How often have you seen a timeline recommend contacting live wedding bands 12 months out from your wedding as part of your research? A lot right. Now, are those timelines on non-musician websites? I thought so.
The truth is, despite what those sites tell you, it's not helpful to you OR the wedding band if you start contacting them early without the intention of booking.
A lot can happen in that time. They might:
* have the opportunity to tour and become unavailable
* decide to record an album which will keep them 'locked up' in the studio. Or worst still
* have even gone their separate ways by the time your wedding comes around.
So if you want to know some of the realities of how hiring a live wedding band or entertainers *really* work - read on.
Be decisive
If you take nothing else from this post, let it be this. Be decisive. Weigh up all your wedding music preferences and needs, and when you've made a decision and you're ready to hire a band - THEN start gathering quotes to compare. (And if you use our form to request quotes from wedding bands we'll send it to multiple acts at once so you'll save yourself a tonne of time!)
Shortlist the wedding bands on more than cost
When you have all the quotes, decide again. Who will you shortlist?
Do you like a band but they don't play all the 'special moment' reception songs? (Put these ones on your list to ask if they can learn them.)
Do you like their promotional material and music videos?
Creating a shortlist of wedding bands is about more than cost. Most acts can be a little negotiable on their fee so it would be a shame if you dismissed a band that you loved because you thought they might not agree to have a discussion about fees.
Don't wait for the timeline to tell you when to book a wedding band
Work through the quotes and once you've decided, book them in and pay a deposit straight away. Don't wait for a timeline to tell you that you need to hang onto that bands name and book it at the 9 month mark, because someone else might have beaten you to it, and that means more stress having to repeat the process and find a different act.
Trust yourself and your choices
Too many times couples are reluctant to book a wedding band as they worry their preferences might change, and so they leave things to the last minute (which is a whole new post!) Don't be that couple. Trust your choices and if it feels right - go for it.
The above list should get you well on your way to helping you hire your wedding band, but if you're still stuck, just let us know and we'll happily talk through some options with you.
Have you grabbed yourself a copy of our entertainment checklist and sample booking agreement? Having a copy of both these will help you be super organised and also make it easy for your wedding entertainer.
Are you ready to cross "book a wedding entertainer" off your to-do list?
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