{"id":670,"date":"2018-04-10T16:18:27","date_gmt":"2018-04-10T15:18:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.encoremusicians.com\/?p=670"},"modified":"2023-02-14T13:12:09","modified_gmt":"2023-02-14T13:12:09","slug":"wedding-couples-music-advice","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/encoremusicians.com\/blog\/wedding-couples-music-advice\/","title":{"rendered":"Booking Wedding Musicians:\u00a0Honest Advice from 35 couples who have done it already"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Booking live music can be daunting if you&#8217;ve never done it before, and even more so when you&#8217;re booking music for your wedding \u2013 one of the biggest events of your life! There are lots of wedding musicians out there \u2013 how can you make sure you find the best performer for your wedding?<\/p>\n<p>We recently surveyed 100+ couples about their experiences searching and booking wedding musicians. People who have been there, done that, and got the t-shirt. At the end of the survey, we asked them the following question:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<blockquote class=\"modern-quote full\">\n<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_57_1 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-grey ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title \" >Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Table of Content\" role=\"button\"><label for=\"item-69efea7aafd89\" ><span class=\"\"><span style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input aria-label=\"Toggle\" aria-label=\"item-69efea7aafd89\"  type=\"checkbox\" id=\"item-69efea7aafd89\"><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/encoremusicians.com\/blog\/wedding-couples-music-advice\/#If-a-friend-told-you-they-were-about-to-start-looking-for-wedding-musicians-online-what-advice-would-you-give-them\" title=\"If a friend told you they were about to start looking for wedding musicians online, what advice would you give them?\">If a friend told you they were about to start looking for wedding musicians online, what advice would you give them?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/encoremusicians.com\/blog\/wedding-couples-music-advice\/#Book-Early\" title=\"Book Early\">Book Early<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/encoremusicians.com\/blog\/wedding-couples-music-advice\/#Use-Encore\" title=\"Use Encore\">Use Encore<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/encoremusicians.com\/blog\/wedding-couples-music-advice\/#Try-to-see-as-many-options-as-possible\" title=\"Try to see as many options as possible\">Try to see as many options as possible<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/encoremusicians.com\/blog\/wedding-couples-music-advice\/#Meet-the-Musician-and-see-them-live-if-you-can\" title=\"Meet the Musician and see them live if you can\">Meet the Musician and see them live if you can<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/encoremusicians.com\/blog\/wedding-couples-music-advice\/#Start-by-deciding-on-the-style-of-your-wedding-and-wedding-music\" title=\"Start by deciding on the style of your wedding and wedding music \n\">Start by deciding on the style of your wedding and wedding music \n<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-7\" href=\"https:\/\/encoremusicians.com\/blog\/wedding-couples-music-advice\/#Try-to-book-local-musicians\" title=\"Try to book local musicians\">Try to book local musicians<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"If-a-friend-told-you-they-were-about-to-start-looking-for-wedding-musicians-online-what-advice-would-you-give-them\"><\/span>If a friend told you they were about to start looking for wedding musicians online, what advice would you give them?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>We&#8217;ve compiled 30 of the most helpful responses for you. We hope you find this useful when searching for musicians for your own wedding!<\/p>\n<p>The most common pieces of advice we saw were:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li><strong>Book early!<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Use Encore<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Try to see as many musicians as you can before making a decision<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Meet the musician in person if you can<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Decide on the style of your wedding and the style of music you want BEFORE beginning to contact musicians<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Try to book local musicians if you can<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<hr \/>\n<p><em>Need more general advice on planning your wedding music? Check out our <a href=\"https:\/\/encoremusicians.com\/blog\/wedding-musicians-ultimate-guide\/\">Ultimate Guide to Hiring Wedding Musicians<\/a>\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Book-Early\"><\/span><strong>Book Early<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>It shouldn&#8217;t come as a surprise that the best wedding musicians get booked up quickly. We&#8217;ve seen some particularly organised couples booking music 3 years in advance of their big day!