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Ours is 5K (in NH). They play 4 hours and then are going to DJ the last hour (i think for 100 or 200 bucks).
Our band is 3,000 for 4 hours (includes some breaks). Their original quote to me was closer to 5k, which just didn't fit in our budget, but they worked with me to get it down to 3K.
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There are many factors that affect the cost of a band. First is how many people do you want playing- a 6 piece band will cost much less than a ten piece. Always ask when looking at bands what the minimum number of people required for a booking is. A big factor is where your wedding is- in NY a great 8-10 piece band costs upward of 8-10,000. Also, do you expect the cost to include ceremony music and cocktail hour? My fiance and I were very serious about having a band. We toyed with the DJ idea, but both families shot it down, and I am glad they did. The music really does make a difference. You want a band that not only sounds good, but knows how to adjust their playlist in response to the crowds tastes, to keep people moving. If you go the route of a DJ, make sure they have some wedding reccomendations. Its very different to DJ for a wedding crowd than a younger sweet 16 or bar mitzvah group. Also- if you book a minimum number of band members now, you may be able to add people as it gets closer to the wedding at a cheaper price. The economy is on you side!
Ladies, you are making me feel much better with the prices you guys posted. And those are great points, Jess. We'd be looking for people in the Chicago suburbs...probably a 6 person band for just the reception, and not the cocktail hour.
I should mention our band is 8 members. The actual cost is only 4200 but we need to pay 100/head for their travel (2 hours from their location), hence 5000.
A great band, high end, is 10k just for a basic package. However, there are bands that are very low, and middle prices too like around 4k that are just as good.
A lot of bands are wiling to negotiate based on your date, the numbers and frankly now the economy. Our band went down $1,000 just because of the economy. We will have the eight piece band for six hours for $6,500. It pains me to say it because I wanted to spend $3K but couldn't find anyone at that. And the ones in the $4K range sucked. But I found plenty in the $5K to $7K range and upwards. Although it is a lot of money I've been to a wedding with our band and they were FANTASTIC we were on the dance floor all night. So, it is one of the parts of the wedding I'm most looking forward to
Just a suggestion....I found my band on Gigmasters.com. They usually have a large suggestion of bands with their pricing and lots of reviews. It is especially helpful for specialty bands (I had a steel drum band) or solo musicians (ie. harpist, classical guitarist, etc).
Oh, and I just had a three person steel drum band for 4 hours as we were just looking for mood music (early outdoor wedding = no dancing), which ran me $1,200 in central Florida.
My five piece band for 4 hours will be $1,750 in WY. We'll be paying an extra $250 on top of that for their hotel rooms. I was STOKED about this deal, as it gave us more money for other things!
My 5 piece band will play for 3 hours for $1300 in IL, plus we will be tipping them.
What good info, ladies! Thanks. And Bree- thanks for the gigmasters tip. We'd love to have a harpist play during our ceremony, so I'm going to look on there for someone.
@JennyBryde: may i ask who your band is??! thats seems like such a reasonable price!!
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I've always envisioned having a live band play at my wedding. Although I know they are much more costly than a DJ, I really don't know how much the typical band costs for however many hours. One friend got married last year and said she spent $10,000 just for her band. That sounded like a lot to me, even though they did an amazing job. So how much do bands typically cost, and how many hours will they play for before charging extra?