, but they did a great job.

ETA: We paid $1000 for the band (since they were driving 4 hours), and we paid for their hotel and sound equipment ($400).

ac_in_dc · March 2010

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_etiquette_band-vs-dj?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:9Discussion:c65c2ada-4709-49aa-b37d-d9e369a5bf08Post:ab6d8760-b29d-406d-9344-9e2ea8e345fb">Re: Band Vs DJ</a>:
[QUOTE]We're hiring a band. It was the ONE thing that fi really wanted - a live band, so we're making it a budget priority. The band will play a lot of beatles covers (we almost got a beatles tribute band, but then fi's first choice was available, so we booked them) and they're considered a "power pop" band so their music is very dance-able. They are giving us a big break on price because the lead singer is friends with my fi, so we're paying $900 for a 4-piece band. We plan to tip $200 on top of that, and we have to rent a stage for them, too. I think a DJ would have been around $400 for our area.
Posted by ohwhynot[/QUOTE]

Wow, that's a great price. That's about what I spent on a high-end DJ in DC.

IMO not all DJs are created equal. Ours did an awesome job incorporating our musical tastes (which we explained to him before the wedding) with his own knowledge/expertise and by reading the crowd.

Obviously you can find an awesome DJ at lower prices, but probably not on short notice (like we did) and if you're a lazy planner (like I was).

caketime · March 2010

First look at budget. The difference here between a good band (8 pieces plus) and a good DJ can be at a minimum $5,000. We had a band because we liked the sound and feel of a live band.

sep72fendr · March 2010

This band that I have been drooling over shot back an estimate of 3700 for the entire 13 piece set. I about died. Didn't know what to think or to expect.

tannymcgee · March 2010

sep -- for around where I live, that is an awesome price. for 13 pieces, i'd probably have to spend 6000-8000.

FI wants a band but I am in the same boat as you - sometimes its just more fun with a dj. especially for the special dances.. it just sounds better having the original. we're thinking about mixing it up and bringing in a dj for the first two hours and a funk band for the second 2 hours. but we don't know yet... we're still over a year out (4/30/11).

CCBelle · March 2010

Personally I love bands, but I think a really good DJ is 100% better than a bad band. Our band played only swing/classics, and everyone loved it. But that also went with the whole theme of our wedding... it was more elegant than a crazy wild party. We spent $2,200, I think, and that was a fantastic deal for our area. Most bands start at $4,000. We saved so much money as our band was more of a niche product.

kbelle91 · March 2010

I would totally go with a band! We found an 8 piece band for 1700 - 1 hour during cocktails they are playing a jazzy set and 4 hours of dancing music. For our dances we are dancing the the real songs from the ipod and also during the breaks they will play music that they didnt cover from the ipod. We are very happy and the band was my top spending priority!

SummerBoston10 · March 2010

I agree with some pp's in that a good DJ is 1000 times better than a bad band, but a great band totally makes the event. We are using an 8 piece band and paying $5750.

squirrly · March 2010

I really prefer DJs. I hate covers of songs - it needs to sound the way it did as recorded by the original artist for me to like it. I just can't get into a band unless they play their own stuff.

Live music for the ceremony, I like, but a DJ wins hands down for me at receptions.

kkaimala · March 2010

We're having a DJ, but we thought about hiring some local college students to play piano. If there is a college or university nearby it would be a lot cheaper to hire one of them to do it.

pawsha · March 2010

Band w/ horn section, $2500. However for in between sets, I am thinking about getting a DJ. My family typically gets a band for family events, its just preferance really.

miss.jawright · March 2010

We REALLY wanted a band, but bands with the scope we wanted were going to cost us 5,999. So we went with a DJ. We already new we wanted some unconvential songs at out wedding so we finally agreed that a DJ would suit us better. We found a Dj with lighting, and an mp3 recording of our entire wedding including vows and toast for only $995. We eventually went the economical route but it was a comprimise.

smokeybailey · March 2010

Right now, we have dueling iTunes going on and if you were here, you'd be dancing your @$$ off.

Go DJ. And we are available for hire.

sep72fendr · March 2010

All of your feedback was fantastic! Thank you!! Sorry for the post and run, but I had a 13 hour double shift today at work and finally got back on here.
I just found out they do a 20% discount on days that aren't saturdays, so it brings the price down to like 2800. I think that's pretty awesome. :-)

jenluxsd · March 2010

Depending on what you budget is and where you are at, you can go with both. We are going to have both at our very formal and big wedding. We definitely wanted live music for ceremony, cocktail hour and the first couple hours of reception.

The live band will be playing for the first few hours in the reception, which is good for the older folks still being there. I have just always gone to big formal parties that have a live band and it is great when you have a good one. However, when it gets a bit later in the night and a lot of the older folks go home, we are having a DJ play the typical club music. And since we are only hiring a DJ for 2 hours it becomes really cheap.

Here in SoCal, a good DJ can run $1500 for 5-6 hours. But since we are only hiring a DJ for maybe 2 hours, it drops it down a lot. But depending on the DJ, they may have a minimum hours requirement.

However, I do think your band quote is very very reasonable for such a big piece band. If it is a great band, you will have a great time, the live element is something else.

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