Sit back, relax, and let your wedding entertainment get sorted… In this post I want to look at the advantages of using an entertainment agency or music company to organise your wedding reception entertainment.
When you get engaged the excitement is indescribable… but once the wedding planning starts a lot of couples realise that there is just SO much to arrange! When it comes to the most special day of your life, the last thing you want to be doing is stressing out about things. So let’s look at how you can make arranging your wedding entertainment a little easier, making time for table plans, dress fittings and flower arrangements.
There are plenty of agencies or music companies out there who would love to help plan your day with you. You will be able to give them a few ideas of what you’d like, and they’ll come up with suggestions of bands, harpists, string quartets… whatever takes your fancy!
The Difference Between Entertainment Agencies and Music Companies
First off, just to explain the difference… an entertainment agency is a company that has various entertainment acts on their books, and they act as a middle man between you and the act. A music company runs and manages various acts themselves, unlike the agency who just book them. You might also find bands who provide a lot of extras who can take care of your whole day.
The Advantages of Using One Company
The pros to using one company for your whole day’s wedding entertainment are…
It Will Save You a Lot of Time
If you were to book all your entertainment individually it would take weeks of sifting through hundreds of websites to find what you want. This way, your one company of choice can suggest to you a few options in each area you’re interested in, so you won’t have to spend hours and hours trying to whittle down the hundreds you find online.
You Only Have to Deal with One Company
You can deal with just one company who will then do all the hard work for you. All your correspondence can go through them and they’ll then organise the acts you’ve booked.
Peace of Mind
Some might say there’s more security for your booking. Let’s say the worst happened — the band you’ve booked for your reception are suddenly unavailable… the company you’ve booked through will hopefully be able to sort alternatives in any emergency. They’ll have a huge database of contacts they can call upon.
Easy to Get Hold Of
You’ll have someone you can contact easily. Musicians (and any other entertainment act you may have booked — magicians, caricaturists etc) tend to have a lot going on and will often be on the road/working abroad. When you’re dealing with one agent or company, they’ll have a manned office 9-5 which means you can get hold of them.
Possible Concerns
I know a few reservations that may come into your head, so let’s talk about those too…
Less Choice?
Doesn’t this mean we get a lack of choice? Yes, I suppose it does, but most good agents will still have a great selection of acts, and at least then you can trust that they know they’re great quality and reliable.
The best option is to find the most important entertainment element of your day (i.e. for most people, the band) on an agent’s/music company’s website, and they can then provide the other extras you might need, but may be less specific about (i.e. a string quartet or a saxophonist).
Direct Correspondence
I would be much more comfortable if I could speak to someone from the band/act personally… Most agents or music companies will get the entertainment act to call you a few weeks before your wedding to chat through final details, so hopefully that puts your mind at rest.
Extra Cost?
Why am I paying this person to be a middle man? Most of the time you’re not! Most professional entertainment acts will discount their prices by 20% for their agents, so the price you’ll get from an agent should be roughly the same as if you booked the act direct. Of course, there are plenty of agents out there who may whack up their commission, so a little research might be wise to ensure they’re not overcharging you.
Guest post by Sera Golding of MIB Music
Image from Matt Pereira Photography
