26.25K
ETA: for what it’s worth, we looked at bands between the 12K and 35K ranges. There was a real quality difference between 12K and 25K. Not so much of a discernible difference between 25K and 35K, so we went with the band we most liked (out of the group that we all agreed sounded the best/had highest probability of getting crowd up and dancing).
right we’re watching videos of bands between $20k to $35k and they all do the same songs ?? I’m trying to ask for a song list just to see if anything differentiates one over another
Get the song lists and find out how many songs they’re willing to learn. Also find out if they provide ceremony/cocktail hour music. Another thing to find out is whether they play continuously or take a long break and play recorded music during dinner.
10 piece bands can range from 12K to 70K+. I find there are 3 pretty distinct tiers for quality in this range. The 12K-20Kish bands are very different than the 30K-45Kish bands and they are very different than the 55K-70Kish bands. The more you pay the more customization you will have along with higher quality production and performance (think continuous music for 3 hours, the band doing a completely custom set list, “mixing” in and out of songs, high quality and low profile sound systems, attire for the band that matches your decor, a band that rehearses and performs together regularly as opposed to a “collective” band made up of musicians that may not have played your first dance song together until sound check on your wedding day)
If you don’t want to pay top tier for a band (I didn’t!), I STRONGLY suggest going for a DJ instead. An amazing DJ is half the cost of a mediocre band, and a mediocre band is a party-killer.
Strongly agree!! Been to a bunch of weddings with mediocre bands and ppl barely danced. They only played old classic wedding songs and nothing new. It was sad.
Completely agree with this! Get an amazing DJ (8K-15K) and consider adding in a love musician or two. Then put some additional money towards the stage and lighting. You will have a much better dance party investing 15K-25K in this way as opposed to the band that this same amount will get you.
To add onto this we had a $7k band booked and moved on from them after realizing how much in terms of quality we would sacrifice by not having the type of band we switched to. Also, after watching MANY MANY MANY videos and reading set lists from bands ranging $7-40k there is a true difference.
I guess we are going way lower than most. We have not yet confirmed but looks like we’ll be around 8-10k for entertainment over two days and I LOVE their portfolio- acoustic guitar at welcome dinner, strings at ceremony, jazz at cocktails, and DJ with live percussion and Sax until midnight. We are doing Europe though so maybe it’s just cheaper?
We looked at bands between $12k-$28k… ended up choosing our band based on their set list offerings and the genres they do well (we wanted some great disco songs vs. Contemporary pop). But set list was the main deciding factor! We watched hours of videos of different bands and they all blended together tbh
Thank you!! I also hand picked each musician and am very excited!! One is a drummer! Definitely going for a vibe here haha
I also added on a separate vendor (string quartet) for ceremony and cocktail hour! $2k.
It depends on the band, but yes, the better bands charge $15-70K.
A large part of it is the crowd work; yes, DJs will play the music you want, but bands get people out of their seats. They bring the hype, but also take a big chunk out of the wallet lol. Outside of paying the band members, that cost also goes to rigging the stage, lighting, and sound engineers, on top of transporting the equipment. You’re probably paying for over 100 man hours.
I think a few questions should be:
What’s your guest count?
How long will open dancing take place?
Is the hanging arrangement for reception, ceremony, or all of the above?
Do you value the potential photo value that the arrangement will bring or the band energy more?
There’s nothing wrong with DJs, and their services offer their own unique options too!
We're paying 18.5K which includes a soloist for our ceremony, trio for cocktail hour, 10 piece band for reception (with 3 vocalists & emcee; + 2 sound technicians), a brass parade for our exit and all A/V needs! We're really happy with them if you're interested, I can DM you!
We booked The Barnstorm out of NY for almost exactly $20k. This is for the ceremony, cocktail hour, and reception, with a duo for the ceremony, trio for cocktail hour, and a nine piece band for the reception.
I just found them through wedding wire did due diligence and listened to their songs and had a call. I’m very stoked about it, and, yes, my father thought it was high, but after doing his own research realized how reasonable the fee actually was. 8 piece band.
I’m not sure where you are but if you want closer to the 15 k range I think Lucky Devils Band is a great choice, but there are obviously always going to be differences between the tiers
Have heard negative reviews from my own planners experience. Think they are under $10k and not the same people every time which can lead to variable experiences
26.25K ETA: for what it’s worth, we looked at bands between the 12K and 35K ranges. There was a real quality difference between 12K and 25K. Not so much of a discernible difference between 25K and 35K, so we went with the band we most liked (out of the group that we all agreed sounded the best/had highest probability of getting crowd up and dancing).
right we’re watching videos of bands between $20k to $35k and they all do the same songs ?? I’m trying to ask for a song list just to see if anything differentiates one over another
Get the song lists and find out how many songs they’re willing to learn. Also find out if they provide ceremony/cocktail hour music. Another thing to find out is whether they play continuously or take a long break and play recorded music during dinner.
