Your wedding day is one of the most important days in your life. And while everyone at your wedding is there to support you on your special day the love and happiness they feel for you will only keep them entertained for so long. Everything else might be all about you, (and showing off how good you look in white!) but the entertainment is really all about your guests and keeping them at your wedding.
And now the question becomes: “So wedding band? Or a wedding D.J.?”
There are many pro’s and con’s to both. Ultimately it depends on what kind of vibe you are going for. A D.J. is more likely to succeed in a high energy or party feel. A live band will create more of a show then dance party atmosphere.
Wedding Band Pro’s
-Live Music. Live music is exciting and the energy from a live band can be intoxicating.
– A band that plays a specific style can help complete a theme! A 30’s style wedding with a swing band, or a orchestra with a fantasy theme, or a string quartet in an elegant ball room.
Wedding Band Con’s
– A wedding band can be prohibitively expensive. Depending on the location and number of band members you can pay anywhere from $2,000 to $20,000 or more.
– A band has to take breaks. A very expensive band with a large number of members may be able to rotate the singers to keep the music going, but more often then not they will eventually have to stop to rest.
-Larger foot print. A live band will need a larger performance space and potentially more power requirements. That means sacrificing table space and fewer people can be invited to your wedding. Also the difficulty of setting up a band may mean that they will not be able to play for your ceremony, cocktail, and reception if they are in different areas in the venue.
–Limited song selection. A live band can only play the songs they know, and may not have some of your favorite songs available.
-Volume. A band can not adjust their volume easily. Often times they will overwhelm a smaller venue.
D.J. Pro’s
– Easy set up and small foot print. A Full Picture Media D.J. will have all his own equipment and back up equimpment including a table, table linen, and facade. The foot print is considerably smaller then a band which means more space for guests, cakes, and other important things.
– A D.J. is significantly less expensive then a large band.
-A D.J. has an almost unlimited number of songs to choose from. If there is a specific song you want to hear that the D.J. does not already have, it is usually easy enough to get it before the wedding day.
– There will be no breaks in the music at all.
-Every song is the original, not an imitation.
-A D.J. can commend less attention. While everyone wants the guests to be entertained let’s not forget who’s special day it is! A D.J. can be less obtrusive so the crowd focuses on dancing with each other instead of watching a show.
D.J. Con’s
-A D.J. with a bad personality can be a party-killer. Fortunately all of the Full Picture Media D.J.s are carefully selected because of their amazing personalities as well as their music talent.
-Improvisation is more difficult. If someone is dragging behind tempo on the father-daughter dance or your young guests decide to crash the choreographed dance it can be harder to recover.
Both!
Having both a band and a D.J. at your wedding can be pricey, but it is often the best of both worlds. Have a string quartet or live band play for the ceremony and cocktail reception, and have your D.J. finish off the night with the party music!
No matter which way you decide, make sure to make the time to meet your performer in advance. Make sure your personalities match, clearly define the must play list and the must NOT play list. (Don’t live in fear of the Macarena destroying your special day! )
[polldaddy poll=8228990]