Hints On Booking Live Music For Your Wedding

by: Gavin Scott

Part 1 - Types of music

Ceremony

There are a myriad of ideas for music during the ceremony, from string quartet to bagpipes! Singers -from solo to a choir, organist, trumpet, brass ensemble and harpist are just some of the many other options.

Reception Drinks and / or Wedding Breakfast

For background or 'dinner' music between one and three musicians is ideal, unless you are expecting more than about 100 guests, when you might want a slightly larger band. Vocalists can be somewhat distracting for purely background music, particularly during a meal, as it can seem like more of a performance, and guests may feel rude talking while they are singing.

Musicians particularly suitable for background music are:
Jazz trio or duo, (or quartet for larger events);
Solo jazz guitarist;
Solo classical guitarist;
Solo Spanish guitarist;
Jazz or classical pianist;
Harpist;
String quartet (an exception to the 1-3 musicians rule).

Dancing

For a wedding it is important to remember that there are likely to be a very wide mixture of guests, with a correspondingly wide mixture of tastes. It is therefore prudent to consider whether your choice of a profane rap band is really what your Granny is going to dance to. A quality covers band should be able to cater to a wide audience, encouraging your guests to dance without beating them over the head with pumping bass drum when they are still digesting the sumptuous wedding breakfast.