Choosing and booking a live band for your evening wedding reception entertainment can be daunting. With so many different styles of music and the venue, guests and budget to consider, where do you start?
We’ve written this guide to help you work out what sort of wedding reception entertainment would suit you best, and explain what you need to do to create a party you’ll always remember – and to make sure you enjoy the process! This article deals specifically with evening wedding reception entertainment for post-dinner dancing. For background music during afternoon receptions or wedding breakfasts, please see our article wedding background music ideas article.
Choosing a style of music to suit you and your guests
Live bands will always create a great atmosphere, and make your wedding reception memorable, but what exactly would you like your band to do for you? Would you like them to get even the most bashful guests on the dance floor, and be a focal point of the evening’s entertainment? Or perhaps your guests aren’t really into dancing, and you’d like the music to create a sophisticated backdrop? Live wedding bands can do everything from evoke the music that was playing when you first met to providing you with a set of the latest chart hits. With so much choice, where do you start?
To get guests of all ages dancing, book a pop/rock band to play fifties to naughties classics. These bands are the most popular on our books – they tend to be the most versatile and cover everything from well-known Beatles and Stones favourites to recent chart hits. This way they're able to entertain a diverse crowd by playing something for everybody. Most will also include some soul and funk songs, by the likes of Stevie Wonder and Jamiroquai.
If you’d like your soul and funk straight up without rock, specialist funk & soul bands can provide a dance-along soundtrack to your event. Some are basic and compact, while others can add horn sections for a more authentic experience; all of them have a repertoire that revolves around classics by artists such as James Brown and Aretha Franklin, with many adding modern chart hits and requests. Some even focus on a 70s disco theme, with appropriate costumes.
If you’re serious about your theme and want to take it a bit further, how about a dedicated theme or tribute band? These aren’t just for clubs and parties, and will give you a great visual show that creates a focal point for your reception as well as music to dance to. If you have lots of guests of the same age, they will love experiencing the sights and sounds of their favourite era!
If you want the same level of entertainment, but have a lot of different age groups and lots of children will be attending the reception, ceilidh bands can provide great party music. Most will play a mixture of English, Irish and Scottish music, accompanied by a caller who can guide everyone through the steps. They can also provide a selection for shanties, ballads and folk songs for more relaxed moments and breaks in the dancing.
If you’re keen on dancing but don’t go for Ceilidh, and want something exotic and colourful, Latin bands can provide a sultry soundtrack to your evening. They cover everything from Ricky Martin chart hits to Latin standards that only serious aficionados will recognise, but all of it will get your guests moving. World music from all corners of the globe is becoming increasingly popular at more cosmopolitan weddings, providing something quirky and interesting for guests.
Another original option is a Rat Pack style singer - the recent revival of swing and its evocation of an elegant age has led to a huge increase in the number of tributes available. These artists are popular for sit-down events, or where there isn’t so much dancing and you’d like to create a cooler, more glamorous atmosphere.
Jazz bands also create a cool atmosphere, but are much more diverse, available in formats from solo pianists to big bands. Many can provide both mellow dinner jazz and seriously danceworthy jazz-funk. If you’re a jazz fan, you can ask for a set that displays the band’s musical credentials to full effect, or you can work with them to get something more gentle.
Despite the popularity of the newer bands, music such as klezmer for Jewish weddings and dhol for Asian weddings always makes a traditional wedding special.
So now you know which style you want, how do you choose between the bands who play in that style?
You can get to know more about a band by looking at the information they provide; all of our acts have a profile page on our website featuring a biography, photos, audio samples of their playing, a repertoire list and testimonials from previous clients. Some also have video clips to view online.
Wedding bands usually play songs exactly as they are on the record, but some enhance them with new arrangements and medleys of popular hits.
A lot of wedding bands can provide solo pianists or acoustic guitar options as well as a full band show, so would be able to provide you with music at other points during the day – for example, during the meal or while your photos are taken. This can save a considerable amount of money, and helps keeps your on-the-day contacts to a minimum.
Band or DJ?
Wedding bands create a wonderful atmosphere, making an event lively and memorable, but sometimes logistics or budget mean it isn’t possible to hire a band, or you’d prefer not to have a band as the focal point of the event. Booking a wedding DJ means that you won’t get the spontaneity and stage show a live wedding band can provide, but you’ll probably get a greater choice of songs - many of our wedding DJs carry up to 10,000 tunes to each wedding, and often provide state-of-the-art lighting. They can compere and make announcements, or stick to the music.
If you’re already hiring a band, you probably don’t need a DJ as well – most bands will play recorded music between their sets, and some can even provide a stripped down DJ service with mixed music through a laptop and lighting.
Working with your venue and other practical arrangements
Most of our bands will be happy to talk through their set list with you nearer to the day of the wedding and make sure your favourites are included, especially your first dance or special song. Wedding bands are used to working to tight schedules, and will be happy to work around your plans. All our bands use their own equipment, so you won’t have to worry about organising this.
While some venues are designed for live music, such as pubs and clubs, others might not give you as much space as you’d like, or impose sound restrictions with a noise limiter. If your venue seems too small, or unsuitable for live music, don’t give up. A good wedding band will have plenty of experience at dealing with restrictions like this, and most bands will be able to adapt to your situation. Many bands can adjust the way they work to your venue – for example, they can keep the volume down by using a backing track instead of live drums, or fit into a smaller space by using fewer musicians.
When you book your band, it’s a good idea to tell us as much as you can about the venue they’ll be playing in – for example, unloading and venue access details, stage size and noise limiters.
How much will it cost?
You will always be able to find a Function Central band to suit your budget: wedding bands range from very simple and inexpensive solo acts and duos to carnival extravaganzas, complete with dancers! If you want one of the bigger bands, but can’t afford the full show, there are bands available in all genres who offer compact versions of their full show, perhaps playing to a backing track or using fewer members.
Price guide
Rat Pack-style singer: from £250
Solo tribute (eg. Elvis, Neil Diamond) playing to backing track: from £375
Tribute duo playing to backing track: from £425
All-live tribute band (3-piece or 4-piece): from £850.
3-piece rock & pop cover band playing to backing track: from £725.
4-piece rock & pop cover band: from £800.
4-piece soul and funk cover band: from £800.
Soul and funk cover band with horn section: from £995.
Ceilidh band: from £500.
Mobile wedding DJ: from £260.
We keep our rates as low as possible – but if another agent offers you one of our acts at a lower price, or on better terms, we’ll match their offer. The price we quote for an act includes all costs, (such as travel, VAT, and any accommodation necessary), unless we say otherwise.
Function Central makes booking bands, DJs & musicians easy
Function Central is a live wedding music agency specialising in young, cool wedding bands who have been hand-picked for their talent, professionalism and reliability. We take over 600 wedding music bookings a year and get great feedback from our clients. We make choosing and booking your wedding entertainment easy, providing support and advice right up to the day, and even a 24-hour helpline.
Choosing your evening wedding reception entertainment doesn’t need to be a chore – we hope you enjoy browsing the site and listening to our bands! If you’d like more information and suggestions, get in touch.
