As far as musical entertainment at weddings is concerned a live wedding band is really quite hard to beat and should definitely be considered as an option.
Do you play in a good live band and have you ever considered offering your services as wedding entertainment?
Its an ideal avenue of income for the band and your performance will give the happy couple a day to remember for the rest of their lives.
More often than not the bride and groom will have a few favorite songs they would like to hear you play so you should be prepared to communicate with them and take requests even if this involves learning a few new tracks for the occasion. They may, for example, want a certain song for their first dance.
Playing at weddings is a great way to build your reputation as a band. Guests attending the wedding may be looking for a band for their own wedding at some time in the future, so it will pay you to put together a brief information pack in case anyone asks about the services you provide.
It’s not going to be all plain sailing as far as getting gigs is concerned but to make life easier for yourselves you could sign up with a local agent the details of whom you will find on the Internet and in the local yellow pages. Why not set up your own website or social networking page where you can show people exactly what the band is all about, collect feedback from those who have used you in the past and tell people about the gigs you are playing giving dates, venues and a phone number so they can call you if they need to.
Remember to include the cost of the whole deal when putting together a fee for your appearance. A band performing at a wedding can usually double the fee they would normally receive for a pub gig due to the extra preparations needed and the length of time on stage.
Once the bookings start coming in you will need to keep on top of your diary entries. Wedding bookings are often made months ahead of the wedding itself so by maintaining an up to date diary of gigs, you are less likely to double book. Prior to agreeing a gig, you need to know about the parking facilities at the venue and how easy setting up and packing away your somewhat heavy equipment is going to be. You will also need to check on the size of the stage to ensure there is enough space to accommodate the band and its gear.
Overlooking simple things like whether or not the venue has a live music license and it is fitted out with sufficient power outlets to accommodate the instruments can cause all manner of problems for a live band so particular care and attention should be paid to all the details, in order to get things just right.