<\/p>\n<p>If your wedding is on a Saturday in the peak wedding season, you should really be aiming to have your musicians booked at least 9-12 months in advance. If you&#8217;re looking for a <a href=\"https:\/\/encoremusicians.com\/hire\/wedding-bands\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"1\" title=\"Hire Wedding Bands\">wedding band<\/a>, we&#8217;d recommend trying to book at least a year in advance. Here&#8217;s what our couples said:<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>&#8220;Take time but make sure you look well in advance to get the best prices and availability. Make sure you look carefully at the set lists and repertoire and ask for specific requests.&#8221;<\/em><\/strong><br \/>\nCharlotte M<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>&#8220;Search &amp; book early&#8221;<\/em><\/strong><br \/>\nAnna S<\/p>\n<p><em><strong>&#8220;Start looking as soon as possible because acts get booked up really quickly.&#8221;<br \/>\n<\/strong><\/em>Aimee M<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>&#8220;Book early&#8221;<\/em><\/strong><br \/>\nSarah-Jane T<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>&#8220;To start early as there are a lot of good musicians out there. Also, see if they can provide a <a href=\"https:\/\/encoremusicians.com\/hire\/djs\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"3\" title=\"Hire DJs\">DJ<\/a> service afterward as we were able to get this which means our entertainment for the whole party is covered.&#8221;<\/em><\/strong><br \/>\nHolly<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>&#8220;To start ASAP!&#8221;<\/em><\/strong><br \/>\nKrishma K<\/p>\n<p><em><strong>&#8220;Just book it!&#8221;<\/strong><\/em><br \/>\nAlissa W<\/p>\n<p>Keen to get started? Head to <a href=\"http:\/\/encoremusicians.com\">encoremusicians.com<\/a> to begin your search! You&#8217;ll receive tailored quotes from incredible wedding musicians within a matter of minutes.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Use-Encore\"><\/span><strong>Use Encore<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>We were delighted to receive so much positive feedback from couples who used the <a href=\"http:\/\/encoremusicians.com\">Encore platform<\/a> to find and compare musicians for their wedding. A common theme was that couples enjoyed receiving a range of fast quotes from musicians who were definitely available for their date and who could easily travel to their venue.<\/p>\n<p>Here&#8217;s what they had to say about us:<\/p>\n<p><strong>&#8220;Try encore its so nice that the bands apply to be at your wedding rather then vica versa&#8221;<\/strong><br \/>\nJeni S<\/p>\n<p><strong>&#8220;I\u2019d recommend encore, and the internet but suggest they found something that gave them numerous options and quotes (like encore).&#8221;<\/strong><br \/>\nEllen M<\/p>\n<p><strong>&#8220;Definitely book through you as looking at reviews and sound bytes was amazing. Quick response from potential musicians is brilliant too.&#8221;<\/strong><br \/>\nFiona J<\/p>\n<p><strong>&#8220;Try encore! Very helpful customer service if there are any issues&#8221;<\/strong><br \/>\nRachel M<\/p>\n<p><strong>&#8220;Have a look at the sites that collate all the artists together as it\u2019s a big help and saves time rather than contacting them all individually, unless there\u2019s a particular band they know they want&#8221;<\/strong><br \/>\nRosie M<\/p>\n<p><strong>&#8220;to have a look at encore as it has a wide range of bands\/types of music and an easy booking system.&#8221;<\/strong><br \/>\nNatasha J<\/p>\n<p><strong>&#8220;I would direct them to Encore as I found it much easier than looking through dozens of websites&#8221;<\/strong><br \/>\nKatrina J<\/p>\n<p><strong>&#8220;Go to encoure as they have a wide range of variety&#8221;<\/strong><br \/>\nLouise<\/p>\n<p><strong>&#8220;I often recommend Encore as I feel it is a valuable tool and also allows bands with less online presence equal recognition unlike using a search engine or social media&#8221;<\/strong><br \/>\nAlison M<\/p>\n<p><em><strong>&#8220;Use the websites who give you plenty of options and can filter it with distance cost etc like encore!&#8221;<\/strong><\/em><br \/>\nAnna E<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Try-to-see-as-many-options-as-possible\"><\/span><strong>Try to see as many options as possible<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>A lot of our couples suggested trying to compare as many wedding musicians as possible before deciding on your favourite. This can be easy if you&#8217;re looking for something popular, like a harpist, but much harder if you&#8217;re going niche! (there are only so many Irish bagpipers available in England you can compare)<\/p>\n<p>With <a href=\"http:\/\/encoremusicians.com\">Encore<\/a>, you can clearly state what you&#8217;re looking for using our <a href=\"http:\/\/encoremusicians.com\">simple enquiry form<\/a>, and you&#8217;ll receive tailored quotes from incredible wedding musicians within minutes. Our customers tend to receive 10-15 quotes, which gives you a good range of suitable and qualified musicians to compare.