Planning a wedding is full of decision-making. Religious or secular ceremony? 50 guests or 250? Sit-down dinner or cocktail? Live band or DJ?
And it’s all up to two people who may have never planned an event in their lives to make all of these important decisions, while sometimes trying to juggle the wishes of family and friends to ensure that everyone is happy.
Several factors will come in to play. For starters, sticking to the wedding budget is generally a primary concern, and even modest weddings can come with a price tag. Couples also need to take into account the tastes of their guests, from university friends to elderly great aunts. Most importantly, weddings are meant to reflect the bride and groom – it’s important that you like the venue, food, music etc. in the first place. After all, you need to have fun at your wedding after all!
Deciding between a live band and a DJ for your wedding entertainment can be a huge big decision, so we’ve put some points together that we hope may help you come to your own decision and make the whole process that little bit easier!
Price
A DJ is undoubtedly cheaper than a band. For a four to six hour-long reception, a DJ will generally cost between $600 and $1500, depending on experience and equipment. A band however will generally be priced from around $2500 up to $7000, depending on size, quality and experience. If this is out of your price range, but you still want live music, a smaller act (solo to trio) will be more affordable, at around $800 to $1500.
Repertoire
A standard covers band will generally have between 100 and 300 songs under their belts, while a DJ, armed with all the memory of their MacBook, may have in excess of 100,000.
However, is this really a huge advantage? Generally, a DJ will pull out the same ‘party favourites’ that the band will, with the remaining 99,900 songs being obscure tracks that are rarely requested. While the repertoire of a band is more limited, an experienced group should come prepared with a well-balanced selection of popular songs to accommodate all tastes, from Motown standards to Top 40 favourites.
Venue
When choosing your entertainment, it’s important you consider your venue. How big is the room your reception is being held in? DJ’s take up relatively little floor-space, so if your reception venue is on the smaller side, a DJ won’t cramp up the dance-floor.
Duos and trios are also very compact, so if you are concerned about space, a smaller band is still an option. If you are using a large venue for your reception, a full band will look and sound fantastic. Not only will they produce enough sound to fill the entire room, but they will also add a visual element that will suit the larger space.
Entertainment Value
When it comes down to ‘wow’ factor, nothing beats a great live band. Not only are they visually spectacular, they also come with an infectious energy and emphasis on audience interaction that is guaranteed to keep your guests entertained and on the dance floor.
A wedding DJ will not be able to pull off the ‘show’ element that comes with a band. As they are playing pre-recorded music, DJ’s aren’t able to generate the excitement that is generated from watching a live performance.
The advantage of a DJ lies in their ability to play ‘nightclub’ favourites, which a live band can simply not pull off. Songs that rely heavily on electronic beats and computer-generated effects are generally not convincing when performed by a standard six-piece band.
If you’re still not sure which type of entertainment to choose speak to the experts; they will be able to work with you to help you determine what is the best choice for you!
Images via Funkified Entertainment
Ms Chinoiserie Says: Great advice on choosing entertainment that is right for you to get your party started!
About Funkified Entertainment: Your wedding is a once in a lifetime event, so naturally you want everything to be perfect. When it comes to finding the right music for your special day, Funkified Entertainment can take care of everything, eliminating the stress so you can simply enjoy the celebration. Whether you want people on their feet dancing, laid back grooves, or sophisticated strings, we can match you and your partner with the perfect wedding entertainment.
Interesting post. I’m a DJ but I actually had a band play at my wedding and was lucky enough have a friend DJ as well. This really is the best scenario as bands also require breaks, so the dance floor is left with an Ipod playing while the band chills for a bit. This can really kill the mood. Of course it’s expensive having both.
It’s a bit of shame the reputation wedding djs have for “not putting on a show”. It can be true for some wedding djs, but I believe you really need to be entertaining as a wedding DJ. At the end of the day that is what the client is paying for, entertainment. You do get pretty big wow factor with a full band though.
Hi Dan,
Thanks for your comment, and we couldn’t agree with you more – having both band and DJ is the ultimate outcome if you want to do everything to ensure your dancefloor is full. We can think of dozens of clients off the top of our heads who were converted from just having a band, or just having a DJ, and now book both for every event religiously. The versatility of repertoire a DJ brings compliments the dynamic nature of a band perfectly in our opinion, which elevates an event from good to great.
The Team at Funkified
Hmm..its really a matter of huge concern..! Well, i think both have their own importance,but if there is a condition to choose one of them then i will definitely go for Wedding band because there is automatically a great audience involvement occurs while these band performs for any event.