Band or DJ or both

Leftist

have asked in the sticky top of page but recommended to ask here.

have a wedding of about 40 people, the band the missus wants is about 20% of the total cost, we're not getting married in ireland and that's the going rate here apparently.

but i don't really think we need a band. Is it common or normal to expect a band at a wedding? I've been to a few weddings but genuinely cannot remember any band.

chuky_r_law

i had 4 djs playing my wedding. pretty much 4 different styles. i never really thought about going down the band route, but im sure i saved myself an absolute fortune. the soundsystem was the pricey part (400e) two of the djs i paid (200 total) one was a mate and the other was the guy who had the soundsytem.

i had music playing for 8 hours btw

kkcatlou

A band would definitely be the norm for an Irish wedding. I've been to over 40 weddings and the only one I was at where there was no bad was in Spain, and it definitely impacted on the atmosphere.

Average costs here for a band vary from €1500-€2500, which when you consider their travel time, practise time, equipment costs, etc. actually isn't that much when split out among 5 or more.

I know my sister was trying to cut down costs and considered not having one, but gave in at the end and was definitely glad she did. They are what get the party going, up the tempo, get everyone from the "stuffed after dinner" mode into full on party mode. The DJ after will bring things to another level, but I can't see how you could go from dinner to DJ without it being weird! Just my opinion though!

chuky_r_law

kkcatlou wrote: »

A band would definitely be the norm for an Irish wedding. I've been to over 40 weddings and the only one I was at where there was no bad was in Spain, and it definitely impacted on the atmosphere.

Average costs here for a band vary from €1500-€2500, which when you consider their travel time, practise time, equipment costs, etc. actually isn't that much when split out among 5 or more.

I know my sister was trying to cut down costs and considered not having one, but gave in at the end and was definitely glad she did. They are what get the party going, up the tempo, get everyone from the "stuffed after dinner" mode into full on party mode. The DJ after will bring things to another level, but I can't see how you could go from dinner to DJ without it being weird! Just my opinion though!

bands will automatically put up the price for a wedding. i know of several bands who regularly play pub gigs and get €400/500 for it, but as soon as someone asks them to do a wedding its €2000+. and lots of time it involves no travel costs

Bobsammy

I had DJ only and I've no regrets. It was a huge saving and he was excellent. Played a good variety of stuff and kept the crowd going all night. I would say though it's important to view a DJ just like you would a band so you know what you're getting and you're happy with them.

kkcatlou

chuky_r_law wrote: »

bands will automatically put up the price for a wedding. i know of several bands who regularly play pub gigs and get €400/500 for it, but as soon as someone asks them to do a wedding its €2000+. and lots of time it involves no travel costs

We thought the same, but most bands make little or no money from pub gigs and weddings are their bread and butter. Say you take a 5 piece band - leave home at 6pm, arrive at venue 8pm, 90 mins set up, play til 1am, an hour taking down equipment. Home at 3am. Say petrol money, food, equipment costs, etc cost about €300. Say the band charge €2000, that's €1700 left to split between 6 people. It works out at about €30 an hour each - not bad, but then you've to consider practise time, tax (if they pay any!!), etc. I can't see how any band would make a full time living out of it, considering you only get a wedding or two a week! And it would be hard to hold down a full time job and do weddings considering the amount of time you spend away from home!

chuky_r_law

kkcatlou wrote: »

We thought the same, but most bands make little or no money from pub gigs and weddings are their bread and butter. Say you take a 5 piece band - leave home at 6pm, arrive at venue 8pm, 90 mins set up, play til 1am, an hour taking down equipment. Home at 3am. Say petrol money, food, equipment costs, etc cost about €300. Say the band charge €2000, that's €1700 left to split between 6 people. It works out at about €30 an hour each - not bad, but then you've to consider practise time, tax (if they pay any!!), etc. I can't see how any band would make a full time living out of it, considering you only get a wedding or two a week! And it would be hard to hold down a full time job and do weddings considering the amount of time you spend away from home!

look, people can charge/for for what they want. imo its too much to pay. i would be more sympathetic if i felt it was a full time job being in a band, but anyone i have known who has done this, it has very much been a secondary source of income, after their full time job. and tbh, there are very few wedding bands i have actually liked. music at most weddings seems to cater for an older crowd, not anything like what the bride and groom would like

clint_silver

chuky_r_law wrote: »

look, people can charge/for for what they want. imo its too much to pay. i would be more sympathetic if i felt it was a full time job being in a band, but anyone i have known who has done this, it has very much been a secondary source of income, after their full time job. and tbh, there are very few wedding bands i have actually liked. music at most weddings seems to cater for an older crowd, not anything like what the bride and groom would like

Can we not argue the same old "bands get paid lots for a few hours work" argument. done to death on here. always the same answer, "my mate plays the local for 50p on a wednesday and a wedding for 250euro" daylight robbery. Its a business like no other and theres a 100 reasons why things are the way they are.