<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>&#8220;Get lots of quotes, as price varies a lot&#8221;<\/em><\/strong><br \/>\nMegan T<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>&#8220;Go on encore, get as many quotes as possible and trust your instincts&#8221;<\/em><\/strong><br \/>\nAndy T<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>&#8220;Shop around. Go for the band that has videos of their performances&#8221;<\/em><\/strong><br \/>\nDan C<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>&#8220;Not to settle until they have exactly what they want. And to look around!&#8221;<\/em><\/strong><br \/>\nJess H<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>&#8220;So as much research as possible to see as many bands as possible before you commit.<\/em><\/strong><br \/>\nMary B<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>&#8220;Google as much as possible, speak to as many as possible to understand what is good value and those out there who are taking the mic when it comes to prices&#8221;<\/em><\/strong><br \/>\nNatalie W<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_683\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-683\" style=\"width: 702px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img data-attachment-id=\"683\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/encoremusicians.com\/blog\/wedding-couples-music-advice\/bride-ukulele\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/encoremusicians.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/bride-ukulele.jpeg?fit=2256%2C1500&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"2256,1500\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"Bride with Ukulele\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;Bride with ukulele&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/encoremusicians.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/bride-ukulele.jpeg?fit=300%2C199&amp;ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/encoremusicians.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/bride-ukulele.jpeg?fit=770%2C512&amp;ssl=1\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-683 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/encoremusicians.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/bride-ukulele-1024x681.jpeg?resize=702%2C467\" alt=\"Bride with ukulele performing as a wedding musician at her own wedding!\" width=\"702\" height=\"467\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/encoremusicians.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/bride-ukulele.jpeg?resize=1024%2C681&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/encoremusicians.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/bride-ukulele.jpeg?resize=300%2C199&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/encoremusicians.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/bride-ukulele.jpeg?resize=768%2C511&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/encoremusicians.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/bride-ukulele.jpeg?resize=104%2C69&amp;ssl=1 104w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/encoremusicians.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/bride-ukulele.jpeg?resize=301%2C200&amp;ssl=1 301w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/encoremusicians.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/bride-ukulele.jpeg?w=1540&amp;ssl=1 1540w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 702px) 100vw, 702px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-683\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Bride with ukulele performing as a wedding musician at her own wedding!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Meet-the-Musician-and-see-them-live-if-you-can\"><\/span><strong>Meet the Musician and see them live if you can<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>This is good advice, but it may not always be possible for a couple of reasons:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Most <a href=\"https:\/\/encoremusicians.com\/hire\/function-bands\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"13\" title=\"Hire Function Bands\">function bands<\/a> specialise in <em>private<\/em> events, which means getting entry to their gigs isn&#8217;t easy!<\/li>\n<li>You may not live near your wedding venue, so travelling across the country to meet your musicians could be difficult.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>If you can&#8217;t meet them in person, you should definitely watch as many unedited live videos as you can, and once you&#8217;ve booked, arrange a Skype call so that you can chat face-to-face about the finer details of your day.<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>&#8220;Meet the band&#8221;<\/em><\/strong><br \/>\nHelene D<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>&#8220;Try and see them live&#8221;<\/em><\/strong><br \/>\nLinda M<\/p>\n<p><strong>&#8220;try and see them live or get a meeting with them&#8221;<\/strong><br \/>\nRobyn K<\/p>\n<p><strong>&#8220;Try and see the band\/performers in person before booking if they can&#8221;<\/strong><br \/>\nJulie V<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Start-by-deciding-on-the-style-of-your-wedding-and-wedding-music\"><\/span><strong>Start by deciding on the style of your wedding and wedding music<br \/>\n<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>It&#8217;s a lot easier to decide on the musician or band that you&#8217;d like to perform at your wedding when you have a clear idea of what you&#8217;re looking for. Before you begin searching, have a think about the style or theme of your wedding, and consider which genre of music would go well with your unique day.