10 tips for hiring Melbourne or Sydney wedding entertainment

MELBOURNE AND SYDNEY WEDDING ENTERTAINMENT

When it comes to hiring wedding entertainment for your big day, there are a few very important factors that should be taken into consideration to minimise planning stress and ensure both you and your guests have a great time.

Importantly, a professional wedding entertainer should have the experience and expertise to keep the day running smoothly and to the program.

As a professional entertainment providers, we have been supplying bands, singers, DJs, emcees at Sydney and Melbourne weddings of all shapes, sizes and denominations for over a decade. We’ve put our heads together to compile our top 10 list of wedding entertainment tips to help you make the perfect entertainment choice for your Big Day.

1. Book your wedding entertainment early

Not only are you more likely to get your first choice, you will most likely bag yourself a bargain if you book your wedding entertainment early enough.

Quotes will often be provided based on the current economic realities and they rarely go down.

Also, the more popular wedding acts become, the more they will charge, but if you book them early, they are contracted to the quote they have given to you.

2. Watch their act’s promo videos and read testimonials

Ensure that you are comfortable with the amount of information you are presented with for your live wedding entertainment choices.

You should review the promo video, song list, and hopefully some testimonials from previous clients.

Many acts, wedding MC, bands or wedding singers for hire will have these on their websites. This is one of the best ways to decide if they are the right choice for you.

3. Don’t automatically go for the cheapest or most expensive wedding entertainment option

Hiring an act, emcee, wedding singer or band is in no way different from employing any other professional. You always get what you pay for!

At best, a very cheap band could be comical, or at worst, it could turn out to be a disaster!

On the other hand, care must be taken not to fall into the hands of bands that charge through-the-roof prices for wedding entertainment. Some of them charge exorbitant prices, and hiring them turns out to be a white elephant project as they do not perform up to expectation.

4. Give clear guidelines about what you want from the entertainers

Let the entertainment agency know what your favorite bands are and the type of music your closest friends enjoy. That helps them suggest Melbourne and Sydney bands that fit that genre.

Let your band know the type of music you want and the type you don’t want to hear. If you have specific songs you want your band to play, discuss that early on to find out whether the band can play them or is willing to learn them.

Most professional musicians have a list of songs that you can pick from.

Remember, it’s your day! If a band tries to dictate what it wants to play, the best alternative is to walk away!

Check out our list of top 10 wedding songs »

5. Consider your timings

It is a fact that weddings rarely run to time.

So, when you are working out your schedule for wedding entertainment, ask your venue operators for their advice on the most appropriate time for your act or band to perform.

Your food and drinks reception is a great time to have entertainment as it will last longer than you think with a lot of dining, wining and photograph taking with music enhancing the happy atmosphere.

The right entertainment slotted into the right places will make a huge difference!

6. Consider the available space requirements

There is no point in booking a large band if you have only a tiny dance floor and a small stage.

On the other hand, it may not be the best idea having your guests rattling around on a huge dance floor with only a wedding DJ in a corner.

A ‘wow-factor’ wedding act will need a reasonably sized stage to safely do their choreography.

The popular wedding DJ show Time Machine Dance Party for instance requires a screen and projector to display its fully immersive visual and audio presentation.

Your space should be commensurate with the number of people you are expecting for the entertainment.

Think about the space you have to play in and imagine your guests in it before adding the entertainment.

7. Are there any venue restrictions?

Find out from your venue operators, whether the entertainment you are thinking of booking is suitable for the venue before you pay your deposit.

Many venues have restrictions, such as sound limiters, which would have an impact on the type of band you can hire.

8. Be kind to your wedding entertainers

If you consider the wedding entertainment may have driven 2 or more hours to get to your venue, then spent another 1 and a half hours lugging heavy equipment to set up and do a test run, a lovely gesture is to provide them with a quiet space to relax and change in.

Food and drinks will ensure they give you the top-rated performance that befits your big day.

9. Put trust in the entertainment – they’re professionals afterall

If you follow our advice and choose correctly, your wedding entertainers will have performed in a professional environment hundreds of times – whether it’s at weddings, corporate events or at private parties.

Have faith in their expertise and be guided by their suggestions.

For example, many bands know the set list that will work to make sure you have a full dance floor.   While it shouldn’t be a problem to include a few of your favorites songs, you should leave the rest to them.

Another good tip here is not to have your band start with their more uptempo material. You should expect them to play appropriately during the various stages of the event. Some suggestions may include:

»  Pre-dinner drinks : quieter and jazzy
»  During dinner : cool and mellow  (we don’t want to scare the Grannies)
»  After dinner : full on dance floor songs when it’s time to party the night away.

Afterall, you don’t want the evening to peak too soon!  If you are finishing your party at midnight, around 9 pm is usually perfect to start the party.

Give your act or band a free hand to operate so they can give you their best.

10. Let them know what you thought

The majority of professional wedding musicians receive the bulk of their work through word of mouth and direct recommendations.  Let them know how well they performed and how much you appreciated their efforts to make the reception such an enjoyable one.

If you use social media, give them a mention after your day. They might reciprocate the favour by giving you or your guests a nice discount the next time you book them!

Melbourne and Sydney Wedding Entertainment

Whether you’re seeking fun wedding entertainment, something unique or perhaps intimate and small wedding entertainment ideas, the team at Lovegrove are here to help.

Be sure that our Melbourne and Sydney wedding entertainers are world class. The options available are extraordinary.

We’d like to think you’ll also end up back here like so many couples have done in the past. In the meantime congratulations on the big day ahead and best wishes with putting it all together!

Call (02) 9953 0390   Email Us   Online Enquiry Form

Our professional wedding singers, romantic entertainment, party bands and DJs