Consider your budget

Now to probably the most important factor in choosing a band, getting one within your budget.

Band fees vary wildly depending on how many members are in the band, how long they have been established, how successful and in-demand they are and travel distance involved to get your event.

Fees
As a general guide, you can expect to pay the following fees for a good quality act, based on 2 hours performance time and including travel:

String Quartet: £300 - £600
Tribute band: £400 - £550 (solo) - £700 - £1200 (band)
Pop Rock band: £500 - £1200
Jazz band: £500 - £1000
Soul band: £800 - £1750
70's band: £700 - £1500
Rock n' roll & Swing Jive bands: £650 - £1000
Latin & Salsa band: £700 - £1200

The lower fees shown represent newer bands or bands with only a few members. The higher fees represent more established bands or bands with more members.

Bands charging more than the fees shown will either be at the top of their tree, feature famous members, be travelling a considerable distance or else they are so in demand that they can demand higher fees.

Bands charging less than the fees shown may be inexperienced, using inferior equipment, quoting for shorter playing times or not including other expenses.

Quality vs expense
There is no doubt that quality should be your main concern. Alive Network will be able to recommend the best choice of quality artists within your budget. It is NOT worth risking the success of your wedding day by booking a cheap band.

A common source of wedding disaster stories is the one which goes something along the lines of:

"My fiancée's mate said he played in a band who'd done all the local pubs. They agreed to play at our wedding for £100 plus free beer. On the night they arrived late and set up a sound system which looked like something from a jumble sale. After 30 minutes of continuous screaming feedback we asked them to turn the system down which they ignored. After their 2 hour sound check we were eventually treated to 50 minutes of Iron Maiden, AC-DC, Black Sabbath and Deep Purple. Whilst I love rock music by parents and grand parents don't and they soon left. The majority of our other guests made their apology's and left early too. The band were later thrown out of the reception venue for throwing up in the bar and we had to pay for the damage they had done"

OK, this story is extreme but you get the picture. You are entrusting part of the happiest day of your life and the enjoyment of your guests to the band which you choose for your reception. Like wise, you don't want to be walking down the isle to a string quartet who sound more like a meeting of the local cat strangling fetish society.

By choosing any one of the bands or artists listed here on Alive Network you are making an informed decision. All our acts have been chosen because of their superb performance abilities, their professional conduct, and their ability to perform to the highest of standards. The fees our bands charge are a reasonable reflection of their ability and they include all of the customer support from Alive Network which accompanies your booking.

Customer support from Alive Network
One of the main advantages of booking live music from any agency is their quality guarantee. Alive Network guarantees all it's artists are of a professional standard and more than capable of excelling in the job they are hired to do.

We offer a full customer support service. This includes helping you to select the right band, liaising with the band to ensure they are well aware of your requirements down to the finest detail, helping you to choose appropriate songs/music, liaising with your wedding reception venue, and basically helping with every aspect of arranging music for your wedding.

You also have the piece of mind that if the worst case scenario happens and the band you have booked are unable to perform due to illness or injury (which has never happened yet!) we will not stop searching until we find you a suitable replacement. With thousands of acts to call upon, your booking will always be safe with Alive Network.

In the next and final section we look at popular choices of live music for weddings.
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