It’s taken months of arduous planning and preparation, but you and your beloved finally did. Vows were made, rings were exchanged, and you are officially married. Now on to the reception to celebrate that start of your new life together amongst family and friends.
This is a big moment, formally announcing yourselves as a married couple to the whole world, and you want the ambiance befitting the moment. But do you hire a live band or a DJ? How do you know which is the right one for you?
To settle the issue, let’s take a look at the pros and cons of each.
Hire a Live Band
Hiring a band is the traditional choice for a wedding reception, and can elevate the proceedings to a higher level than a DJ. When you’re hiring a band you’re treating your guests to an intimate experience that can help create lifelong memories.
Those memories come at a higher expense, however. Exact costs vary depending on demand, the number of performers, and the length of the performance. A full band playing a four-hour reception, for example, can cost around $3,500 plus tip and incidentals.
Hire a DJ
Over time, DJs have outpaced live music as the go-to entertainment choice for events. And wedding entertainment is no exception.
There are a few reasons why. The most influential is cost, with the expense of hiring a DJ being a fraction of what you can expect to pay for a full band.
As with bands, the cost will vary depending on region, time of year, and the day of the week. Anytime you can expect more weddings and events to be taking place, expect the cost to go up. But on average, you can expect a solid wedding DJ to run you around $1,000.
It’s a significant difference that you’ll want to discuss with your partner and any other family members contributing to the wedding purse.
Another consideration depends on the makeup of your guest list and what type of energy that you want your reception to have.
Do you want your wedding to be a big, blowout bash? Do you have a lot of dancers on your guest list? Or do you have a diverse group of friends and family who are unlikely to share a lot of music tastes in common?
DJs can be an admirable solution to any of those questions. A good DJ can get a crowd going for a high-energy event and will keep the dancers in your crowd occupied. And if you have a diverse crowd, they can mix up the playlist to make sure there’s a little something for everyone.
Selecting the Best Music for Your Big Day
You know better than anyone how you want your big day to remember, as well as the kind of resources that you’ll have access to.
A live band can create a level of ambiance that’s difficult to match, but a DJ is often more economical and can be a bigger crowd-pleaser. So it comes down to what your greater priority is.
And lest we forget, music is only one aspect of staging a successful wedding reception. For more tips on how to make it a day to remember, be sure to check out our other entertainment and live event guides.
