Wedding music quotes

Redpunto

Hi, I'm getting a quote of €500 for a classical singer for the church and €850 for 7 hours DJ plus karote - does that sound about right or could i get it down a bit?

Thanks

Drummerboy08

Sounds fairly steep if you ask me! You'd get a band and DJ for close to the same money!

As for the classical singer, thats €500 for an hours work tops? I think €200 would be very reasonable for it.

sweetie

Redpunto wrote: »

Hi, I'm getting a quote of €500 for a classical singer for the church and €850 for 7 hours DJ plus karote - does that sound about right or could i get it down a bit?

Thanks

pm sent

bensoneb

Hi Redpunto,

Yes, the singers are very expensive unfortunately. I tried around last year and they were about from €400 upwards but some of them include the drinks reception in this. Check out the internet for more as I found lots of them there.

Definately check out more DJs on the internet as that sounds very high!!

MagDee

for a gospel singer for the church you would pay €250 and if your wedding is in certain time bracket you would get a photographer free or half price included in the deal. Check out my website for details and voice samples. I can do The Prayer and other calm hymns and songs if you're not into soul/gospel music and the quote of €500 is a bit steep http://weddingcentre.info

Dolbert

Drummerboy08 wrote: »

Sounds fairly steep if you ask me! You'd get a band and DJ for close to the same money!

As for the classical singer, thats €500 for an hours work tops? I think €200 would be very reasonable for it.

On the day it is 2 hours, tops, but you're also paying for hours of rehearsals, consultations on songs, instuments etc.

texanman

Try Mark form http://www.apollodjs.ie/
Im sure he could do better.

ResEphemera

Hi Redpunto

I know a couple of others have already commented on the cost of the church singer, but a quick question, is your quote for the singer only or for singer plus accompanist/organist?

I see someone else has already given you a baseline quote for a singer (but I expect that is singer only or singer with CD backing track). I'm a singer myself an would always try to work with an accompanying musician/organist where possible. The last time I had to hire an organist for to accompany me for a wedding (a good profession with plenty of experience) his fee was €250.

FYI there are baseline fees set for organists and church musicians which include recommendations for what to charge for weddings and funerals. You can find the information here: http://www.churchmusicdublin.org/fees
This is mainly aimed at organists who are on retainer to particular parishes or churches but the recommended fee for a wedding of €212 is a good baseline for evaluating the fee of any independent musician.

I would agree that €500 is a lot of money for just a singer (you would want to be getting someone very good, who will offer you lots of support in planning and selecting you wedding music for that). However, if you are also getting an accompanying musician or organist included in that fee, then it is fairly reasonable (approx. 250 each plus your singer taking responsibility for organising/providing the organist or accompanying musician).

wet-paint

Agreed, a soloist and accompaniest are very good value if you get them for less than four hundred bucks.
You're not paying them for an hour's singign, you're paying them to sound professional for the hour, which takes practice and time.

girlfrommeath

Hi there, I have been singing at weddings on and off for the last couple of years and the most I have charged is 300-400 Euro and that includes the organ player that I use, who is excellent, and also has no problem learning new songs for the signing of the register etc... Basically I charge 150-200 Euro for myself and he also charges 150-200 Euro as he learns new music each time, so not bad for the rehearsels. There are loads of gret singers around so don't be ripped off!! If you want, I could send you my details. I am based in Meath, but can travel to Louth, Dublin, Westmeath etc....

NextSteps

I've been asking for - and getting - 10% off on every wedding-related quote.

Monkey09

I must say that sounds rather steep to me! I performed at a wedding just last week.

The singer cost just 150 euro..She was accompanied by a string quartet which cost just 300 euro.

It was a wonderful combination for a wedding service!

Carpet

Hi

I am a wedding singer myself and the standard cost would be €200 - €250 for the singer and the same for the musician. This is roughly about the average around Dublin and surrounding areas for good experienced professionals. But you know shopping around is always a good idea.

The best of luck.

Veronica.

www.veronicaohanlon.com

MagDee

or you can get a singer with backing tracks to cut the cost in half.
My primary service is with backing tracks and this is the most popular one. hardly anyone wants to pay double for an additional musician, they prefer a good strong voice and a person that will be responsible for all the music involved. I often get invited to sing at the reception as well, since I can sing the jazz standards without a jazz band backing tracks need to be professionally done though, make sure people don't just offer you karaoke tracks from youtube...

