Before you rush in and book the first band, DJ or musician you like the sound of for your wedding, take a step back and make sure you ask your venue these important questions. Knowing the answers to these before you start your wedding entertainment search will save you any planning dilemmas further down the road.
There are a lot of things to consider when trying to find a potential venue for your special day. If music is important to you on your wedding day (which it is for most couples), then it is in your best interest to make sure your venue can cater for your wedding entertainment choices.
Here are some of the most important questions to ask your wedding venue before you hire your wedding entertainment!
Is live music allowed at the venue?
Without a doubt, this should the very first question you ask your wedding venue before you even consider the thought of having a live singer or wedding band.
Believe it or not, some wedding venues simply don’t allow live music to be performed there. There are a variety of reasons why this may occur. Obviously, this is something you need to know about as soon as possible, especially before you hire any wedding entertainment!
If it is the case where the venue won’t allow a wedding band or singer, then you have some big decisions to make. Of course, you can still hire a wedding DJ as your main source of entertainment, but this may affect the energy and excitement on your wedding night.
Does the venue have any sound restrictions?
The sight of a sound limiter at any wedding venue is enough to make hearts sink, especially for the band!
Noise limiters and sound restrictions are becoming more commonplace at wedding venues across the UK. As more and more venues pop up in residential areas or have been converted from barns, sound limiters are having to be fitted in order to maintain control of the volume of wedding entertainment.
Whilst some bands and wedding singers can work alongside sound limiters, it can be quite destructive to a band’s performance on the night. You should ask if the venue has a sound limiter and also what the limit is set at in decibels.
Where is the bar?
A simple question that seems unrelated to wedding entertainment, but it can have a bigger impact than you think.
The location of the bar can make or break an evening wedding party in an instant! The optimal party conditions are for the bar to be in the same room as the DJ or band at the end of the night.
Guests will naturally congregate towards the bar at a wedding, especially in the evening. If the bar is in a separate room to where your band is playing, then this will have a huge impact on the atmosphere of your party. Give your guests the easiest route from bar to party as possible at your wedding!
Can you recommend any awesome singers/bands?
It’s not easy to book wedding entertainment when you haven’t seen the band or singer yourself before. One way to combat this uncertainty is to ask the wedding venue to suggest some awesome wedding entertainers for your big day.
Hiring wedding entertainment who are proven to be a success at the venue already will make it much more likely that you’ll have a party to remember.
One of the hardest things for bands and singers is actually the travelling, parking, loading in and basically of the logistics. The playing part is the fun part! For a wedding band, playing a venue they are familiar with will always give them that extra boost of confidence and energy in order to be able to put in the performance of their lives.
What time is the curfew?
Most wedding venues will have a cut off time for live music and an overall curfew on the night.
Knowing this ahead of time is crucial when planning any type of wedding band or singer performance. This is one part of your wedding where you don’t want any surprises!
If partying until the early hours of the morning is important to you on your wedding night, an early curfew may not be suited to the style of wedding you had in mind.
