Essex Wedding Bands

Hire The Best Wedding Bands in Essex.

Planning your Essex wedding? Alive Network is here to help you discover the perfect live band for your big day. With an unrivalled choice of incredible musicians for every style and budget, we’ve helped thousands of couples create unforgettable celebrations. From Chelmsford to Colchester and Southend, if you’re looking to hire a wedding band in Essex, we’ve got you covered. Read more

Your wedding day deserves those spine-tingling, unforgettable moments - packed dance floors, friends belting out singalong classics, your first dance surrounded by smiling faces. At Alive Network, we help brides, grooms and couples across Essex and the South East bring their wedding to life with amazing live music.

Whether you’re after a high-energy party band, smooth soul, acoustic duos, jazz, swing, Ceilidh groups, sax players, or solo artists like singer guitarists - we’ve got them all. Our wedding bands are hand-picked for quality, value and reliability, with many only available through us.

Simply enter your date to see which bands are available, watch videos, listen to songs, browse setlists, read reviews and get instant online prices. Filter by style, price, popularity or travel distance to find the best fit. Booking is secure, quick, and backed by 24/7 emergency cover and trusted contracts.

Our bands have performed at top Essex venues including Gosfield Hall, Leez Priory, Fennes Estate and Houchins, as well as weddings right across the South East. With over 26 years’ experience, 183,000 events booked, a 5-star Trustpilot rating and 60,000 glowing customer reviews - you’re in safe hands.

Couples say, “Our band was the best decision we made for our wedding” and, “The band had everyone singing and dancing all night!”

If you’re looking to hire a wedding band in Essex, keep scrolling to find your perfect match.

Booking A Wedding Band In Essex

What You Need To Know

For an occasion as important as your wedding day, we know that choosing the right band might feel overwhelming. Our guide to booking a wedding band answers all of the common questions you might have - and if you require further advice, we’re more than happy to help.

It’s the home of Blur, ‘The Planets’ composer Gustav Holst, and Turner Prize-winning artist Grayson Perry. Yet Essex is never given quite the credit it deserves for its contribution to music and culture.

Think Colchester and you probably think of a quaint ancient town, rather than the birthplace of Britpop. However it’s here that mates Damon, Graham and Alex came together with drummer Dave Rowntree to form the band around which the cultural movement coalesced: Blur.

Likewise, Southend (pronounced ‘Saarf-End’) deserves a reputation for punching above its weight when it comes to music, with goth-garage outfit The Horrors and many more all calling the seaside town home.

Our bands are available to hire in every area of Essex including:

The cost of wedding bands varies, depending on the line-up, and the options each band offers. In the last 12 months, the average price of a wedding band in Essex was £1,800 including travel costs.

The table below shows the range of fees for different types of wedding bands:

Type of Artist	Cost Range
Rock and Pop wedding party bands	£750 - £3000 (3-piece) £800 - £4000 (4-piece) £1100 - £5000 (5-piece) £1400 - £27000 (6-piece or bigger)
Upbeat and Dixieland Jazz bands	£660 - £1,800
Acoustic and Roaming bands	£380 - £2000 (Duos) £750 - £2000 (3-piece) £850 - £3600 (4-piece or bigger)
Soul Wedding Bands	£1100 - £3600 (5-piece) £1600 - £5000 (6-piece) £2100 - £7500 (7-piece and bigger)
Rat Pack and Swing bands	£1000 - £2500 (4-piece) £1100 - £3000 (5-6-piece) £1000 - £5000 (7-piece and bigger)

Booking a band who are local to your venue is a great way to reduce cost, as any travel fees will be minimal. The home town of all Alive Network wedding bands are included on their profile pages, and your Entertainment Coordinator can recommend the best bands near to your venue. However, you don’t need to limit your search to just local bands – your perfect band maybe willing to travel at nominal cost!

