Guest Contributor: Tips for adding Live Music to your wedding
Guest Contributor
Jessica and Nicholas Starecky met through their passion for music and began performing together. Nicholas found his love for music when his uncle gifted him his first guitar as a child. His passion for the instrument led him to pursue a degree in Jazz Guitar at Humber College in Toronto ON. Jessica’s love of music was found singing in church choirs at a young age and led to her pursuing a career as a singer songwriter in Toronto Ontario. Their relationship led them to the Georgian Bay Region after becoming engaged and their search for a venue led them to purchasing a historic landmark building in the beautiful Grey Highlands area.
Weddings are a special life event that those attending will remember for the rest of their lives. Having any kind of live entertainment engages an audience. During the moments that define the lives of those involved, it is important to have something that will leave an impact. Music is known to enhance emotional connectivity in a way that nothing else can and having live entertainers makes for a more genuine experience.
When to consider having live music during your wedding day
Throughout a wedding ceremony there are different musical needs. For the aisle and cocktail hour, the environment is more intimate. This requires a more emotionally intense musical experience which is best found in acoustic and natural elements. This can be a beautiful opportunity for live music in many forms such as string quartets, vocalists with minimal accompaniment, solo pianists etc.
If you ask us, the top three moments where live music makes the most impact during a wedding are, the aisle walk, the signing of the registry and during cocktail hour when friends and family are together socially. The aisle walk is one of the most emotional moments of the day and having live musicians enhances the overall experience. Cocktail Hour is typically a time when friends and family gather to socialize and having live music provides an extra element of entertainment for guests to focus on.
You can also consider having live music during the reception, especially for the first dances between the Bride & Groom and parents with their children. Of course it can also be great while people are dancing and celebrating together however, it really requires a full live band to keep the pace of the evening.
The reception. DJ or Live Performers?
When choosing between hiring a DJ vs a live band it is important to consider the factors involved. Having a DJ for the reception can be a great option, it is logistically simpler, and generally a lot less expensive. However hiring a live band for your event can engage and excite a crowd in a more tangible way.
Technical considerations
Most musicians and DJ’s will provide their own equipment for the service that they are hired to provide. That said, venues which have a larger capacity will require different kinds of equipment. Higher numbers of guests will make the sound less audible so a PA system may be required to ensure that all guests are able to effectively hear the entertainers.
Smaller capacity venues will need less amplification for the sound to carry so in this case the hired musicians or DJ should be able to provide the required gear that is needed for them to do their job.
If a ceremony or event is taking place outdoors, it is essential to ensure that the power source accommodates the size of the event. Smaller intimate gatherings may not require vocal or instrumental amplification but in most cases a power source is needed to plug in PA systems, amplifiers, instruments and microphones for the sound to carry properly to the intended audience. It’s always a good idea to check that these requirements can be met for your performers well in advance to avoid any last minute stress.
Choosing the right musicians
When choosing who you should hire it’s important to consider the musical genre you prefer and whether the musical entertainers can accommodate those specific styles. Depending on the preference it is common for several types of musicians to be hired for different times of the day. For example a string quartet can be hired for the aisle walk and a musical duo can take over cocktail hour, followed by a reception with either a full live band or DJ. One thing we have found is that couples love hiring couples. It somehow makes their day more meaningful so if you are hiring a duo to sing and play acoustically it has often worked in our favour that we are in a relationship ourselves.