<\/p>\n<p>You don&#8217;t need to have planned every single detail of your wedding music before you begin talking to musicians, but knowing what sort of aesthetic and vibe you would like the performer to create will make your search a lot easier.<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>&#8220;Find the style you like and go from here&#8221;<\/em><\/strong><br \/>\nDanielle E<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>&#8220;Decide what type of music you want before searching&#8221;<\/em><\/strong><br \/>\nAnon.<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>&#8220;Consider&#8230;what style defines you as a couple rather than what just says &#8216;wedding&#8217; and allow plenty of time for research as music provides the majority of the entertainment at most weddings so is important to get right.&#8221;<\/em><\/strong><br \/>\nEmily S<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>&#8220;Not to settle until they have exactly what they want. And to look around!&#8221;<\/em><\/strong><br \/>\nHayley K<\/p>\n<p>Looking for some inspiration?<br \/>\nGet started with our handy guide: <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/encoremusicians.com\/blog\/wedding-planning-music-wedding-where-to-start\/\">Wedding Planning: Music At Your Wedding \u2013 Where to Start<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Try-to-book-local-musicians\"><\/span><strong>Try to book local musicians<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Booking local musicians has loads of advantages:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>You&#8217;ll save money on travel costs. Paying a band to drive a 300-mile round trip to your wedding isn&#8217;t cheap!<\/li>\n<li>There&#8217;s a high chance that the musician(s) will have performed at your venue before, so they&#8217;ll know how to work the space and get the most out of the acoustics<\/li>\n<li>The musician(s) will be fresh and energised after travelling a short distance to your wedding.<\/li>\n<li>As the musician(s) are only travelling a short space of time, the chances of them being delayed by traffic or late trains is drastically reduced<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>&#8220;Look for local musicians that don\u2019t have to travel &#8211; this saves money and means they may know the venue\/area well&#8221;<\/strong><br \/>\nLorna H<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>&#8220;Consider factors such as distance to venue from where the band is based (for increased performance quality\/morale)&#8230;&#8221;<br \/>\n<\/em><\/strong>Emily S<\/p>\n<p><strong>&#8220;It costs a bomb for bands. Find local to save additional travel costs&#8221;<\/strong><br \/>\nAsh F<\/p>\n<p><em><strong>&#8220;Start by looking at local bands or people that have played at weddings near you&#8221;<br \/>\n<\/strong><\/em>Charlotte<\/p>\n<p>The <a href=\"http:\/\/encoremusicians.com\">Encore platform<\/a> is designed to match you with incredible acts\u00a0<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong>near your venue<\/strong><\/span>. When you make an enquiry, we instantly notify musicians in your area asking if they&#8217;re available on your date, and when they respond to you with a quote, you can easily see how far from your venue they are based. Their quote also includes an accurate travel cost, so you&#8217;ll have no hidden fees or surprise costs when you decide to book them.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p>We really hope you&#8217;ve found this advice helpful. If you have advice of your own, please do leave a comment below and we&#8217;ll add update the blog with some of the best tips and tricks.<\/p>\n<p>The best piece of advice we can give?<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/encoremusicians.com\"><strong>Start your enquiry<\/strong><\/a> on Encore today to be matched with incredible, available and local wedding musicians within minutes.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Booking live music can be daunting if you&#8217;ve never done it before, and even more so when you&#8217;re booking music for your wedding \u2013 one of the biggest events of your life! There are lots of wedding musicians out there \u2013 how can you make sure you find the best performer for your wedding? We [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":675,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,179],"tags":[10,26],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Booking Wedding Musicians:\u00a0Honest Advice from 35 couples who have done it already | Encore Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Looking for advice on booking wedding musicians? We spoke to hundreds of engaged couples in 2018 about how they managed to find the perfect live music for their big day. 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