Choosing the "Right" Musicians for Your Wedding

After careful considerations, you and your fiancé finally agreed to have live musicians play at your wedding ceremony and reception. If you think the hard part is over think again! Now is the time to sit down and find the best people for the job. But there is a system that makes the selection a lot easier.

First, make sure you pick the wedding band or musicians early on. Three months before the wedding date is about perfect. Make that decision any later will only increase the likelihood of ending up with a less than ideal choice as you attend to a lot of last minute details.

Decide the atmosphere you'd like to create. Will it be a classic wedding that is romantic through and through? You can narrow your choices to musicians that provide ballads and light classical music. Do you want the reception where your guests can let their hair down on the dance floor? Then the band for you should be able to play up tempo dance music.

Remember that you don't have to start from scratch. You can ask friends, newlyweds, clergy and wedding consultants for suitable recommendations. Don't hire a band based on recommendations alone! Request each "finalist" to send audio tapes of their performance.

Watching videotapes of their performances in actual weddings would be even better. This will give you a chance not only to hear their musical talents in action and the variety of music they play. It will also give you an idea of how well they interact with their audience.

However, wedding experts say some video materials can be manufactured to enhance the band. They may actually be lip synching to their own pre-recorded music and performing before a crowd that has been paid to act like they are having a great time. One rule of thumb when judging a band based on videotaped performance: if it uses a lot of sleek visual effects, the production was probably designed to enhance the band's ability.

In addition to talent, experience is a major factor that separates the great wedding musicians from the rest. You have to remember that the musician's job isn't limited to the actual performance. They need to work with the other professionals involved in the wedding.

Experienced musicians will usually ask you to provide them with the names of the people to be introduced, special dance selections and other details of wedding reception. The purpose of this list is to ensure the reception will flow smoothly by keeping them on track when these events are to take place and that nothing is forgotten. For example, the experienced band will make sure the photographer and videographer are notified before the start of the first dance or the cake-cutting ceremony.

The musicians' representative should either meet with you in person or call you up several few weeks before the wedding to review the details. You shouldn't be the one chasing after them.

Most experienced wedding musicians are highly skilled reading the audience and knowing which songs to play at the most appropriate times. They know that they are not there just to please the newlyweds but to entertain all age groups of your guest. They should be flexible enough to accommodate requests for song and be willing to learn special songs for your reception.

Picking the right musicians for your wedding can be a daunting task. But with enough time and some planning they can make your day truly memorable not only for you and your new husband but for all your guests.