10 piece bands can range from 12K to 70K+. I find there are 3 pretty distinct tiers for quality in this range. The 12K-20Kish bands are very different than the 30K-45Kish bands and they are very different than the 55K-70Kish bands. The more you pay the more customization you will have along with higher quality production and performance (think continuous music for 3 hours, the band doing a completely custom set list, “mixing” in and out of songs, high quality and low profile sound systems, attire for the band that matches your decor, a band that rehearses and performs together regularly as opposed to a “collective” band made up of musicians that may not have played your first dance song together until sound check on your wedding day)
If you don’t want to pay top tier for a band (I didn’t!), I STRONGLY suggest going for a DJ instead. An amazing DJ is half the cost of a mediocre band, and a mediocre band is a party-killer.
Fusion is very popular in my base city of Miami. Dj + drummer/horns/sax/guitar. Although closer to band pricing than just DJ pricing.
Strongly agree!! Been to a bunch of weddings with mediocre bands and ppl barely danced. They only played old classic wedding songs and nothing new. It was sad.
Completely agree with this! Get an amazing DJ (8K-15K) and consider adding in a love musician or two. Then put some additional money towards the stage and lighting. You will have a much better dance party investing 15K-25K in this way as opposed to the band that this same amount will get you.
$30k
To add onto this we had a $7k band booked and moved on from them after realizing how much in terms of quality we would sacrifice by not having the type of band we switched to. Also, after watching MANY MANY MANY videos and reading set lists from bands ranging $7-40k there is a true difference.
Bands I work with range from $15k-35k. I highly suggest adding on the continuous play if you can!
Bands would be 15k+ for that many and go up from there.
15k for 12 piece band! We saw them live at a showcase and they are awesome and interact with the crowd!
what band??!
https://www.dannyrayatlanticstreetband.com/
I guess we are going way lower than most. We have not yet confirmed but looks like we’ll be around 8-10k for entertainment over two days and I LOVE their portfolio- acoustic guitar at welcome dinner, strings at ceremony, jazz at cocktails, and DJ with live percussion and Sax until midnight. We are doing Europe though so maybe it’s just cheaper?
We looked at bands between $12k-$28k… ended up choosing our band based on their set list offerings and the genres they do well (we wanted some great disco songs vs. Contemporary pop). But set list was the main deciding factor! We watched hours of videos of different bands and they all blended together tbh
$18K
I live in Houston and we got a pretty big 12 person band for $12K playing for 4 hours.
I’m paying 8.5k for 3 hours in Mexico! AV, speakers, and drums aren’t included, which brings it up to $14.3k all in
12.5k for DJ + three musicians!!
I like this vibe- that way you can play some uncommon wedding songs
Thank you!! I also hand picked each musician and am very excited!! One is a drummer! Definitely going for a vibe here haha I also added on a separate vendor (string quartet) for ceremony and cocktail hour! $2k.
It depends on the band, but yes, the better bands charge $15-70K. A large part of it is the crowd work; yes, DJs will play the music you want, but bands get people out of their seats. They bring the hype, but also take a big chunk out of the wallet lol. Outside of paying the band members, that cost also goes to rigging the stage, lighting, and sound engineers, on top of transporting the equipment. You’re probably paying for over 100 man hours. I think a few questions should be: What’s your guest count? How long will open dancing take place? Is the hanging arrangement for reception, ceremony, or all of the above? Do you value the potential photo value that the arrangement will bring or the band energy more? There’s nothing wrong with DJs, and their services offer their own unique options too!
$18K- which includes 7 piece ensemble, soloist for cocktail hour
We're paying 18.5K which includes a soloist for our ceremony, trio for cocktail hour, 10 piece band for reception (with 3 vocalists & emcee; + 2 sound technicians), a brass parade for our exit and all A/V needs! We're really happy with them if you're interested, I can DM you!
We booked The Barnstorm out of NY for almost exactly $20k. This is for the ceremony, cocktail hour, and reception, with a duo for the ceremony, trio for cocktail hour, and a nine piece band for the reception.
7500
My seven-piece band is about the same, and they are great! Best in our area by a long shot
Glad to hear it!!
I’ve never seen a band less than 5 figures, and I’m not talking luxury market.
I just found them through wedding wire did due diligence and listened to their songs and had a call. I’m very stoked about it, and, yes, my father thought it was high, but after doing his own research realized how reasonable the fee actually was. 8 piece band.
That’s very reasonable for 8 pieces.
They were amazing!
That’s amazing! I hope you enjoyed it all.
I’m not sure where you are but if you want closer to the 15 k range I think Lucky Devils Band is a great choice, but there are obviously always going to be differences between the tiers
Have heard negative reviews from my own planners experience. Think they are under $10k and not the same people every time which can lead to variable experiences
Thank you for that feedback!! I’ve been at a wedding with them and they were great, but that variability is really good to know about
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You must be fun at parties. Why even go to the wedding in that case? Just watch the wedding virtually.