Tritts & The Numbers

The list below shows approximately how much space wedding bands of different sizes require:

3-piece band - 3 x 3 metres
4-piece band - 4 x 3 metres
5 and 6-piece band - 5 x 3 metres
7-piece band and bigger - 5/6 x 4 metres

Atlantic Groove

Depending how close to the performance space a wedding band can park, unloading, setting up and performing their sound-check will take around 60 – 90 minutes.

Some busy city hotels require bands to load in via a supplier’s entrance, using a shared staff elevator, which can increase set up times.

Following their performance, it takes around 45 – 60 minutes to pack down and load out.

Our bands usually offer two 60-minute performances, though many can perform for longer if needed. You could spread out a two-hour performance by splitting it into three 40-minute sets. Most bands are flexible to fit in with your evening, and will usually take a break of around 15 minutes between sets, during which time they will provide background music from an MP3 player or laptop.

If providing the evening entertainment, a wedding band would typically arrive at 6pm, get set up and perform that all-important sound check by 7.30pm to 8pm, get changed and ready to start the first performance by around 9pm. The second performance would then start around 10.30pm, until a normal curfew of midnight. Many wedding bands offer longer performances or DJ sets at an additional cost, including finishing times of 1am and 2am. You can find the booking options on each wedding band’s profile page. These times serve as an example – the band will always liaise with you and will tailor what they are doing on the night to your particular needs.

Check out these reviews of Essex wedding bands to help you find the perfect band for you.

5 stars - Party Starters are Highly Recommended

“The Party Starters were fantastic! In the lead up to our wedding day we were in contact with Will, who was friendly and efficient. We were able to select our favourite songs from the setlist which the band adhered to and played brilliantly. The band brought a lot of fun to our evening celebrations with our guests dancing and singing along to every song. The lead singer was engaging with the guests, creating a very warm, connected atmosphere between band and guests. Would highly recommend for any occasion.”

Matthew S booked Party Starters for their Wedding in Essex

5 stars - Talk Of The Town are Highly Recommended

“Phenomenal performance by Talk of the Town.Very chilled, easy going and fun to have at our wedding.They look the part, they sound the part and delivered a Stella performance. Everyone was waving about the band after the evening was finished.Must have for any event! Thank you again gents!”

Adam C booked Talk Of The Town for their Wedding in Essex

5 stars - The Apes are Highly Recommended

“I have to admit I was a bit worried about choosing you without seeing and hearing you live. We couldn't be happier! You provided the most amazing night we could dream of.Your professionalism and your talents were shining and everyone was asking where we found such an amazing band! Thank you Chris, Sam, Ryan and Lewis for a memorable night for us and for all of our guests who still talk about you ??Andrea & James”

Andrea booked The Apes for their Wedding in Essex

5 stars - Juicebox are Highly Recommended

“Juicebox arrived and set up promptly ready for the start of the wedding. The singing was amazing and got everyone up dancing and singing along. Great communication before the event. Juicebox learnt our first dance, especially for the event and it was amazing. Can’t recommend highly enough. Thank you Juicebox.”

Charlotte H booked Juicebox for their Wedding in Essex

5 stars - Season are Highly Recommended

“Season played at our wedding, and put in a fantastic performance. They nailed our first dance song acoustically and then played our favourite songs in a playlist that was thoughtful for all generations at our wedding. Thank you so much x”

Ed S booked Season for their Wedding in Essex

5 stars - Arcades are Highly Recommended

“Can we just say a massive thank you for making our wedding so amazing!!!!! We had the best evening. From start to finish you made the whole process brilliant and stress free. Your a very talented bunch of people. Thank you again Kelly and Wayne”

Wayne A booked Arcades for their Wedding

We work closely with some amazing Essex wedding venues including: Gosfield Hall, Gaynes Park, Leez Priory, Braxted Park Estate, Quendon Hall (Parklands), Blake Hall, Prested Hall, The Reid Rooms, Layer Marney Tower and Houchins Farm and many more.

