How Do You Find the Right Band For Your Evening Wedding Reception?

Wouldn't it be good to be able to relax after the end of your wedding breakfast and not to have to then organize the evening as well. 

I have heard many tales of woe from brides who were married in the north east area where the only entertainment booked has been a DJ, often no more than one of the hotel staff with virtually no training or experience, put behind the built in antique disco console with a small collection of tired 80s disco hits. Needless to say, the majority of the guests have sneaked away as soon as the buffet has been served and left the Bride and Groom with an empty room and a very sad end to their day. It's no good at this point wishing they'd spent a few hundred pounds extra - often no more than the cost of the cake which has not been touched - on an experienced live band to provide some first class professional entertainment for the evening. 

There are some excellent professional wedding bands serving all the north east including Darlington, Newcastle, Durham and Teesside and of course some not so good! 

So, what kind of band would you look for? Here are my tips for finding the right band for your event. 

First and foremost you need to remember that you will have 3 or 4 generations represented among your guests and you need a band who can entertain them all. Avoid "club and pub" bands who tend to only play heavy rock. You may have had a great time after a few drinks but how would your mum and dad like them? Much better is to seek out a band that has performed for a lot of different kinds of function and will therefore have a much broader repertoire of songs. 

Second, always ask what the band will wear. If you and your guests have spent a small fortune on new clothes, do you really want a bunch of guys in tee shirts and jeans traipsing into your wedding?

Third, how loud will they be? Can they perform at a lower volume if the venue is small, and, for that matter, can they make enough noise to fill a huge marquee? 

Fourthly, will you get the band you think you booked. Some bands can't resist taking on every booking offered to them which means that on your special night you could see a bunch of "deps" introducing themselves to each other and trying to sort out what songs they can all play! Try to book a band that only accepts one booking per day. 

Probably the most important question is can you trust the band to organise your evening entertainment so that it works well for you and not just for them, Will they bring recorded music for their intervals or will your guests be left sitting in silence, and will they perform for sufficient time to justify the expense. 

The best way to find a great band is to search Google or other good search engines for wedding bands in your area, searching for "wedding band north east" or "function band"and check out the bands' websites. A good band will generally have a good informative website, and remember, if their website is dull they probably will be too! 

Above all, remember a good live band will make your evening and will always be preferable to just a DJ, and considering that the cost will no doubt be a small fraction of the overall cost of your wedding it could turn out to be your best investment.