Saving on Wedding Music Costs

Saving on Wedding Music Costs


Saving on Wedding Music Costs is not difficult. There’s many ways to trim cost’s of the Wedding Reception and today we explore some wedding music ideas to help you save money.

By far the easiest way to cut back on Wedding expenses is to plan your Wedding Day for a Friday or Sunday. Availability and cost of venues, musicians, caterers and many other professional wedding services will open up to you by simply changing the day of the week instead of the traditional Saturday Wedding.

Recorded Music

The most inexpensive option for Wedding Music is to have recorded songs for the ceremony and having a friend cue the music for the walk down the aisle. This works very well and allows you to choose your own music instrumental or song that is special to you. This method can be used for any size ceremony but will only be successful for small, informal wedding receptions. If the Wedding Reception is very small and intimate, with catering like a buffet of finger foods, where the is no formal seating arrangement and the Guests are encouraged to walk around and mingle. You can buy compilation CD’s with a romantic themes to play in the background. This would not be recommended for over 50 Wedding Guests or more formal style Weddings.

Acoustic Guitarist/ Vocalist

For the slightly larger and slightly more formal wedding reception you can choose the option of a single or duo acoustic guitarist and vocalist to entertain the Wedding Guests. This is a lovely alternative and you will have the opportunity to meet with the musician/s and discuss what songs you would like performed and perhaps make some requests of you favorites. Make sure that you have the opportunity to see them perform in front of a crowd before booking them for your Wedding Reception. Recommendations are fine, but there is nothing like seeing them perform live to see how they perform in a live setting and how they interact with the crowd. Ask them also if there is an emergency plan if they are unwell and unable to perform, do they have someone who can fill in for them?

For a even more formal wedding you could consider a professional pianist to tinkle the ivory’s for the early part of the evening.

Wedding Disc Jockey (DJ)

The next alternative is to consider a Wedding DJ. They are less expensive than employing a live band. It’s a good idea, a  few weeks before the Wedding, ask to meet with the DJ and ask to check their Wedding play list. This will avert any really cheesy romantic or silly songs being played at your reception.  “Puppy Love’” by the Jackson 5 and the “Chicken Dance” and other corny, cheesy songs you will want to avoid. Sure it was fine in the 70′s but well past it’s use by date and has been done to death.

Make sure that you have the option to add in some of your favorites tunes to be played after the Wedding Speeches and the formal part of the evening. Ask your Wedding DJ if the Wedding Guests will be able to make some song requests during the reception. It’s a great way to have your Wedding Guests participate and to be include your Wedding celebration, especially if everyone can dance to it. Let your hair down (or so to speak) and get on the dance floor and party with your guests. Most people say that this is the most fun part of the Wedding Reception.

A Wedding Band

If you really want a band, keep the band small, this will help to reduce the cost. We would suggest a four to five piece band. Choosing a band that has modern and up-to-date equipment will make a smaller band sound bigger. Of course it goes without saying that the music genre of the band needs to match your Wedding theme. There would be no point to have a  Mariachi Band when the theme is formal and classic. It might be a fun idea, but also wrong on many levels.

Also be careful choosing a band that is too modern for the reception, a rock band that pumps up the volume may suit your younger wedding guests but will not be appreciated by older guests. You don’t want your wedding to be remembered as “that loud wedding”. Make sure that you have the opportunity to see the band perform before you commit to the booking, and expect there to be a booking fee. Booking fees can be as much as 50% of the total fee, so be prepared.

Make sure that you clarify the terms of the Wedding Reception performance, ask the band about extra costs if the Wedding Reception runs over the expected time. Receptions often run over expected time frames and it’s best to be prepared about band costs for  the band to perform for an extra hour for example. Make sure that the Father of the Bride has the extra band fee in cash on the big day to avoid any heated discussions. It is always best to be prepared, it’s awful for the band to be packing up while the Wedding Guests are still enjoying the celebration.

The best Wedding DJ’s and Wedding Bands are in highest demand on Saturday nights, so remember to consider changing your Wedding Day to a Friday or Sunday for a slightly reduced rate.

Announcing Arrival at the Reception.

Which ever way you choose to have the Wedding Reception music make sure that when you, Bride and Groom, arrive to the Reception Venue and you are being introduced to your Wedding Guests make sure that the announcer or MC has the correct names of all of the Wedding Party to announce them in order as the enter the reception. Make sure they have a written list, and include phonetic spelling underneath each name for unusual or hard to pronounce names. It might sound like a minor detail, until the announcer gets the Bride’s name wrong – very embarrassing – it happened to me, I was introduced like this “And here comes the beautiful Bride, Barbra and her happy Groom” which would be fine if my name was Barbra, but it’s not!

Wedding Speeches Store hopes you have enjoyed our latest Wedding Budget article titled “Saving on Wedding Speeches Costs“.

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Comments

  1. Recently, I did not give whole lot thought to commenting on weblog articles and have left feedback even less. Viewing your useful piece of writing, might inspire me to do this again.

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  3. Some great information here Bev. It made me think of the move “Love Actually” where the bride and groom’s mates stand up one by one and start playing their own musical instruments. If you’ve got musical friends, use them – musicians usually love an audience – and nothing compares to live music. Thanks for a good post.
    Jan Littlehales´s last blog ..Raising Great Kids – Healthy Eating Habits My ComLuv Profile

    • Bev says:

      Thanks Jan,
      I recently watched Love Actually with my teenage daughter. The scene in the movie you mentioned is a classic.
      It’s a great idea to ask your friends to help out with music at the wedding ceremony or reception. It’s a great way to trim the costs.

      Regards,
      Bev

  4. Hi Bev,

    Yes, cost creativity can save you big money – as well as creating something unique that people will remember. At my wedding, we were lucky enough to know some musicians. They played beautiful music and saved us a heap of money (we did force money on them to thank them though). If you are going to have a band or play music – ensure that it’s not too loud. About 50% of the weddings I’ve been to have music too loud. When you can’t hold a conversation with the person next to you, you can’t enjoy a good time.
    David Moloney´s last blog ..Logo Specifications: Don’t Pay Up Until You Read This My ComLuv Profile

    • Bev says:

      Thanks David,
      I agree about the music being at a volume that suits all guests. I have been to weddings where the music is so loud that you can’t wait for the formalities are over so you can leave. Might be showing my age there, but it can be a problem. Nobody wants their wedding to be remembered as “That loud wedding we went to”.
      The music should be planned to be background music until the formal part of the night is over, for example Wedding Speeches completed, the wedding cake has been cut, bridal dance finished and any other formalities and traditions completed before the music volume is turned up. When the family elders are calling it a night is early enough for the music to be set to party mode.

      Thanks again for your comment
      Regards
      Bev

  5. EUNA says:

    For some reason only half of the post is being displayed, is it my browser or the site?

    • Bev says:

      Hi EUNA,

      Thanks for your message. I have checked the post on Firefox and Internet Explorer. Both are working fine. Without knowing which browser you are using I am unable to follow this up further. If you would like me to investigate this further please supply me with the browser that you are using so I can check it out.

      Thanks
      Regards
      Bev

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  7. Veils says:

    The absolute CHEAPEST wedding music is to use the venue’s speaker system and plug your iPod in.

    I made all my own playlists, and then just got a friend to make sure the right playlists were being played. I made it very easy for him, I named the playlists in my ipod something like this;

    Entrance
    Book signing
    end of ceremony
    Reception 1
    After speeches

    All he had to do was click on them at the appropriate time!

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