How You Can Afford Live Music for Your Wedding 25
There is nothing more special than having musicians present to perform for your wedding and reception. Hiring musicians is not just about having wonderful music to accompany your wedding activities—it’s also about having a performance to watch. Your guests will certainly enjoy watching a musician performing rather than someone pushing the play button on an iPod stereo.
Conventional thought is that musicians will charge more than DJs. This is not necessarily the case. Here are some ways to get your musical talent for less:
· Invite musicians to play for several wedding elements
When you hire musicians to play for multiple hours, they may give you a price break for performing additional hours. Invite them to play for the ceremony AND the photo session afterwards. Or invite them to continue through cocktail hour. Or have your reception band play through dinner and then kick it up for dancing.
· Shave off some time
Your reception hall may want you to be finished by a certain time so that the staff can get in and clean up. Therefore, don’t instruct your reception band play until the very last guest leaves—instead, tell them to end a half hour before everyone needs to vacate the site. Bringing the music to an early close will give guests the signal that the party is at a close and it is time to throw the rice.
· Go with a smaller group
Obviously, if you hire a trio instead of a six-piece band, you’ll be saving some money.
· Hire musicians who can fit into your budget
Professional wedding musicians have large repertoires and know the elements of a wedding. They may also be familiar with the staff of your wedding venue and have strong working relationships with other service providers that you have hired (such as your celebrant and your wedding