Wedding Bands

I had a 5-piece band play during dinner and then a 9-piece band (some of the same musicians from the 5-piece band) play after dinner for the dancing. One of the members played solo guitar during cocktail hour. The price will depend on the number of musicians (pieces) you have in the band. My quotes ranged from $2000 up to $6000 in Northern California. The band(s) I hired cost $3,800 and then I had to pay their vendor meals at $50 each so it was a little over $4,000 for the night.

I would be surprised if a band agreed to play for just one hour because it is a lot of work to set up and tear down all those instruments and sound equipment. Plus they want to go play at places where it is the most profitable and worth their time.

Hi there! My FI is set on having a band as well and here's what I've learned so far:

-Many bands have a minimum hour requirement they will play, and many have a specific 'set up' time (this has ranged anywhere from 1-3 hours).

-Depending on the band they may require certain technical necessities. The last one I interviewed required a raised stage ($800) and a page and a half of things I handed directly over to our venue coordinator to verify.

-Some bands bring their own sound people, and some venues provide sound people. You'll want to make sure you're not paying for 2 teams that do the same thing!

-$1200/hr seems to be the going rate for band rates in CO, but there are other production costs too. No matter how I dice it, we're coming in between 4-5k.

Hope that helps!

Hey Kelly! As the previous commenters have mentioned, you may find it difficult to hire a band for such a short amount of time. Many musicians require a flat rate for performing so you may not find that hiring a band for an hour is very good value.

I've attached a Live Wedding Band Cost Guide for you to have a browse through and hopefully you will find some helpful insights here.

Do you know what type of music you want the band to play?

View Quoted Comment Thank you. I guess I didn't take into account all the set up and take down that will be required for a band. You may be right about an hour not being worth the time. Thanks for your input!

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This was super helpful! I was thinking at minimum $1k for an hour. But with taking into account other costs it may be above my budget. I'm 60 days out from my wedding so this was something I was thinking about as a last minute add on. We already have a DJ, but I thought a band might be a nice touch. Thanks for your help!

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Thank you, I will check out the link. I am looking for R&B music to be played.

Hi Kelly!

8 days away You have an exciting week coming up!

Did you book a band in the end?

What's left on the to-do list?