If you want any advice on suitable entertainment at your chosen venue, just let us know where you’re planning to book and we’ll share what we know, who we’ve booked there in the past, which of our bands are most suitable and any other key information about entertainment at that venue that we think you might want to be aware of.

As a proud supplier member of the UK Alliance of Wedding Planners, we are happy to recommend their members who abide by the UKAWP Code of Business Practice.

The following UKAWP wedding planners cover Essex and the surrounding areas: One Curious Dream, Weddings By Mary, Natalie Hewitt, BusyBrides and The Wedding Planners.

Aside from finding some of the best Wedding Bands in the UK and getting expert advice from our friendly staff, one of the main reasons to hire a Wedding Band from Alive Network Entertainment Agency is security. We ensure your booking is covered 24/7 against any eventuality, so that no matter what, you can enjoy your event without worrying about whether your entertainment will turn up. If your band is ill or unable to perform, our team will be on hand to source a suitable replacement even out of office hours and at short notice. Imagine having to do that yourself!?

Outstanding five-star customer service
Emergency cover 24/7, 365 days a year
Hand-picked Wedding Bands for the ultimate in quality and reliability
Safe, secure booking contracts for your peace of mind
Easy enquiry and booking process
Hundreds of Wedding Bands to choose from
Trusted brand with over 110,000 previous clients & high-profile industry partnerships
Instant online Wedding Band prices & availability

Established in 1999, Alive Network has grown to become the UK's largest live entertainment agency and one of the leading online entertainment booking services in the world. We specialise in wedding entertainment, party entertainment and corporate entertainment, trusted by companies like Apple, Mercedes-Benz, Microsoft, Coca-Cola & Nike, and we have helped over 110,000 customers to hire the perfect live entertainment for their events. We are formally partnered with BIMM, the largest and leading provider of contemporary music education in the UK and Europe, ensuring that we are able to bring you the very best new talent exclusively at Alive Network.

Find more about Alive Network Entertainment Agency here

17,485 Essex Wedding Band Reviews

For 26 years, our wedding music experts have helped thousands of couples to find their perfect band. See what previous customers had to say in these recent reviews.

Party Starters Wedding Band Review Wedding Essex

5 stars - Party Starters are Highly Recommended

Matthew S booked Party Starters for their Wedding in Essex

Talk Of The Town Wedding Band Review Wedding Essex

5 stars - Talk Of The Town are Highly Recommended

“Phenomenal performance by Talk of the Town. Very chilled, easy going and fun to have at our wedding. They look the part, they sound the part and delivered a Stella performance. Everyone was waving about the band after the evening was finished. Must have for any event! Thank you again gents!”

Adam C booked Talk Of The Town for their Wedding in Essex

GLOW PARTY BAND Wedding Band Review Venue / Pub / Club Event Essex

5 stars - GLOW PARTY BAND are Highly Recommended

“I can’t praise glow party enough. From the start, they were on time, which is always a relief when holding an event. Chris and George are both very friendly and care about giving you the sounds you want as well as using their experience in judging the audience. They played hit after hit with amazi...”

Pete F booked GLOW PARTY BAND for their event in Essex

The Apes Wedding Band Review Wedding Essex

5 stars - The Apes are Highly Recommended

“I have to admit I was a bit worried about choosing you without seeing and hearing you live. We couldn't be happier! You provided the most amazing night we could dream of. Your professionalism and your talents were shining and everyone was asking where we found such an amazing band! Thank you Ch...”

