Wedding Music for Your
Ceremony and Reception

You really need to book your wedding music early, sometimes almost two years in advance, to get who you want. Both bands and DJs often book two years into their planners for events.

If you're having your wedding ceremony at the same location as your reception, a lot of bands and DJs can provide your ceremony music for you too.

Should I have a live band or a DJ for my reception?
Both have pros and cons, so it's really up to you based on where you're having your event, the crowd you expect and the money you plan to spend.

Look around your area and you should be able to find local talent in either a band or a DJ. For my daughter's reception, we had a live band that was very good. The band leader also happened to be the Best Man's father, so they got quite a deal.

Your Wedding Music Checklist:

Whether you decide on a band or a DJ, make sure they can guarantee that back up equipment is readily available should something happen with the equipment during the event.

Look for professionalism in the service: a good website, package prices, photos, references and testimonials. And if you're an Internet junkie like me, see if they have all of their contracted services available in a Client section of their website. If so, you can choose your play lists, especially your Do Not Play List, upload the names of the people in your wedding party for the DJ to announce, schedule your event's timeline, etc.

Be sure to shop around for prices. In Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware, DJ fees range from $450 to upwards of $1,000 depending on how many hours you want them for, what's included in the package and such. Read their entire website then ask for a quote or engage in some email conversation before contracting.

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