Magdalena from WeddingCentre.info

Carpet

well thats the danger - you don't want it to sound like karaoke!!!

In my experience people generally like the live music on the day. It sounds lovely in the church.

But you know there are so many options out there now, and as they say, each to their own taste!!

Good Luck in whatever you choose.


www.veronicaohanlon.com

MagDee

i know i've head the karaokey ones. not good. i get my tracks from musicians i work with or professional jazz academies that have famous musicians record them. or I play piano or guitar myself up to ones liking.

tatli_lokma

Dj price sounds very steep. I paid €300 for DJ with Karaoke for 5 hrs playing (8pm-2am). He started setting up at 7. Can't even see how a DJ would play for 7 hours, most 'afters' don't start til at least 8 and run no later than 2 or 3 am. I assume from the 7 hours he is inc his set up and clear away time. sounds a bit much IMO.

keith_donaghy

I am a wedding DJ. I would charge £500 pounds for a full night (8pm-1am) and £300 playing after the band (10pm - 1am)

Im based in Derry so it may be too far away for you lol

my site is http://www.kdentertainments.com if you are interested in contacting me.

Thanks

Keith

misswex

Thats sounds very steep to me. I paid €300 for a classical singeer accompanied by an organist. It was beautiful.

tatli_lokma

+1

sounds a bit muchto me also. £500 stg is about €580. As I said, my DJ played for an hour longer than this, included Karaoke and charged €300, almost half this price.

Guess the lesson is...shop around, look for a bargain and haggle!

sweetie

Cincikchick wrote: »

+1

sounds a bit muchto me also. £500 stg is about €580. As I said, my DJ played for an hour longer than this, included Karaoke and charged €300, almost half this price.

Guess the lesson is...shop around, look for a bargain and haggle!

That is an extremely good price for a dj but way under the average even in these times.
I would hazard a guess that the dj you used was a part time dj or just starting out.
You were lucky enough to get a good one but not everyone is so lucky. Remember
the dj will account for around 2-5hrs or (20 - 40%) of your big day and I would
advise not to be cutting corners for the sake of a couple of hundred euros. I have heard
of many people being let down due to their dj getting a better offer but a professional
dj will have backup equipment and backup djs at hand should anything go wrong.

tatli_lokma

sweetie wrote: »

That is an extremely good price for a dj but way under the average even in these times.
I would hazard a guess that the dj you used was a part time dj or just starting out.
You were lucky enough to get a good one but not everyone is so lucky. Remember
the dj will account for around 2-5hrs or (20 - 40%) of your big day and I would
advise not to be cutting corners for the sake of a couple of hundred euros. I have heard
of many people being let down due to their dj getting a better offer but a professional
dj will have backup equipment and backup djs at hand should anything go wrong.

he is a professional, has been doing it for many years and has plenty of backup equipment etc. So definitely not a fly by night or someone just starting out. He doesn't cut corners. As for your quote of 'for the sake of a couple of hundre euros' - well personally a couple of hundred euros is a lot to me, and not everyone is in a position to pay more than necessary.

Also, as for your comment about him being 'part-time' I would hazard a guess that about 80% if not more of dj's are doing it part time or as a second job - unless they are working 5 days a week as a DJ, and I don't know of many DJ's who do that! the truth is that anyone who does it as their main source of income are obviously charging enough to facilitate that - this is perhaps why they charge €500 plus for a couple of hours work! And anyway, there are lots of 'part-time' DJ's who are great - doing it as a part time gig does not in anyway mean that they must be crap!

I personally think that €60 an hour is a more than fair price. I'd love to have a job where I got paid €60 an hour! and lets be honest, probably most of it is cash in hand! And I might add, the DJ we used has always been very reasonably priced, even in celtic tiger days he priced what was fair for the work he did, not what he thought he could get away with charging. He charges the same for a wedding as he does for a 21st or any other occasion, unlike some Dj's.

I think €300 is a fair price for 5 hours work - a lot of people work a full week and don't have much more than that!

I know you are trying to justify dj's charging more, but personally it doesn't wash with me. Paying more is no guarantee that you will get a better dj! I was at a wedding where the DJ cost nearly €1k, had a fancy light show and all that malarky and he was absolute rubbish! Hardly anyone bothered to dance! it was dreadful! and he would fall into your class of a 'professional, full time dj'.

