We love finding the perfect balance of Live Band and DJ Party music. Here is how we do it ->
Should you hire a Live Band or a DJ? This is one of the oldest and most popular questions couples will ask when they beginning planning their wedding reception.
Our easy answer? We think you should have BOTH!
We feel the exact same way. There are advantages to having both. While Live bands are great at bringing a reception dinner to life and creating an exciting and authentic party energy, there are also recordings that are just so awesome to let the DJ spin later in the evening.
That is the reason why we have evolved to include a little bit of both almost every time we perform. Live Music and DJ both have their strengths and when they are engaged at the right times create a perfect balance that makes your wedding not just flow, but come to life in a memorable and amazing way that will have your guests talking about it for years to come.
This week we wanted to help explain this balance to you by sharing the Top 3 moments we love to perform as a Live Band, as well as the Top 3 moments where we find DJ Service to be more effective:
LIVE BAND MOMENTS
1) The Ceremony
Live Music for your ceremony is the ultimate first impression. It provides a beautiful and moving
background atmosphere to start your wedding with a little bit of magic.
The big advantage of using Live Music for your ceremony is the ability of musicians to creatively turn any popular song into an instrumental classical masterpiece. The video here is a wonderful example with our Live Ceremony Trio performing a ceremony rendition of Ed Sheeran's Perfect ☝️
2) Cocktail Hour The next big opportunity to make an impression with Live Music comes right after the Ceremony during the Cocktail Hour
Live Music really helps to break the ice and give your guests something to talk about! With a wide range of musical options here, the mood can be soft & elegant, jazzy & cool or upbeat & fun. And one of the best parts is that you can include songs that you and your guests already know and love. The video here is a medley of Cocktail Songs including some of our favourite mood-setters ☝️ 3) Dinner and/or Dance Your Dinner Reception is also a wonderful opportunity to enhance the atmosphere with live music.
Romantic slow selections during the first course, lively upbeat songs to help raise the energy toward the end of dessert, or a full blown party-sound to kick off the dance and help inspire guests to get up off their feet! Our absolute favourite moment here is the First Dance, which is the ultimate opportunity to make your song truly authentic by having it performed by a live band. Here is a wonderful example of a song we have always loved performing as a slow First Dance ☝️
DJ MOMENTS
1) Grand Entrance This is a big moment that feels like a movie when the music comes together with the introductions.
It is a moment that lends itself to a DJ/MC as the recordings are changed quickly for each member of your bridal party, each with upbeat recognizable songs that help get your guests excited! There is something about it that just works! For the perfect example, go to the 49 second mark of this amazing Barry White recording, close your eyes and imagine your family and friends cheering you and your partner on as you are gloriously welcomed into your wedding reception ☝️ 2) Wedding Games If you wanted to include any wedding games in your reception dinner, it is also a better opportunity for
DJ music, as it provides the perfect backing sound. There is an added fun to hearing party songs underneath these big moments, be it a Centrepiece Game, Kissing Game or Shoe Game. Here is a really fun example from a recent wedding where we provided DJ/MC for a Scavenger Hunt ☝️ 3) Late Night Dance Party! Regardless of whether you hired a Live Band to perform through Dinner or Dancing too, it is always
great to end the evening with a DJ dance party! When we perform Dinner Receptions, the DJ Dance Party will often begin after the First Dance. Alternately, when we perform as a Dance Band, we usually perform really long early sets to leave the last hour for an epic DJ Dance Party! There are specific genres like Cultural Music, Deep House/EDM and HipHop that are better spun by the DJ and played in groups of songs together☝️
THE BEST OF BOTH WORLDS We love performing LIVE and we love dancing to DJs too! If you love music as much as we do, feel free to get creative and use both LIVE and DJ music to serve all the different moments of your big day. With the right balance, your guests will leave amazed at the symphony of amazing musical moments that they experienced on your special day!! BM