Andrea booked The Apes for their Wedding in Essex

Amazing Essex Wedding Venues

Just a few of the local venues we've worked with

Gosfield Hall CO9 1SF
Gaynes Park CM16 7RJ
Down Hall Country House Hotel CM22 7AS
Quendon Hall (Parklands) CB11 3XN
The Reid Rooms CM6 1QT
Mulberry House CM5 9NL
Orsett Hall Hotel, RM16 3HS
Quendon Hall Parklands CB11 3XN
Prested Hall CO5 9EE
Houchins Farm CO6 1RT
Hylands House CM2 8WQ
Braxted Park CM8 3EN
Le Talbooth CO7 6HP
The Lawn SS4 1PL
Vaulty Manor CM9 8BQ

Layer Marney Tower CO5 9US
Colville Hall CM6 1RQ
Boreham House CM3 3HY
Great Lodge CM7 4QD
Channels Golf Club, CM3 3PT
Friern Manor Country House CM13 3SL
Crabbs Barn CO5 9AX
Newland Hall CM1 4LH
The Fennes Estate CM7 5PL
Crondon Park Golf Course CM4 9DP
The Barns at Lodge Farm CM16 6FS
The Compasses at Pattiswick CM77 8BG
The Lion Inn CM3 3JA
Ye Olde Plough House RM14 3SR
The Fennes CM7 5PL

Houchins Wedding Venue CO6 1RT
Parklands Quendon Hall - Wedding Venue in Essex CB11 3XN
Stock Brook Manor CM12 0SP
Three Rivers golf and country club CM3 6RR
The Warren Estate CM9 6RW
Stock Brook Manor and Country Club CM12 0SP
Villiers Barn Wedding & Events Venue CO16 9PT
Crondon Park CM4 9DP
Marks Hall CO6 1TG
Roslin Beach Hotel SS1 3BG
Anwar's Exquisite Indian Restaurant CM22 7EB
Anne of Cleves Barn CM7 4QD
Little Channels at the Channels Estate CM3 3PR
Stoke by Nayland Golf Club and Hotel CO6 4PZ
That Amazing Place CM17 0NH

Discover More Local Wedding Musicians in Essex

We offer a wide range of live music for weddings, including bands, singers, DJs, string quartets, sax players, pianists and more

Acoustic Bands

Soul Bands

Jazz Bands

Ceilidh Bands

Mumford & Sons Style Indie Folk Rock Bands

Solo, Duo & Trios

The Roaming Bands & Musicians Collection

Wedding DJs

DJ Live Acts

Saxophone Players

Singer Guitarists

183,705 Events Made Awesome So Far

Why Choose Alive?

26 years providing the best wedding entertainment in Essex

Five-Star Service

Get 1:1 help & ideas quickly from your dedicated entertainment expert

Budget Friendly

Big or small, luxe or less, we get you the best value with transparent pricing

Handpicked By Us

All artists selected by
our expert talent scouts

Safe & Secure

Reliable artists. Secure contracts. 24/7 Emergency Cover. Peace of mind.

The #1 Agency For Essex Wedding Band Hire

Looking for local musicians for your wedding day? We represent acts available in Basildon, Billericay, Braintree, Brentwood, Brightlingsea, Burnham-On-Crouch, Canvey Island, Chelmsford, Chigwell, Chipping Ongar, Clacton-On-Sea, Colchester, Epping, Frinton-On-Sea, Grays, Great Dunmow, Halstead, Harlow, Harwich, Loughton, Maldon, Rayleigh, Saffron Walden, Southend-on-Sea, Stansted Mountfitchet, Tilbury, Waltham Abbey, Walton-On-The-Naze, West Mersea, Wickford, Witham, Wivenhoe.

Photos by: Carrie Lavers Photography, Andrew Billington Photography

Registered offices: Ground Floor Suite, Silk Mill Studios, Princess Street, Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire, ST5 1DD, United Kingdom

Some artists may appear with the kind co-operation and consent of their respective management companies.

This service is intended for personal use only and no part of the service may be displayed in public, broadcast or used for any business purpose without the consent of Alive Network. Whilst every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of our services and web content, we accept no responsibility for any use made of the information provided and we shall not be liable for any loss suffered thereby.

Hire The Best Wedding Bands in Essex