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Booking Wedding Reception Entertainment via an Agency
With today's internet shopping culture, its easy to buy anything you want off-the-shelf, usually whilst referring to pictures, descriptions and recommendations alone. This is essentially what you are probably doing right now with Rubber Soul. You might already have considered booking your wedding music (or corporate entertainment for that matter - the same rules apply) via an events and music agency.
Agencies are third-party companies that will have many different bands and styles of music on offer to you. Here's why an agency can be a good thing for you, the client:
What Wedding Entertainment Agencies in the UK can offer you:
1) Offer you a wide range of musical styles if you're not sure what you want
2) Deal with the paperwork and liaise with the band for you
3) Pay the band for you
4) Offer the peace of mind that comes with a larger company with an established reputation
But here's what you might not have realised about entertainment agencies:
1) Music can be an expensive item on the list for your big day. You can expect to pay somewhere between £1200 and £2000 for a large and reputable wedding function band to perform in the evening alone. That's if you book direct with the band. The Agency have to make some money out of the deal too, so they add what can be somewhere between 15% and 30% ON TOP of the band's fee. That's £360 - £600 you are paying for the benefits listed above. This is why in band advertisements, you see the phrase: "No Agency Fees"
2) Many agencies WILL NOT GIVE YOU THE BAND's CONTACT DETAILS BEFORE THE EVENT. This has happened to us on the few occasions we've been asked (begged!) by an agent to help them out with a function that one of their cover bands cannot attend. The agents do this because they want to remain the sole point of contact and to ensure that their band doesn't do anything that they consider sneaky, like, for example, offering to deal with the client directly, thus cutting out the agent and losing them their fee. The agency will also not want YOU to know how much THEY are actually paying the band.
3) Personalities. As a result of this you won't get to deal with the band directly before your big day. You won't know whether the manager or leader or worse still, lead singer, is obnoxious or friendly and helpful! This is a big thing for a wedding. It's a day you're going to want to remember for the rest of your life and for all the RIGHT reasons!
4) Chinese Whispers. Can you rely on all your wishes to be conveyed to the band for the big day? Is the band totally aware that you want Van Morrison's version of Have I Told You Lately and not Rod Stewart's as your first dance? Do they know that you don't want them to play any Robbie Williams? They do know its a late finish as you want them to play until 1am right?
5) Attendance. The agent won't be there on the day. Not a chance.
Top Tips for Booking a Band Direct
1) Call them. Email them. Ask them all sorts of questions and judge them for yourselves. Did they get back to you promptly? Were they polite and helpful? Did they give you ideas of things you hadn't thought of? Quite simply - did you like them?
2) Look at their testimonials page. Wedding Music Recommendations for a band are a vital source of income for them and they will be proud of their reputation. Ask if they'll put you in touch with their previous clients if you like.
3) Ask whether they offer any other styles or groups and variations of their musicians, like a jazz quartet for pre-dinner drinks. They may also know other musicians and groups that they can recommend, like solo sopranos, organists and string quartets.
4) This one is priceless: Judge the reaction to the question "Can you recommend any other bands that I can investigate as alternatives to yours?" The bands that are confident and experienced will not hesitate to do just that. Those that aren't will immediately question why you'd want to do that, or tell you that they don't know of any!
5) Preparing for the Worst. Ask about the band's cancellation policy. What happens if I have to postpone the wedding or worse still cancel it? Similarly, one of the pitfalls of booking with a band direct would be that you have no comeback should THE BAND pull out of the event. You can safeguard against this very easily by obtaining a signed contract. See our related article: How to Hire Wedding Musicians, What You're Paying for and Contracts.
If you absolutely have to use an agency, please consider the following advice:
1) Ask them to break down their quote showing you exactly what their fee is.
2) Demand that you have direct contact with the band BEFORE the event to avoid the Chinese Whispers and Obnoxious Band scenarios above.
3) Make sure that you have an agency contact number that will be available 24 hours a day for any problems that arise on the night.
In Conclusion
Whilst Wedding Music Entertainment Agencies can provide you with a valuable resource of bands of different styles, if you know what you want, it pays to do the research on the internet yourself. You could save up to £600 by doing this yourself. Dealing with the band direct gives you the peace of mind that YOU have met or talked to the band before the wedding and you have a contact who will be there on the night itself.
If you have any questions about the topic of this article, why not drop us an email?
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