Wedding Music (Band, DJ, Singer) ONE POST PER BAND ONLY! Read post #1 First!

musicman100

Hi all, was here a while back about prices for wedding bands. As mentioned before I have been playing in the wedding scene for over ten years and in that time it is true to say that prices have risen, from 5/600 in the 'early 90's to 12/1800 now. We charge €1400 for band and disco, we run our disco on two dedicated laptops with professional DJ'ing software, this set up cost about €2000. Then there are lights etc., my point is....... if you are getting a band to do the disco make sure they are not simply lining up track after track in windows media player! or worse, using a pre-recorded CD.
I cannot stress enough how important it is to go and see the band before booking them, just because your buddy liked them is not enough!

As for playlists it is true that most wedding bands will play alot of the same songs. There is a good reason for this, there are two kinds of music, good and bad. Songs like "galway girl" or "hey baby" are few and far between, they are floor fillers, simple as that. If your taste in music goes to the Doors/ACDC/trance/dance/grunge etc etc etc well and good, but if you do manage to find a band that can play it you will be left with yourself and six of your friends on the floor. The rest of your guests will be sitting looking bemused?!?!?!?!?
Every one's taste is different so if you are gathering 100/200 of you friends and family for a good night get a band that will play songs that
A... everyone will know... and
B.....everyone can dance to.

No point in having a virtueso(?) guitar player launching into a finger burning, mind blowing redition of your fav Hendricks song to an empty dance floor.



my next long winded post will be about the justification of the prices!!!!:D

musicman100

P.S.
I'm happy to answer any question people might have on wedding bands/music AND I will not even plug our own outfit!:eek:

Darlie

Does anyone know of a good band in the Laois area? Would be interested in one that provides the DJ as well but thats not essential. Any help appreciated.

sweetie

I agree with some of your points below but as recently as friday night I djed at a gig where wedding standards like the supremes - baby love and monkees - i'm a beliver were ignored in favour of the smiths, blur, the coral and arcade fire. The band I djed after, beatclub have a wide variety of songs from different genres and I saw young and old alike dancing the night away to rock the casbah, this charming man, house of fun, all you need is love, teenage kicks etc. I think if a bride and groom have a good range of guests, plenty of drink flowing and a bridal party who are prepared to spend lot's of time on the floor and encouraging others to dance then you can get away with requesting the music you love.

On the issue of bands doing dj I have attended weddings as a guest and seen some terrible displays as musicman has outlined. I certainly would make sure the dj plays 'live' and listen to him (and the band) in advance.

just my 2 cents...

musicman100 wrote: »

Hi all, was here a while back about prices for wedding bands. As mentioned before I have been playing in the wedding scene for over ten years and in that time it is true to say that prices have risen, from 5/600 in the 'early 90's to 12/1800 now. We charge €1400 for band and disco, we run our disco on two dedicated laptops with professional DJ'ing software, this set up cost about €2000. Then there are lights etc., my point is....... if you are getting a band to do the disco make sure they are not simply lining up track after track in windows media player! or worse, using a pre-recorded CD.
I cannot stress enough how important it is to go and see the band before booking them, just because your buddy liked them is not enough!

As for playlists it is true that most wedding bands will play alot of the same songs. There is a good reason for this, there are two kinds of music, good and bad. Songs like "galway girl" or "hey baby" are few and far between, they are floor fillers, simple as that. If your taste in music goes to the Doors/ACDC/trance/dance/grunge etc etc etc well and good, but if you do manage to find a band that can play it you will be left with yourself and six of your friends on the floor. The rest of your guests will be sitting looking bemused?!?!?!?!?
Every one's taste is different so if you are gathering 100/200 of you friends and family for a good night get a band that will play songs that
A... everyone will know... and
B.....everyone can dance to.

No point in having a virtueso(?) guitar player launching into a finger burning, mind blowing redition of your fav Hendricks song to an empty dance floor.

pearljamfan

my hubbys in a party band The Mojitos-check em out on myspace, i like them, they do loads of songs and they always get everyone dancing-thats what u need at a wedding!! i am slightly biased but they know theyre stuff and r v good at what they do

blondie80

Can anyone recommend a good wedding band that would be willing to come to Fermanagh???

