Great wedding music makes your special day even more of a dream! Choosing the right type of music whether it’s a wedding band or wedding musician is a crucial decision you’ll need to make. There are several things to consider when sorting through all of the different options available to you and you’re intended.
Before you give the green light to your cousin’s cover band, take a moment to think through some of the great options that are at your disposal when it comes to live wedding bands!
Live Wedding Bands
Choosing a live wedding band for your wedding or reception is a great way to incorporate some responsive music into your big day. But choosing a wedding band can be a difficult task if you’re not sure what you’re looking for. Start with some of these things when you’re searching for someone awesome to play the soundtrack to your happy occasion.
Get Recommendations
Start by asking for recommendations from friends! As reliable as we all find the internet, you can’t trust it to give you good ideas for bands. Ads are unusually favorable to any type of band and the reviews may be skewed and won’t show the best side of them. Your friends have your back and can offer up creative solutions and different styles of bands that will fit your aesthetic for your wedding or reception.
Advance Viewing
Don’t just take their word for it though! Go see your pre-selected band at a live show. There’s a good chance they’ll be playing somewhere else shortly and this will give you a chance to see them live and in action. Once you’ve got a good feel for what the band will be like you can book them for your event.
Request a Set List
Start by requesting a setlist from your selected bands. Their setlists should reflect the pace of your evening so look closely at the songs they’ll be performing. Resist the urge to dictate exactly how the setlist should go but when deciding, go with a band who’s ready to follow along and fuel the pace of your evening rather than detract from it.
Trust the Band
Once you’ve made your final choice and your band is starting to select their setlists for your event, step back and trust them to make the best decisions. Hovering over every detail can make it hard for them to feel like they have any creative freedom when it comes to the event. Let them help set the stage for your evening and event and you’ll be glad you did!
Read the Contract
The riders that come along with your band’s contract are going to shed a lot of light on how long the band will stay and what time they’re ready to start. Asking the band to stay late is a good way to end up with an exhausted band who isn’t performing at their best. Talk with them in advance about possibly staying late or arriving early and check in with them throughout the process.
Wedding Music
While the band will have a setlist, you’ll get a little bit of leeway when it comes to choosing the detailed songs that will be played. If you have a DJ rather than a band, you might have even more of a selection to narrow down when it comes to the music! Anyone who’s been to a wedding reception knows that good choices in wedding music can make or break an event so choose wisely!
Start with the Basics
This is where you’ll gather information and plan out the details of where each song will go in the line-up. There are some key points where you’ll need music like the arrival of guests, the arrival of the bridal party, first dance, and so on. Once you know these basics, making specific selections is much easier and you can tailor your choices to match the mood you’re trying to set.
Big Moments First
Before you start filling in all of the best dancing songs you can think of, start with the music you want to be played during big, key moments. These will include the processional, recessional, cake cutting, first dances, and arrival of the bridal party. Once those moments have been taken care of, you can start to fill in dancing music, low-key dinner music, and other less important moments.
Use Your Style as a Guide
Keep things cohesive! Your wedding style will help guide your wedding music selection. If you’re feeling country, you can put more swinging, Western songs on the docket. A little bit rock n’ roll? Choose songs that fit in with your overall vibe and you can start to create something that comes together easily for everyone.
Take it for a Test Drive
While you can’t account for every little detail on your big day, taking your playlist for a test drive before it’s hooked up to the big speakers is one of the best things you can do for your event and your nerves. Play through the entire soundtrack so you won’t encounter any surprises when you’re all ready for your grandma to be walking into the venue. Whether you’ve got a DJ, wedding musician, or a whole wedding band, this is a good way to keep things under control and sticking to your overall aesthetic for the event itself.
Takeaway
Planning a wedding is all about the details. From the color scheme to the flowers the bridesmaids carry, every detail is accounted for and planned. One of those details that can quickly slip away is the wedding music.
Good wedding music can make any event even more memorable and spectacular but there are several things you need to be sure you do before you settle on the music itself. Start by choosing whether you want a band or a DJ to work your event. Then build out your special moment music first before filling in the rest of the playlist or set-list.
Creating the perfect ambiance for your wedding is what good wedding music is all about!
