Just got asked to do a wedding, what should I know?

[Ryan]

A friend of mine is getting married and she asked me if I had a band together right now (yes), and if so would I be interested in playing her wedding. I've never played a wedding before, mostly smaller coffee shops, youth retreats, and church. So, those of you on the wedding band circuit- what are some good songs to get people dancing, and is there anything else I should know about doing a wedding gig?

 

[mark norwine]

where to begin??

1.) get everything.....and I mean EVERYTHING....in writing. Signed contract!

2.) make certain that what you do (as a band) fits the needs & expectations of the wedding. If they expect the bunny hop & you don't know it, that's a problem. Figure it our ahead of time. refer to rule #1.

3.) is the bride paying? Chances are not.....chances are it's her dad. He's the one you're doing business with. If he wants to dance to "Daddy's Little Girl", can you play it? Will you learn it? Refer to rules 1 & 2, above.

etc.

Others will chime in....

 

[Julia343]

Don't play "I Hate Myself For Loving You" -- that's reserved for the 5th anniversary.

 

[TwoTubMan]

Be prepared to deal with more obnoxious drunks than you have EVER encountered in a bar. Also, once everyone gets liquored up, they will decide that your equipment belongs to them for the night. Everyone with something to say will suddenly feel the urge to say it through a PA.

 

[DrSax]

Play that Funky
I Will Survive
Electric Slide

Play those for 20 minutes each. Add whatever additional songs they want to special dance to, maybe a medium tempo standard like Blue Bossa for when they're starting to come in. One or two rock songs currently in rotation (Nickelback, barf!)

In addition to what everyone else tells you.....

 

[Ampegged]

Be prepared to deal with more obnoxious drunks than you have EVER encountered in a bar. Also, once everyone gets liquored up, they will decide that your equipment belongs to them for the night. Everyone with something to say will suddenly feel the urge to say it through a PA.

Exactly!!!

Unfortunately I have played my share of weddings & they mostly sucked. What I do is make sure I am upfront with the bride or whoever is asking you to play about expectations, etc. The last wedding I did I worked with the bride. I told her for anything "special" that needed to be played, she needed to bring on an Ipod & we would play it through the P.A. I also explained that we played country , not Top40 country, not rap, etc. If any of that needed to be played\heard it needed to be on the Ipod as well. All announcements, etc. needed to be done by 1 desiganted person...not the band & not random people tripping on our gear to talk on the mic.........with all expectations up front from both parties, all went well.

 

[TommyMambo]

You should be prepared to play the standards, even if your friend doesn't suggest it, because the attendees will!

 

[mark norwine]

Oh...here's a biggie.

Get a 20% non-refundable deposit at contract signing.

 

[5E3]

You should know that drunk bride's maids are an easy mark

 

[musicofanatic5]

Run, quickly, and hide!! Oh, you don't mean a woman asked you to do a wedding with her? You mean play a wedding? Unless you will be very well compensated, still run and hide!

 

[ezyrydr]

Don't forget to learn "Wonderful Tonight"

seriously though, you'll have to learn some slow songs and that's a pretty easy one. play a few of the slow songs back to back, it keeps people on the dance floor. follow those slow ones up with a some faster ones that people know and can also dance to (like "Twist and Shout", which is also not that hard to play). just repeat that process.

and don't get drunk (until after you're done playing).

 

[Luke]

You should know that drunk bride's maids are an easy mark

Was that picture taken at the psychiatric hospital? Nice gowns.

 

[Aidanspaghetti]

Eagles!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Phil M]

Was that picture taken at the psychiatric hospital? Nice gowns.

LOL! They're not gowns, those are their bathrobes!