Pint Glass

Hi,

I am getting married in gorey, wexford on the 22nd of august this year. Can anybody recommend a band or if there are any bands on this thread can you pm me if you are available.

Thanks.

Ballybegbride

I just booked my wedding band, they are very reasonable- under €1100 for Dj & band. PM me if you want further info. They are not long on the scene- hense the price... but they are SUPER!

Hi Noteb...

I would love this number for this band...thx...

wedding music

visit weddingmusic.ie all counties all kinds of music. Make an obligation free inquiry

Noteb

Ballybegbride wrote: »

I just booked my wedding band, they are very reasonable- under €1100 for Dj & band. PM me if you want further info. They are not long on the scene- hense the price... but they are SUPER!

Hi Noteb...

I would love this number for this band...thx...

No prob- I Pm'd it to you. best of luck!

Ascii

You can break it down two ways...but it more so depends on the people at the wedding and not on the band thats there. I spent years working in a wedding hotel doing 100+ weddings per year.

You could have Westlife or Bon Jovi in person playing at your wedding, but if there is a crowd of dry s****s there that wont get up and dance then its tuff luck....likewise I have seen weddings where the people were really electric and if Cliff Richard was there singing the "Green fields of France" or "Seven Drunken Nights" the crowd would have hit the floor and danced.

Believe me, the first thing that will make or break your wedding and put the crowd in a good mood or bad mood is the food that is served.

ol green eyes

NoteB Can you please pm me the details of your wedding band. Thanks

JulieA

Thinking of getting them for wedding next year .. other idea 'The Boogie Band' , the Aristocrats or Celebration Band... thanks!

GMI

Hi, We're planning a wedding for next year, and are looking for a traditional irish ceili band. Not pure ceili but with vocals too for some variety as the night goes on. It's a small wedding about 70 people, so don't want to overpower the room, and want to get everyone out, so we think this is the way to go.

Any suggestions?

ol green eyes

Has anybody heard any of the following bands?

Nightfever
Raindance
Goodfellas
Final Touch


Would really appreciate your comments...finding it difficult to decide on a band!!!

chiefwigum

Hi,
I went to a friend's wedding recently and these guys called 'The Glitterbugs' were playing. They look like a Kiss tribute band (complete with black and white face paint * lots of spandex!) but they play everything from Guns 'N' Roses to U2 and they did the best version of the Timewarp I've ever seen! Even the grannies were threatening to rush the stage!
It's all completely tongue in cheek but SO much fun, they also play really well, I only wish I'd heard about them back when I was getting married!
I couldn't tell you how much they charge because my friend is still away on honeymoon, but I did find their web address by googling them. Best of luck with your wedding!

http://www.jeaproductions.com/bugs_home.html

You can check out their video page to see what I mean!

rsheehan

Hi all
This is my first post in the wedding board.
I am planning to get married next year and am trying to narrow down a band.
Has any one had the "Bestmen" play at there wedding?
I see some reviews of them in this thread but they are from back in 06, was just looking for some up to date feedback.

Any help would be great

Rory

Ellie13

I am getting married in North Louth next year & was just wondering if anyone can recommend a good wedding band that are reasonably priced???

puremule

www.epicband.info

theratzingers

Hey,
For those of you based in the Dublin area, The Ratzingers Jazz Trio will be playing in The Angler's Rest (Strawberry Beds) from 2-5pm on Easter Sunday!