The key is to see the DJ in action before hand and go on recommendations from people you trust - don't assume that handing over more money will guarantee you a better quality of DJ.

sweetie

Cincikchick wrote: »

The key is to see the DJ in action before hand and go on recommendations from people you trust - don't assume that handing over more money will guarantee you a better quality of DJ.

I like a bargain as much as the next person and I'm not having a go but was
just pointing out that you do have to pay more for experience and that 200
euro as a percentage of a wedding budget is usually quite a low number.

Also, for some crowds even the best band or dj will have trouble getting a
response and it is never guaranteed that they will be a total success.
60 euro an hour is a fair rate. I charge 250 for an after band wedding set
which is from end of band until end of night but am always at the venue by
10pm to suss where to setup and the crowd and the band before me. So if
you include travel (average 2 hrs return) and loading gear (1 hr per gig)
and prep time (at least an hour) you get close to 8 hrs in total. That doesn't
take into account a prior visit to the venue if I haven't worked there before.

tatli_lokma

sweetie wrote: »

I like a bargain as much as the next person and I'm not having a go but was
just pointing out that you do have to pay more for experience and that 200
euro as a percentage of a wedding budget is usually quite a low number.

suppose it depends on what your budget is. but not everyone buys into the whole €30k budget whoopla. €200 was far from a low number for my wedding - that would have paid for my bridal car, or 75% of my cake, or for my invitations and favours, so spending an extra €200 would have been a lot for me and not a low number at all.

sweetie wrote: »

60 euro an hour is a fair rate. I charge 250 for an after band wedding set
which is from end of band until end of night but am always at the venue by
10pm to suss where to setup and the crowd and the band before me. So if
you include travel (average 2 hrs return) and loading gear (1 hr per gig)
and prep time (at least an hour) you get close to 8 hrs in total. That doesn't
take into account a prior visit to the venue if I haven't worked there before.

ah god love ya, having to travel to work! :rolleyes: I meant €60 per hour OF PLAYING! not getting there, setting up etc! my DJ was not cheeky enough to charge for travel or for setting up! I think trying to justify a higher price by including your travel time is ludicrous! no one pays me to get to work in the morning! My dj was at the venue at 7.00pm and played til 2am. It was €300, and I think from that it is clear why he is busy every week with parties, weddings etc. Maybe if he charged more he wouldn't be as busy.

sweetie

Cincikchick wrote: »

ah god love ya, having to travel to work! :rolleyes: I meant €60 per hour OF PLAYING! not getting there, setting up etc! my DJ was not cheeky enough to charge for travel or for setting up! I think trying to justify a higher price by including your travel time is ludicrous! no one pays me to get to work in the morning! My dj was at the venue at 7.00pm and played til 2am. It was €300, and I think from that it is clear why he is busy every week with parties, weddings etc. Maybe if he charged more he wouldn't be as busy.

Most djs don't charge for travel (except for excessive distances), just pointing out that it is on average up to 2 hrs. And why shouldn't setup, breakdown, waiting for bloody bands to finish etc be included it is time spent working for someone else and not your own. Even without the travel you are talking 5-6 hrs for 250. After the various cost involved for a legit dj it isn't an exhorbitant amount of money earned. Fair play to you for getting someone like you did who obviously does it for the love of it aswell as the money.

poshspice24

Would it be possible for you to supply the details of the String Quartet that cost €300. Many thanks.

stingray5

sweetie wrote: »

Most djs don't charge for travel (except for excessive distances), just pointing out that it is on average up to 2 hrs. And why shouldn't setup, breakdown, waiting for bloody bands to finish etc be included it is time spent working for someone else and not your own. Even without the travel you are talking 5-6 hrs for 250. After the various cost involved for a legit dj it isn't an exhorbitant amount of money earned. Fair play to you for getting someone like you did who obviously does it for the love of it aswell as the money.

go to see the band or dj you want to book if you like them and want them at your wedding then agree a fee and book them.
yes you will always get a cheaper band/dj so its up to you look for the best band/dj that
a) you like
fit your budget

i have worked with 2 DJ's this last month one was 500 and was amazing,had the place jumping was on time great gear and back up gear for that matter.he watched the crowd all night and played what they wanted and everyone had a ball

the second was 200,gear was old and knackered and sounded like dirt,cd's kept jumping,he was drunk and play rock all night and nobody danced

now i bet they had spent a bit more time looking for a dj instead of booking the cheap guy.you do get what you pay for and being a really good dj is not as easy as it looks.

but i cant stress this enough....go and see them and if they are what you want then book them,by all means haggle but if you book a cheap band or dj and they suck.....well.

oh and btw,whoever would like to earn an easy €60 per hour then go and buy a pa system, a van,insurance, a room full of cd's......and see how easy it is.

and no i am not a dj

greenkittie

I was wondering does anyone know of a mobile DJ near Belfast who would play what you want as opposed to the those typical horrific weddingy setlists?

