Bride-to-be Blogger Kristy: Choosing Our Wedding Band Early

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So, maybe Eric and I haven’t always been known for doing things just like everyone else. We’re both the babies of our families, so it might stem from years of wanting to do things, well, differently. Some might call this “difficult” or “challenging,” but it’s just the way we approach things (sorry, Mom and Dad!).

Needless to say, our wedding planning hasn’t been standard. We have some wedding resources that have general time frames and month-by-month breakdown of planning—but we are far from following them, whoops! So shortly after we chose our venue, we confirmed our band. (See? Far from standard, considering most timelines advise you to book this between six and nine months away from your wedding; we were well over a year.) The early band selection happened because of a few factors: our love for music, our love for a band we already heard and knew, and trusting a few friends.

Eric grew up playing the guitar, and amazes me to this day when he picks it up, after months of it being stowed away, and begins strumming. Growing up, my grandmother was a ballerina and taught at a dance studio, so naturally my sisters and I took to dancing at a young age (although I’m not sure my current dance moves are great examples of my past). We listen to music in the car, while cooking dinner, and we are the couple with speakers packed on any trip; camping, traveling across the US, or just for a wedding weekend. Remember, I mentioned our first date, a concert in Philadelphia? We have a love for music and talented musicians.

Not only is music important to us as a couple, but we feel it’s important to the atmosphere of the wedding. It sets the mood, gets everyone celebrating, and shows the musical preference of the couple. After attending a couple weddings, sometimes you just know a good thing when you hear it. And we heard a very good thing about two years ago: The band had everyone, including the grandmoms, on the dance floor. There was a varying choice of song selection, from current Ke$ha songs to those more typical must-have wedding songs. This may have been one of the first times that I had to pull Eric off the dance floor!

Shortly after we firmed up the date and location for our wedding, I emailed my friend about her wedding band to see if they were available for our date. So even before we notified friends and family of our date and location, we were searching for a band. I emailed Heath Allen Music Entertainment and they were still available for the date, so they penciled us in. He was very easy to deal with and easygoing and carefree about the process. After the venue search being so long and tiring, it was a relief to have the band choice be so simple.When we were notified that they were still available, I was so excited and Eric was ecstatic!

I wish I had more advice on choosing a band or DJ for a wedding, but sometimes, your friends and others that have gone through the wedding planning process are your best resources. Plus, sometimes it’s nice to have someone else do the initial searching and narrowing down! Especially if you have similar tastes, it makes your selection that much easier!

Did you know you wanted a specific band or DJ at your wedding? Did they surprise you with their talents or a specific rendition of a song?

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