Wedding reception musicians

Weddings are unique events. Each wedding drinks reception or wedding breakfast will have a different combination of guests, venue and entertainment requirements, so finding the perfect wedding background music can take some time!

The choice you make depends on what you would like live music to do for you. Do you have a lot of very young guests who would love some entertainment while they’re waiting for the cake? Would you like some gentle wedding background music as a soundtrack to a formal wedding breakfast or drinks reception? Or would you just like to hear your favourite sounds and share them with your friends?

You might be wondering what kind of live music your guests would enjoy, and how you can make that work with your budget and venue. Fortunately there are a huge number of options available, so we’ve written this guide to take you through some of the most popular and more unusual ideas.

Choosing a genre

For some old-fashioned glamour, hire a jazz band; they make the perfect soundtrack for a classy, vintage wedding. For the full vintage experience, see if they can stay on for the reception party and play a swinging set with drums and a vocalist, to get the dancing started.

If your venue is tight on space, a solo guitarist can fit in almost anywhere – choose between flamenco and classical or acoustic pop with or without vocals. Likewise a solo sax player can squeeze into most spaces.

Classical musicians are a wonderful complement to an elegant wedding reception and the perfect enhancement to a grand Georgian wedding venue. And don't forget, while all string quartets, harpists, wind trios and other classical groups will have a repertoire of classical favourites, most can extend their range to include pop hits, medleys of folks songs and even Bollywood material.

For outdoor receptions, nothing beats a steel band or dixieland jazz band for creating an upbeat, joyful atmosphere.

Wedding reception musicians on a budget

Want live background music without compromising on the dress, the food and the drink? Rather than hiring a cheaper act, the best way of saving money on your wedding background music is to ask the band if they can reduce the number of musicians in the line-up. That way you still get the best quality, but won’t have to break the bank.

The cheapest option is a soloist. A wedding pianist, harpist or classical guitarist, or sax player can provide gentle sophistication and a musical background to your wedding reception or wedding breakfast without being intrusive. Some even play with backing tracks for a fuller sound.

If you've already booked a wedding band it's worth checking to see if they can provide a smaller line-up for earlier on in the day, such as an acoustic guitarist/vocalist, a cocktail pianist or a jazz trio. Using the same musicians for wedding background music earlier in the day could save you money and help keep stress levels to a minimum!

After booking

Make sure you get in touch with your wedding musicians well before the actual day, so that you can explain the arrangements to them and they can make sure you’re happy with the music they plan to play, giving you the chance to specify any special favourites.

Wedding musicians always have to work around the rest of the day’s events, so will be keen to hear about your plans and what you’d like them to do. They usually provide all their own equipment, so you won’t have to worry about organising this - though it’s always worth checking with them beforehand!

Some venues are designed with live music in mind, and some can easily accommodate it. Others might be a little more difficult because of noise or space restrictions, but you can work around these kind of problems. It’s easy to keep the volume down by using an adjustable backing track, or save space (and money) by using fewer people.

Good wedding musicians will have experience of many places, and will be able to adapt to your requirements with enough notice, so make sure you tell them as much as you can about your venue.

How much do wedding musicians cost?

You will always be able to find musicians to suit your budget: live wedding background music ranges from very simple and inexpensive solo acts and duos to 10-piece show bands with brass, backing vocals and percussion.

If you want one of the bigger bands, but can’t afford the full show, there are bands available in all genres who offer compact versions of their full show, perhaps playing to a backing track or using fewer members.

Jazz trio: from £545

String quartet: from £465

Steel pan duo: from £480

Acoustic rock/pop guitar/vocalist: from £250

Acoustic rock/pop guitar/vocal duo: from £415

Rat pack singer with backing track: £330

Solo male or female pop singer to backing tracks: from £250

Harpist: from £255

Cocktail pianist: from £230

Solo guitarist: from £230

We keep our rates as low as possible – but if another agent offers you one of our acts at a lower price, or on better terms, we’ll match their offer. The price we quote for an act includes all costs, (such as travel, VAT, and any accommodation necessary), unless we say otherwise.

Function Central is a wedding music agency specialising in wedding musicians who have been hand-picked for their talent, professionalism and reliability. We take over 600 wedding music bookings a year and get great feedback from our clients. We make choosing and booking your wedding entertainment easy, providing support and advice right up to the day, and even a 24-hour helpline.

Choosing wedding background music doesn’t need to be a chore – we hope you enjoy browsing the site and listening to our bands! If you’d like more information and suggestions, get in touch.