Band vs. DJ

laurenclaire1386 · July 2010

The only WR thing FI has been really insistent upon is a live band. I'd rather have a DJ, but it's not so important to me that I'm going to pick a fight over it. He wanted one thing, so he's getting it. I just have a couple of questions for those of you who did have a band:

How did you find them? Internet? Know them? (FI is doing this part, but I'm trying to move him right along, and maybe give him some suggestions on how not to pick a sucky band)

What did it cost? I know this varies widely from region to region, but I've never hired a band before, so I have zero idea of what it's going to cost.

In retrospect, would you have still gone the band route? Pros? Cons?

SarahPLiz · July 2010

In our area, a band is $3-5K fr the good ones. I wouldn't know about BR, though. I imagine you could find some good ones, but I'd be afraid they'd all sound too KC and the Sunshine Band for my taste.

vtbm · July 2010

It totally varies by region! I would have loved a band but for a good one around here they are $7,000+ and out of our price range. I would post on your local board for suggestions. When I originally priced them, I started with a production company that actually manages several of them. I think a live band can be great if they are good. A friend of mine decided to go with a cheaper one and it was awful. She would have been better off with a DJ. Good luck!!

danieliza1127 · July 2010

My H's big thing was having a band too. He just procrastinated so long on doing research though, I eventually took over. Then realized that a band at the minimum would cost $1,000 - and that's at the minimum. It would have cost even more in reality. We ended up hiring a DJ at the last minute and we were pretty okay with that decision. We don't have a lot of dancers in our crowd anyway, and one of my worries with a live band is that when you go see a live band at a bar, conversation is really hard because it's loud and you feel like you should be watching the band. I didn't want our wedding to be like that. So that's my two cents on how we made our decision. Basically H dropped the ball and it was too expensive.

laurenclaire1386 · July 2010

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_etiquette_band-vs-dj-1?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:9Discussion:220f7b2b-6b41-4096-af0f-915a8fc1e0a8Post:dd12e5ce-bda9-469f-a9ba-d56cc1789f1b">Re: Band vs. DJ</a>:
[QUOTE]In our area, a band is $3-5K fr the good ones. I wouldn't know about BR, though. I imagine you could find some good ones, but<strong> I'd be afraid they'd all sound too KC and the Sunshine Band for my taste. </strong>
Posted by SarahPLiz[/QUOTE]
That's exactly what I'm scared of. I'm fairly sure FI wouldn't let that happen, as he hates KC and the Sunshine Band, but I'm scared he's going to unknowingly hire a ridiculous band and no one will have fun at the reception as a result. Overthinking? Probably. Worrying about something dumb? Definitely.

vannymuse · July 2010

You could try looking here: http://www.gigmasters.com/

They list a price range for the bands, and you can see how must their past events cost.

laurenclaire1386 · July 2010

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_etiquette_band-vs-dj-1?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:9Discussion:220f7b2b-6b41-4096-af0f-915a8fc1e0a8Post:bb294a98-8c63-474f-89a1-5dfd932d2355">Re: Band vs. DJ</a>:
[QUOTE]My H's big thing was having a band too. He just procrastinated so long on doing research though, I eventually took over. Then realized that a band at the minimum would cost $1,000 - and that's at the minimum. It would have cost even more in reality. We ended up hiring a DJ at the last minute and we were pretty okay with that decision. We don't have a lot of dancers in our crowd anyway, and one of my worries with a live band is that when you go see a live band at a bar, conversation is really hard because it's loud and you feel like you should be watching the band. I didn't want our wedding to be like that. So that's my two cents on how we made our decision. Basically H dropped the ball and it was too expensive. :)
Posted by danieliza1127[/QUOTE]
I'm almost certain this is what's going to end up happening, and honestly, I'm really ok with that. I only have like 2 big things on the have-to-book/order-it-soon list, and this is one of them. And FI is in charge of it, and I'm pretty sure he's not going to get it done. I've done all the reminding and nagging I'm going to do. And he probably has no idea what it's going to cost us.

laurenclaire1386 · July 2010

Vannymuse, thanks for the link! Very helpful. I forwarded it to FI.

vannymuse · July 2010

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_etiquette_band-vs-dj-1?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:9Discussion:220f7b2b-6b41-4096-af0f-915a8fc1e0a8Post:41277e8f-7fcf-45c2-af80-48ee6ef0bdd5">Re: Band vs. DJ</a>:
[QUOTE]Vannymuse, thanks for the link! Very helpful. I forwarded it to FI.
Posted by laurenclaire1386[/QUOTE]
You're welcome! I used the site to find and book our ceremony musician.

pirategal03 · July 2010

I used gigmasters to find musicians for our reception too. Keep in mind that gigmasters charges a fee if you book the musicians through them, but if you just find the musicians through them and book straight with the band you can avoid that fee.

laurenclaire1386 · July 2010

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_etiquette_band-vs-dj-1?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:9Discussion:220f7b2b-6b41-4096-af0f-915a8fc1e0a8Post:d084b964-3da0-47fd-a104-2d3a766b7194">Re: Band vs. DJ</a>:
[QUOTE]I used gigmasters to find musicians for our reception too. Keep in mind that gigmasters charges a fee if you book the musicians through them, but if you just find the musicians through them and book straight with the band you can avoid that fee.
Posted by pirategal03[/QUOTE]
Ooooh, thanks for the info! I'll pass that along.

justad0reme · July 2010

Could you do a combination of Band and DJ? I know some places offer those type of packages to allow people to fit having a Band in their budgets. You can have the band for the first part of the reception and then just allow the DJ to take over? Bands tend to be pricey especially if you are using them for the whole 5 hours...just a thought.

noodle_oo · July 2010

If you get a good band, i think they are *awesome*! We saw a great band at a wedding recently and I was sad we couldn't afford them for the wedding. Our DJ will be fine... but if we coudl have afforded a band, I think they rock.

mags0607 · July 2010

LC- From the research I did, you are looking at around $3k-$5K for the better known bands in the area.

Groovy 7, No Idea, Mixed Nuts, The Topcats, Louisiana Spice, are the main ones I have seen in person or heard of people booking.

I'm not trying to rain on your parade at all, but you might have difficulty finding a band with just a few months to go. When I started looking, some of these guys were booked over a year in advance.

Hopefully you can find one, or try finding one that's good and will let you hear them play, but isn't as well known.

cluebee · July 2010

I went the DJ route, mainly because my friends and family like such a variety of music that I thought it would be difficult for one group to encompass all of the types of music. There are a couple recommendations that Nottoway made in their preferred vendors information (Ned Fasullo and The Fabulous Big Band Orchestra, The Topcats, Four Unplugged and The Nobles), but I had never heard of any of them.

Hope that helps!

Band vs. DJ

Re: Band vs. DJ

Choose Another Board

Search Boards