5 Reasons to Hire Experienced Wedding Musicians
Planning a wedding is a monumental task and there are so many moving pieces to think about and decide. When most people think about their wedding, music is at least one of the central parts of that plan. Whether you envision dancing the night away to your favorite school dance tunes or walking down the aisle to a song that is special to you, music can set the tone for your entire wedding. You want each of those moments to go off without a hitch and hiring the right group of musicians can make all the difference.
Experienced wedding musicians will have plenty of tools to help you plan.
Musicians who play weddings frequently will have planning tools to help you select music which can be a huge burden lifted when you have so many other elements to plan. Wedding musicians who are used to working with couples will have idea lists, forms and expert advice for you as you are planning the music for your wedding.
2. Experienced wedding musicians will be able to be flexible and make adjustments.
Things tend to not go quite as planned during weddings. Your wedding might not start exactly on time or the ring bearer might freeze up mid-walk. Experienced wedding musicians will know to expect the unexpected and be flexible. If your ring bearer freezes up mid-walk, experienced musicians will continue playing until that ring bearer makes it up to the front even if that means repeating music several times. Often, experienced groups offer a ceremony package that is not tied to a close time frame so that anything that might happen will be covered under your package. Musicians who have years of experience on their instrument (i.e. Master’s degrees or PhD’s in Performance) but no experience playing weddings might be completely overwhelmed by the variables and unknowns of a wedding. It requires a very flexible musician with years of experience to tackle all of the potential encounters in a wedding.
3. Experienced wedding musicians will be able to perform just about anything you throw at them.
Always envisioned walking down the aisle to Everlong by the Foo Fighters or Love on Top by Beyonce? Musicians who have years of experience playing weddings usually will have heard it all, played it all or will be able to learn it all. A lot of groups will include any and all requests in the price of their wedding packages.
4. Experienced wedding musicians will be prepared for any situation.
Sometimes an outdoor wedding with sunny skies turns quickly into a rainy wedding. Experienced musicians will know what to ask for and look for at a ceremony site to ensure that they have cover in case of weather, make sure guests can hear them and be able to see everything they need to see for cues. Many musicians have also moved to using iPads to read their music because paper music can end up flying away on a windy day.
5. Experienced wedding musicians love their job.
Musicians who mostly perform for weddings end up playing a lot of the same music throughout the year. You might assume that because of that performing for weddings is not exciting. I find however, that the most exciting performing that I do is during a wedding processional! There are so many variables and unknowns about each performance that every processional is a nerve wracking and exciting experience every time, no matter how many weddings I have performed. Not every musician feels this way about performing for weddings, but musicians who make this their career love every minute! Traveling, the unknowns of performance and playing all kinds of new and interesting music are what excite me most about performing for weddings {not to mention being able to celebrate love}!
I hope this helped you in your decision making process! Happy planning!
XOXO Sylvia