Hiring a "live" band is a great way to ensure a "lively" reception that will create lasting memories you will cherish for decades. As the years pass by and you pull out the wedding album for a romantic moment by the fireplace, you will see wonderful memories that your photographer captured on film. (Assuming you followed my advice in an earlier article about finding a good variety band)

The following suggestions are intended to help you pick the right facility when you have decided that you want to have a live band as the "feature" of the reception.

If you have decided to make a live band the feature of your reception, I would advise booking the band first so you can better plan your reception location. Most couples select the reception site based upon the number of guests, parking, food, etc. and usually don't give much thought about whether the site is suitable for the type of entertainment they have in mind.

So, most often the reception site is already chosen. Most professional wedding reception bands are accustomed to "rolling with the punches" when it comes to reception sites and where to set up, get electricity, etc. However, providing the band with the optimum placement in the room will help them a great deal and will improve the sound quality, not to mention, the energy level.

Even the best band with the nicest equipment can be limited by bad placement in a room and/or terrible acoustics. If the group is cramped, they can't move around and if the acoustics are bad, the sound may not be the best that they are capable of producing. You will say to yourself, "when I saw them before I booked them, they had a lot more energy and sounded better." You may have seen them in an optimum setting. It is difficult for a band to create a high-energy atmosphere when they have to be concerned about hitting one another in the head with a guitar neck or stumbling over monitor speakers. To give you a point of reference, my band, Mixed Company, which is a five-member group, likes to have a 12 ft. X 24 ft. area for optimum placement of our equipment and personnel.

When given a choice, try to have the band set up so they can play to the length of the room and try to avoid placing the band so their speakers face a lot of windows without curtains. A room with lots of heavy curtains and carpet is great for a band. If you clap your hands and hear an echo all around the room, that is not good. What is great for a choir is terrible for a band. The "deader" the room the better. This gives the band the ability to control volume better and to add artificial reverb as needed. Most people don't realize it, but the room itself and placement of the band in the room, dictates the volume level more so than the settings on the sound system. The band has to achieve a "mix" that blends vocals, electric instruments, and acoustic instruments including drums together for a great sound. If the mix is too loud, it is unpleasant and not musical, if it is too soft, the energy level may suffer. A responsible band will arrive 2 to 3 hours early to set up and work on their mix for a particular room. When you and your facility coordinate with your band to give them the optimum placement in the room and time to perform a thorough sound check, everyone wins. Best of all, and we all appreciate this one, musicians and guests alike, there is much less chance of that awful, deafening feedback rearing its ugly head during your first dance.

On the subject of facilities, I would be terribly remiss if I did not mention staging, as in a platform from which the band can perform. This is so overlooked in the wedding market. Wedding clients all say they don't want a cheesy band, yet they will inevitably expect the band to run all of their wiring across the floor of the hotel or country club ballroom, creating an obstacle course/health hazard for the performers and an awful presentation of what might otherwise be a great band. And then they sometimes wonder why the musicians just stood there like statues while performing, rather than moving around and creating the atmosphere of excitement necessary for a great party. A great party starts on stage. But many wedding clients insist on a big dance floor and stick the musicians in a tight space surrounded by wiring that resembles a plate of spaghetti. The fact is, due to legal liability, the wiring for the sound and lighting needs to be neatly tucked away under staging and taped down in any exposed areas that are not covered by staging. But beyond the safety and legal aspects of staging, is the way it presents the band. A band on the floor, no matter how skilled, often comes across as the typical "cheesy" wedding band. A band on a stage, even if lesser-skilled, appears more professional and will be taken much more seriously by your guests. But why not have both the stage and the highest caliber band and stack the deck in your favor on the biggest day of your life? A final perk the stage provides is to serve as a type of focal point that commands attention when necessary. When the master of ceremonies and/or musicians are making announcements from floor level it is often difficult for your guests to focus on who is speaking and what is being said. Announcements simply tend to be ignored, unless you have the sound turned up to "blasting level."

If you have the opportunity to book your band first, find out what they need in order to give you their best performance ever. Then find a reception location that meets your requirements for food, number of guests, parking, etc. as well as the requirements for your band to give you their best. If it is already too late for that, discuss with your reception facility the fact that you want your band to have their choice of placement in the room. Next, have the bandleader contact the facility manager and discuss the options. There is almost always a compromise that suits both parties.

Some reception sites will tell you that they "don't mind bands" when they really don't want a band at all. They just want your name on the proverbial dotted line. When the band arrives for the big day, the facility personnel will meet them at the door and say things like, "you can't unload there", "you can't park there", "you can't put that there", etc. By the time your band figures out all the rules for setting up, they are running behind schedule and bummed out. And yet the band is in charge of creating a festive mood for everyone else. Another problem is the facility personnel or the caterer deciding what your entertainment should and shouldn't need. They are not the entertainment professionals and should not dictate such things. Have your bandleader explain to the facility management what their needs are. Then follow up with the facility manager to be sure that these requirements are met. Your entertainment wants to do their best, but they will sometimes need a little help from you to apply pressure when and where needed. This will ensure that your entertainment runs flawlessly. After all, you are holding the checkbook, right? My band, Mixed Company, has arrived at facilities in the Atlanta area, completed our set up, attempted to power up to perform a sound check, and found that the power outlets wouldn't work. When the event is downtown, it is not uncommon for the loading dock at a hotel to be blocked; and nobody seems to know who owns the vehicles. These things cause your entertainment to be behind schedule and under extra stress. Remember that you are holding the checkbook. You can emphasize to the facility the importance you place on your entertainment and they will get the message. Ask around and see if the facility you are considering has a reputation for such inadequacies before you sign their "dotted line."

I hope you have found this article helpful. Please feel free to contact me if you have a question I have not covered in one of these articles. I make this advice available for no charge, as I endeavor to raise the bar of excellence with regard to wedding entertainment.

Doug McAlexander - Arsis Productions

E-mail: doug@arsisproductions.com

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