Book your wedding entertainment with confidence:
How to choose the right act for your wedding & when to book.
Your wedding will be the most important and possibly the biggest event you’ll ever plan – no pressure there then! That’s why we want to help make sure it goes as smoothly as possible, with the help our new Wedding Planning series.
In this first part we look at how to choose and hire the right entertainers – singers, dancers, bands, DJs, magician, circus act, or any other performer for your big day – see this page for a comprehensive list of wedding entertainment ideas. We also cover when to book the entertainment and why it’s important not to leave it to the last minute.
And don’t forget to check out our 9 Best Wedding Themes and download our Wedding Planning Checklist to help you along the way!
FINDING THE PERFECT MATCH
This isn’t just any gig, this is your wedding day. You want a wedding singer, entertainer, wedding band or musician that reflects your personalities and fits in with your chosen feel or theme.
Discussing your requirements in advance with the performer you’re planning to hire will ensure that everything from the set list to the outfits are a perfect match.
Musicians & DJs
Experienced musicians will be happy to help you create the perfect set list, and to learn a limited number of new songs just for you. You should feel comfortable talking to them about what songs you want for key moments such as songs for walking down the aisle or your first dance, as well as how you want them to fit in with your schedule of the day.
Your band or wedding DJ should have lots of experience of playing at weddings and will know what’s going to appeal to your guests across the board. They are likely to recommend a wide selection of soul, pop and rock and will also have suggestions for the best music to play at different points of the day, from something mellow during your drinks reception, to guaranteed dance floor fillers.
Take a good look at their sample set lists and make sure their genre and playing style is right for you. And don’t forget, as well as letting them know the songs you would love to hear, make sure you also them know about any songs you really don’t want played!
PERFORMANCE EXPERIENCE
When choosing your entertainment, you really want to pick performers with experience of weddings.
This experience is key to them understanding how to dress, what music to play, how to approach mix and mingle entertainment with guests of different ages and tastes, and how to tailor their act to bring just the right atmosphere to your special day.
A wedding magician will be used to working the tables at your wedding breakfast, paying special attention to the bride and groom. An experienced singer for weddings or wedding band will know how to keep the dance floor full at your evening reception.
If you hire wedding performers with plenty of experience they will understand the particular needs of the occasion and know how to be helpful in the lead up to the day. They will also be professional and reliable, so that they lessen your load rather than adding to it.
AUDIO CLIPS & VIDEO CLIPS
All good performers have footage of their live performances for potential clients to watch. You will find audio clips and video show reels on most of the artist profiles on Entertainers Worldwide.
Watching an entertainer performing live, ideally at another wedding, will give you a true picture of their style, level of ability and interaction with the audience. Ideally, you also want to look at video show reels that were made fairly recently – you want to book an act that is performing regularly and is on top form.
TESTIMONIALS
We encourage all of our acts to post testimonials on their profiles. This allows you to see for yourself what previous bookers have to say about them. If you see lots of positive reviews from previous weddings, you know you’re in good hands.
A good testimonial will often include comments on how well an entertainer interacted with guests and what they were like to deal with, as well as commenting on the quality of their act.
MEETING FACE-TO-FACE
You’ve got a budget to manage, a lot of big decisions to make, and the pressure of planning the perfect day. Arranging a face-to face meeting with your chosen singer, DJ or performer may seem daunting and time-consuming, but this is your big day and you don’t want to leave too much to chance.
Meeting in person gives you the opportunity to ask questions and make sure that they understand your personality and how you’re hoping to reflect this on the day. Essentially, you want to feel comfortable with them, trust them and be happy at the thought of them playing an important role on your big day. If a physical meeting is not possible, then make sure you arrange a zoom, skype or facetime.
Practicalities, such as facilities, equipment, set up, timings, choice of music etc. are always best discussed in advance. Whatever questions you have, however silly they might seem to you, you can bet they’ve heard them before, and worse! So, don’t be shy. Make sure you raise them when you meet or call.
HOW EARLY TO BOOK ENTERTAINMENT
Popular entertainers get booked up months and even years in advance.
If you have your heart set on the perfect entertainment, consider booking this early on in the planning process, particularly if you’re getting married at a busy time such as a weekend in the summer. Most acts will be happy to hold a provisional date for you initially, as you finalise your date and venue booking. The same goes for event services.
We recommend booking 12 to 18 months ahead of time. If you’re hoping to hire a really popular act, you may want to check in with them even earlier. However, even if you’ve left it to the last moment, you can still use our request form to let us know what you want and we’ll help find the right act for you!
We hope you’ve found Part 1 of this blog really useful – please do check back for the 2nd part where we’ll cover performance times, space requirements, suitable venues & set-up times!
And don’t forget, whatever entertainment you’ve got your heart set on for your wedding, just fill in our request form, and we’ll find it for you – our entertainers & event services will send their profiles and quotes to you direct!
Even better, when you book them you’ll see we have no bookings fees.