band vs. Dj?

Wow thank you everyone for your help!!!!

We had originally looked at having a band in as we both work in a bar and have access to some pretty awesome artists but the cost ultimately had us shut down that idea.

Another con is often you still need someone to dj between the bands sets and sometimes even a sound or light tech - unless the band does it themselves. That's a lot of people to organize & pay for meals.

We absolutely loved the idea of having live music but the cost just wasn't worth it in the end - we found a good band was generally 4 times the cost of a DJ

I love live bands at weddings!! The only cons are that you have less control over the playlist and they are way more expensive

Everyone has said great things here regarding pros and cons of band versus DJ. I like how Michelle brought up the dinner aspect for your vendors. Our venue is charging us our dinner price less 20% for our vendors (we only have 2 thankfully) and this is on top of what we’re already paying them. A whole band is going to cost much more in the end.

We decided to go with a dj/mc. Our venue is very small. Only holds 110 people. So space was a big concern of ours. My FH is also very into a wide variety of different music.

Have a band for an hour or two since they do charge more than a dj.

Have a dj for the rest of the evening for the guests to have a good time and playing thw music that will be enjoyed.

This becomes a win win case for both sides.

Cons- Bands may only have one repertoire so they won't be able to play a variety of songs your guests may want to here. Cost is big.

If you haven't heard your DJ before, they may not be able to read your crowd well enough, leading to poor music.

Pros- A band is great to listen to, and the sound is more authentic. If you love a specific band, it's even better.

A DJ is cheaper and can play more variety of music

Cost is the biggest thing,
we were going to try a band until we realized that we would have to sit through auditions or watch a bunch of videos of bands in order to pick one.
Also someone mentioned to us that if you want guests to be able to request songs then a DJ is probably the way to go.

I think it comes down to cost.

Band you are paying for more ppl

DJ you are paying for one person.

Will you be covering dinner for the entertainment?

I have both my DJ is actually has a live band which he threw in for an extra couple hundred, the band will play during cocktail hour. And he will DJ after dinner.

I would check with your venue (if you have booked) to see their recommendations, I've also seen some venues offer their own DJs in the wedding package. I like both but I also lean more towards DJ but FH said let's do the band too during cocktail hour so I said ok.