Celebrity and Entertainment

You want your wedding to be unforgettable!  Both for you and your guests!  Everyone wants the best when it comes to their wedding but how does one have “it all” when on a tight budget. You want your gown to dazzle your groom; you want the food and entertainment to be amazing, the dresses beautiful, the decorations “out of this world” and the guests? Well, you want them to walk away saying that this was the most beautiful and memorable wedding they ever attended!!

And it can be!  Let’s talk entertainment.  An almost infallible way to have an amazing and unforgettable wedding is to create a mood and ambiance matching your wedding style perfectly, and what better way than thru music? Even with a tight budget there is no need to settle for mediocre entertainment.

Ask around, get recommendations! Family and friends will surely have come across professional or aspiring entertainers whom they are happy to recommend. And then there are “friends of friends.”   Ask them! Compare costs, services offered, popularity, length of time they will stay at your event and most of all, ask questions about their experience, their wide range of musical selections, their equipment, and back-up plans in the event of a system failure. Ask whether or not they have liability insurance in case of an accident or injury, or in the worst case scenario, they don’t show up to your wedding!  Unfortunately, that has happened!

Keep in mind that higher costs does not necessarily mean better quality, so ask for references and check them!  It makes no sense to ask and then not call for an unbiased opinion.  And don’t forget the Better Business Bureau!  If there have been complaints made about the company, it’s likely that only a fraction of the problems have been reported, so buyer beware!

You may find some entertainers more professional in their service and presentation, while others will provide additional options (sometimes called freebees) that seem quite fair.  These are often offered as an incentive for you to sign on the dotted line during your first meeting!  Whatever, you do, never sign a contract if you aren’t fully, 100% convinced that this is the right person for the job, or if you feel any pressure (freebies or not!).

On average, you should expect to allocate 5% of your wedding budget to your entertainment.  That’s really not much money in the grand scheme of things, especially when you consider that the music sets the stage and mood for your wedding reception and in some cases even your ceremony. This is especially true if you’re having a theme wedding!  Fabulous Hollywood 50′s, the Great Gatsby,  Roaring 20′s, Victorian, Star Wars, etc.

However, even the traditional bride playing the top 101 favorite wedding selections wants to see them played in a concise and professional manner, and the announcements and choreography of the event carried out in a most spectacular manner.  When you look at it this way, 5% isn’t much money when you consider that your guests will walk away pleasantly entertained, having enjoyed every moment of time they shared with you on your wedding day.

While choosing an entertainer look out for special services offered that may help cut down on other expenses such as your wedding favors. In fact, an entertainer who has a caricature artist or a photographer in his fold would be a great option. Here each guest could be sketched or photographed against a setting. This could be neatly presented to each guest or family acting as a wedding remembrance thereby cutting down on expensive favors.

And for the bride with literally no budget allotment for entertainment, you have options as well! If you find having a band or professional DJ playing at your wedding too expensive, shift to pre-recorded music or make your own iPod play list created especially for the occasion. Better still if yours is a family of crooners you could save on hiring professionals when taking your vows and also by reducing costs at your reception.