so should OP get a DJ or band? for a small wedding, I recommend DJ only. not only because smaller weddings tend to be held in smaller venues where bands may take up a lot of landscape in the room that a DJ wouldnt, but, as OP alluded to, they take up a bigger percentage of the budget that hards to justify unless thats part of the day that you want to succeed more than other.
If youre already thinking of it in terms of 20% of your whole day then if the wedding isnt an absolute storming night thats all you'll think about afterwards.
Would a band turn a night that was rated 7/10 with a really good DJ into an 8/10? Is that worth 20% of your budget?
now, if you seen a band that you think would turn a 7/10 into a 10/10 then it might be worthwhile in your head, but if your picky and you know you are, then you might be driving around for several weekends catching 15-20 minutes of bands at other weddings trying to find one you really like.
then again, a really, really good Dj may turn a 7/10 into a 10/10 if you get one that fits the crowd.

caveat: I play in a band.

Mrs OBumble

chuky_r_law wrote: »

bands will automatically put up the price for a wedding.

Everyone automatically puts up the price for a wedding. So would you if you were risking the wrath of bridezilla in your day job.

January

I'm having a DJ only at my NYE wedding. I just don't like bands at weddings, never have so they're not for us.

chuky_r_law

Mrs OBumble wrote: »

Everyone automatically puts up the price for a wedding. So would you if you were risking the wrath of bridezilla in your day job.

got a dj who would be well enough known in galway. only charged me €150. didnt put up his price. the guy renting out the soundsystem charged me his normal price.

clint_silver

chuky_r_law wrote: »

got a dj who would be well enough known in galway. only charged me €150. didnt put up his price. the guy renting out the soundsystem charged me his normal price.

I hope this doesnt sound picky, but are you hiring a DJ and hiring a separate sound system yourself? Ive never heard of that. how much you paying for the sound, did the DJ advise what kind of sound system was required for the room, how many are you having at the wedding?

150-200 is standard for a wedding for DJ who hires, sound and light hire for those guys is about 100 so you're up at normal prices anyway.

clint_silver

Mrs OBumble wrote: »

Everyone automatically puts up the price for a wedding. So would you if you were risking the wrath of bridezilla in your day job.

Probably semantics but bands who play 80-90 weddings a year and then 10-15 pubs arent increasing their prices for weddings, they're lowering them for pubs. why? They'ed never play any pubs if they didnt due to cost and theyre mostly used as showcases for weddings anyway so the lower cost can be written off, theres nowhere near as much stress, no commitment if you have to cancel, no dress code, not much travelling, repeat gigs and theres any one of 200 other bands who will play the gig at lower prices if you dont. Doesnt mean theyre any good but while some bars do care about quality, most bars don't.

Leftist

interesting. thanks for the feedback.

I suppose it is a question of taste.

I've got a 6 person band for a 40 people wedding though, it's not confirmed and I'm a little concerned that it's overkill.

i live in a non-english speaking country so it's hard to get english speaking bands, which are an absolute must, thus the lack of option.

Milly33

Tis a tough one, we are in the same boat would like both of course but the bands are pricey enough.. Plus we have a few people so may do a few tunes as such not a full entertaining band set. And then just have a DJ or playlist later...

Inspector Coptoor

January wrote: »

I'm having a DJ only at my NYE wedding. I just don't like bands at weddings, never have so they're not for us.

Same as so far.
Gonna pay €600 for a really top DJ.
Band quoted us €2400, which went up to €3300 for NYE.

We may get in some other entertainment like local Irish Dancers/Céilí band for 30 mins and give them €500 and we'd still be saving a fortune.

January

We were planning on acrobats and jugglers but that went out the window when we priced them haha

Inspector Coptoor

We were looking at caricaturists and one or two other things, but yeah, same story.
Too expensive.

I don't like the idea of a sweet cart/chocolate foundtain either.
Too gimmicky, same with photo booths.

We are looking at a balloon drop for midnight though.
€300 or so.

January

Inspector Coptoor wrote: »

We were looking at caricaturists and one or two other things, but yeah, same story.
Too expensive.

I don't like the idea of a sweet cart/chocolate foundtain either.
Too gimmicky, same with photo booths.

We are looking at a balloon drop for midnight though.
€300 or so.

Our hotel are doing the balloon drop as part of our package.

Milly33

Balloons sound fun just incase for anyone wanting to diy it, I saw in woodies the other day they have big nets for this

chuky_r_law

we made loads of poteen jelly shots which went down very well

xzanti

January wrote: »

I'm having a DJ only at my NYE wedding. I just don't like bands at weddings, never have so they're not for us.

Same here... I always find myself watching the clock and waiting for the DJ at weddings when there's a band on.. even if they're good, I'd just rather hear the original version of the songs they're playing.

Each to their own.

pwurple

Had both at our wedding, and wish we had just stuck to the dj. I preferred dj.

Mobile Dj

Personal choice in the end.

Have Played full night and after band wedding sets for years, No set playlists for any weddings. I look at age profile and select the music to suit as the night goes on.

clint_silver

chuky_r_law wrote: »

we made loads of poteen jelly shots which went down very well

Did the venue know about them?