Choosing the entertainment for your wedding can be a challenging task. You want something that everyone attending will enjoy, but that reflects your tastes as a couple and there are also many practicalities around cost, space, and theme that you might have to think about. In this blog, we give you some top tips on what act might suit your wedding and how much they might charge.
It is probably fair to say that (outside of the occasional birthday or anniversary) most people do not have extensive experience in planning events.
Unless your job involves event planning, your wedding is likely to be the most significant occasion you will ever have to organise.
Entertainment is an important part of this process, and a great choice of band can make the evening celebration something that guests are talking about for years to come.
We’ve tried to give some general starting points for a few acts that might suit your big day in the following list.
Singers for smaller weddings
There are a lot of reasons why many happy couples opt to plan a smaller wedding.
They can be simpler to plan, more intimate and much cheaper.
In this setting, having a massive band with lots of musicians probably doesn’t make sense, especially if you are watching the budget closely.
As such, a smaller act, like an acoustic pop/rock solo singer, might be perfect for your big day.
Accompanying themselves on an instrument like the guitar or piano, they’ll usually have an up-to-date repertoire of pop/rock and chart classics that are perfect over dinner or for a bouncier set later.
The flexibility of a solo act is easily their most significant selling point as there are few points of your big day that they will not be perfect for. They can serenade you down the aisle, play during a drinks reception, over dinner or for the party afterwards, and some acts will offer you an all-in-one package for just that.
Other wedding singers will utilise backing tracks instead of an instrument.
Typically, solo musicians for weddings will charge a minimum of £200 (not including factors like travel, experience, and additional sets).
Bands for larger weddings
If your wedding is in a larger venue, with more guests attending, you will probably want some bigger entertainment to match!
Your traditional wedding band will usually be at least a 3-piece, usually more.
Many wedding bands have an excellent repertoire of pop/rock songs with some modern chart hits thrown in.
If you’re looking to put in any requests (such as your first dance), then make sure you get these over to the band as far in advance as possible to facilitate transcription and rehearsal.
Depending on your taste in music, Motown and Soul or Disco bands are also very popular at weddings and can be a fantastic choice for your entertainment.
A typical 4-piece wedding band will typically charge a minimum of £950.
Top picks for larger weddings:
Acts for themed weddings
More and more happy couples are opting to get creative and pick unique themes for their wedding.
Recently, these themes have included the likes of Vintage/Gatsby (or “Peaky Blinders” to some!) Festival/ WedFest and even Marvel/ DC Comic book themes.
Sometimes, the theme is only casually reflected in the big day, with a head nod to the idea in the choice of décor.
However, some couples can opt to go all out with their theme and allow it to be reflected in their choice of venue, catering and even costume!
Naturally, this can also be the case with their choice of entertainment.
If you are going with the popular festival/WedFest theme, then an Acoustic festival band will be an excellent choice of entertainment. They will often have a setlist of ‘Mumford-style’ acoustic covers of popular hits, utilising instruments like the acoustic guitar, double bass, keys and percussion.
Vintage bands will be perfect for events with a Gatsby/Blinders theme, often playing rock and pop tunes in the style of a 1920s or 30s be-bop/jazz ensemble.
Top picks for themed weddings:
A 4-piece themed band will usually charge a minimum of £950 for a wedding performance.
Music for formal weddings
To a certain extent, all weddings are obviously formal occasions. However, how much of this formality the happy couple are looking to observe will depend on their personality.
If you aren’t the type of couple that enjoys formal occasions, you might choose to have a much more relaxed dress code and not observe all the traditions associated with the big day.
However, suppose you love the idea of your wedding day being an excuse for everyone to dress up smartly and really go all-in on the formality of the occasion – in that case, there are some perfect choices of black-tie entertainment that you might want to consider.
Jazz has often been a style of music associated with formal occasions, and a wedding is no exception.
A cocktail pianist is a classic choice of formal entertainment that is perfect for entertaining guests in the background.
A jazz trio will be an exceptionally good selection for drinks receptions and over dinner, as the can act as a great talking point for guests at large events who may not have met before.
For your evening entertainment, a big band with a Rat Pack-esque singer will be a classy choice that even the hardest to impress guests are bound to enjoy.
Top picks for formal weddings:
A Jazz trio will generally charge a minimum of £600 for a wedding performance.
What entertainment did you pick for your wedding? Did you really enjoy your choice? Leave your top tips in the comments below…
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