I was at a friends wedding earlyer in the year and the day was really soured by a crappy DJ who played only that tacky music they think will please the old people. The couple only got one song they liked on the whole night!

I'm terrified of this happening to me as i'm very picky and it really would ruin my night!

stingray5

use google,then go to see them.also dont be afraid to give them a list of songs you want played.it will give him an idea of the sort of music the crowd will like and it will make his night easier.

greenkittie

stingray5 wrote: »

use google,then go to see them.also dont be afraid to give them a list of songs you want played.it will give him an idea of the sort of music the crowd will like and it will make his night easier.

Thats all well and good in theory but what if the guy decides he knows better and puts on (god forbid) "its raining men" to 'get the crowd going'? Cause that would ruin my night!

sweetie

greenkittie wrote: »

Thats all well and good in theory but what if the guy decides he knows better and puts on (god forbid) "its raining men" to 'get the crowd going'? Cause that would ruin my night!

For all my gigs I encourage both a must play and a must not playlists.
Generally, there are a few different levels of wedding cheese. Some people
want anything to get the crowd up like boney m, manilow, raining men, ymca,
rock the boat, timewarp, hey baby, chicken song etc and others just want
decent stuff like a lot of 80s, some seventies like abba and nineties and
noughties pop,rnb and dance hits and then there's those who want indie/rock,
dance/rnb or modern chart only but you need to think of your guests also. If
you have a band you could get them to cater to the majority of guests and the
dj play mainly to the younger crowd later on.

stingray5

greenkittie wrote: »

I was wondering does anyone know of a mobile DJ near Belfast who would play what you want as opposed to the those typical horrific weddingy setlists?

I was at a friends wedding earlyer in the year and the day was really soured by a crappy DJ who played only that tacky music they think will please the old people. The couple only got one song they liked on the whole night!

I'm terrified of this happening to me as i'm very picky and it really would ruin my night!

when a bride hires us for the night they are my boss for that night i do as they ask.as sweetie said sometimes a must not play list is more important.also some of your guests might love raining men !!! you never know.

try this "here is a list of songs i dont want you to play,if you do play them i will stop €20 from your fee for each song i dont want to here"

i dont mean be a bitch but said with a smile it will get the message across.also its your day you should have whatever music you want but all good dj's know what thay are doing so with respect let them do it,by all means guide them as to what you want but dont make them play the cure all night or you will have an empty dance floor.

we are not a loud band by any means but a bride once told me that if she had to tell us we are too loud then we loose 20 everytime she says it.she was really nice but i made an extra efford to keep one eye on the sound and the other on the bride just to be sure.

clint_silver

Agreed with the other DJs and band members comments on here.

I cant see how any DJ can charge under the 250-300 mark and have decent gear, van, backup equipment etc.

To the comment about chargin 60e per hour and not including travel and set up time, i wonder does it take you an hour to get to work, anything up to 2 hours before you can access your job and then another hour between get in and get out, before you can set off for home again. Dont compare it to a 9-5 because it just aint.

To the comment on the expensive DJ with lots of lights and wrong music, I always ask for lists of music to be played and, as above, more importantly, music that they dont want played. About half the time, I hear "Youre the DJ, just keep the dancefloor full", which is generally no problem, you can gauge after 1 or 2 tunes the way its going, but you can start with 1 genre, RnB or rock n roll, and after 3 songs you get someone saying wheres " Its raining men" (and it does happen which all the DJs will testify to).

What I really hate hearing is with a 2am finish, Ive played just about every genre of music with varied success and the bridesmaid comes over at 1:50 and says "you havent played any late 90s ibiza stompers yet, the bride loves all that". great, with 10 minutes left Ive to fit in a stomping mix without losing the crowd.
To all the brides, please, pretty please, tell us as much as possible what you want and dont want. We'll do a good job most of the time but it helps to make your night, dont be at the breakfast table the morning after saying we didnt play a particular tune or did play a tune that had the floor full but was a pet hate of yours.