---

The Ratzingers
www.theratzingers.com

mayo pixiebell

Noteb wrote: »

I just booked my wedding band, they are very reasonable- under €1100 for Dj & band. PM me if you want further info. They are not long on the scene- hense the price... but they are SUPER!

hi could you please pm me the details to

PonyP

Can you please PM me their name and number too please, Noteb!
Thank you!

andrew11

Hi All,

I play in a wedding band and keep an eye on this thread to see what people think about various bands ( including my own, no one's said anything horrible yet! ) We play 140 gigs and weddings a year and for us it's a full time job. The most interesting posts on this thread are the ones discussing prices.
My first point is that you very much get what you pay for. If a band charges €2800 for a wedding it's because they can. If they weren't getting the work then they'd reduce the price.
Secondly, I'd ask people what they get paid for a days work. The wedding set may only last 2 hours but the travelling and set up time and also the inevitable waiting around for the speeches to finish all add up to a full days work. You would think nothing of paying a plumber €50 an hour and this is the same as paying 7 musicians for an 8 hour day €2800.
Thirdly, a full time band can still only play about 3 weddings a week on average as nearly all weddings are on Thurs-Sat. This limits the amount of work they can do. I think how much you are willing to pay depends on how much you value the band as a part of your wedding day. If it's no big deal for you hire 4 lads for €1000 to bash out rough approximations of 'Brown eyed/Galway girl' and 'That's amore' to an empty dance floor. If it's more important that your family and friends have a great time and dance all night then hire a band that can fill a dance floor regardless of whether they cost a bit more. Also if you're worried about pleasing everyone don't be. Your parents and aunts all had their weddings so this time it's all about you. At our weddings the most important thing is that the bride and her friends are up dancing for the whole night. Old people will get up and dance if they like dancing regardless of the type of music. We play a specific type of music from a certain era and we always get everyone up on the floor. Finally, make sure you go to see the band you're hoping to book. Most bands will arrange for you to drop in to one of the weddings they're playing at for 20 mins or so and usually the couples don't mind.

Hope this helps

Andrew

ol green eyes

Hi Andrew,

Could you please send me details of your wedding band. You can pm if that is easier.

Thanks.

bbability

My advise to people once again booking bands including a DJ is to insure that the DJ not a member of the band. The price might be attractable but the outcome may not on the night. One 70's cover band in particular have a tendency to sell packages like this and just play a couple of long play CD's after their set.

Just a warning to those watching the pennies this year not to be sold a dud.

werty

I was a guest at 3 weddings last year. One of the bands charged huge money and they were rubbish, I wont name them but they were a tribute band. The best band were a 4piece and the floor was packed for most of the night. I dont know how much they charged but they were mighty. i defo wouldnt leave the band to chance on the wedding day. Go and hear them before you book them, in fact, go and hear as many as you can before u decide on the best value and quality.

paddys girl

hi,notejob could you pm me the number of that band please:)

Noteb

PonyP wrote: »

Can you please PM me their name and number too please, Noteb!
Thank you!

No prob... done

eddie73

Hello to all brides, grooms and fellow musicians.

Im a member of a wedding band and look in on this thread now and again. Im not going to mention the name of our band or try and plug it in any way, instead Im going to offer a small bit of advice on booking a band.

Quite simply, there is no guarantee that a band is any good unless you go and hear them live at another wedding before you book them. its tooo big a risk to take a band in someone elses advice. The fact is that they might play a set that you dont like, they could be too old fashioned or too modern. They may be poor musicians who dont specialise in wedding bands.

There is no guarantee that a band that charges the guts of 3000 euro are any good either. there are bands out there that charge extortionate amounts that could be matched by a band who plays for half the amount. Equally, bands who charge a small amount could well be worth going with as well, provided you hear them in advance and ensure the quality isnt reflected in their price.

So to conclude, go out there and listen to the band before you book.

portumna

ol green eyes wrote: »

Has anybody heard any of the following bands?

Nightfever
Raindance
Goodfellas
Final Touch


Would really appreciate your comments...finding it difficult to decide on a band!!!

Hi, just after reading your post today. Don't usually come in here.

I had Raindance at my wedding 18 months ago and they were fantastic. They had the crowd on the floor all night. We had a big mix of people and everyone enjoyed them. My wife and I are only mid 20s and they did a lot of current music after the break once they had catered for the older members of the party. I think the seige of ennis got the biggest crowd on the floor all night. Ollie then did the dj after and did another great job.

On the back of their performance 2 of our friends have booked them for their weddings. I would highly reccommend them as i have seen them 3 times and have not been disappointed by what i've seen.