3 Factors to Consider When Choosing Music for Your Wedding

You've booked the venue, set the date, sent out some of your invites. The wedding is most definitely happening! Now it's time for the planning part, which at some point includes the music planning and choosing wedding music. Here we set out 3 factors to consider when deciding about music. We've set them as questions to get you thinking.

Your Dream Wedding

1 - What kind of wedding vibe do you want?

These days the options are numerous. Formal, informal, a mix of both, outdoor festival-style, city chic, modern, traditional, themed, small and intimate....we could go on. Whatever you decide, the music can be chosen accordingly. Or if you really love a particular genre of music (Ratpack/Sinatra for example ), then you could make the wedding suit the music. So if you wanted a slick Ratpack band and that kind of feel, you may ask for a dress code of black tie and cocktail dresses. This can give a particular style and you can see how the music has influenced the dress code.

But equally it could be that you're a huge fan of Art Deco so you could marry in one of London's iconic Art Deco style venues (Eltham Palace and Banking Hall spring to mind but there are many more). Once of those architectural gems have been booked, you could start to check out the wide range of live bands and musicians to fit the venue and day. There are plenty of jazz swing bands that can play stylish music of the 30s to transport you further into your dream day.

Equally, there's no reason to follow any kind of formula. It's your day and you can book whatever you want. If you want a large gospel choir in your small town hall wedding, then go for it. An Ibiza DJ and beach-styled wedding in The Savoy ballroom? Who's going to stop you?! Eclectic weddings are fun and you have a chance to be creative and really have fun planning. Wedding planners and great musicians like interesting briefs. Run wild with the dreaming and planning. You may need to rein some ideas in, but enjoy the process and have some kind of vision of your perfect day to work from.

Your Favourite Music

2 - What music do you like and what music might your guests appreciate?

This may seem obvious but we're often surprised at clients asking us about what kind of music they should have at their wedding. We tend to then ask them what kind of music do they love as this will be a great start to helping them. Choosing wedding music should be fun and personal.

Weddings are events where there are often a few generations attending as guests. There may well be children, teenagers, adults - young and older. So can you please everyone with the music? Probably not. So you shouldn't try that hard to, although you should consider everyone to an extent. If your DJ has been told to play a bit of everything from the 1950s to the present day, it may work. But a really good DJ will read the room in real time. They'll see what's working best song by song. Maybe your granny didn't come to the wedding with the intention of ripping up the dance floor! But a bit of old school music from her generation might be enjoyed by her as well as other guests. Music is not exclusive that way.

We always say that the couple getting hitched should definitely love the music, especially after the first dance. If they're lighting up the dance floor, this encourages their loved ones to have a boogie with them. That way happiness lies. So it is important that you have input and throw in your requests and favourite genres etc. Don't see it as a chore. See it as a chance to be creative. We've had couples choosing to walk in to the wedding breakfast to all kinds of tunes. It's fab that they've spent time considering the details and makes for a more personal wedding in general. If you're too busy to spend long on these details or a bit too unsure of what will work, ask your band/DJ/Mariachi band for suggestions.

Your Budget

3 - How much are you budgeting for music?

This one is a bit more pragmatic but we always need to think about the bottom line . Whilst we may dream of a 25 piece band with horn section, 4 amazing singers and so on, this may not be viable.  Here at Liquid Strings, we're maybe a bit biased but think that hiring music students to play at your wedding is a silly compromise (unless you know them personally). Music is an equally important component in a wedding even if it's not as visual. In hiring live music or a DJ, just like everything else in life, you generally get what you pay for. When choosing wedding music and acts, you need to be strategic.

Having said this, you can be smart about it. We don't advocate overspending for the sake of it. If you don't have the limitless budget (most of us), then we would still say it's worth stretching your budget for at least part of the wedding music  - for example, the band. If they're high quality and experienced pros, they get talked about afterwards because they stand out. They become a feature of the overall wedding.

So the smart part is how you distribute your limited budget. You could save by hiring a solo musician for the ceremony and drinks reception and then have more cash to splash for the evening dance. Or you could spend more on hiring 2 brilliant contrasting smaller acts - one for the ceremony and one for the drinks reception. Then if dancing to live music is not as important for you, you could still get a quality DJ for a lot less than a quality band.

We hope this was helpful in any way to your wedding planning. If you have any questions or would like a friendly chat about your wedding, call or email us today. Happy planning!