Wedding Planning Tips & Best Practices
Rule #1 : Compare Your Vendors Pricing – Apples to Apples
What are the things that you most remember from your friend / family member’s wedding? The most common response we hear is – “How Great the Party Was!”. In our experience, the two biggest ingredients that combine and cook-up a great party are : The Booze & The Entertainment! Further, nothing will buzzkill things more than a cheeseball wedding Band or DJ that can’t read the crowd and get the party going. Therefore, budgeting properly for those items is paramount to planning a killer party!
One of the biggest budget items when it comes to planning a wedding is the “Food” and other decorative pieces. We’re certainly not looking to diminish the importance of a phenomenal meal – we’ve seen and have been a part of some amazing dinners in the past. Though, consider the cost of your entertainment on a level playing field (IE; break it out on a per-person basis) with the cost of the other major expenses.
One of the biggest budget items when it comes to planning a wedding is the “Food” and other decorative pieces. We’re certainly not looking to diminish the importance of a phenomenal meal – we’ve seen and have been a part of some amazing dinners in the past. Although, consider plated-meals will cost $100-$150, and we’ve even seen feasts of $200+ per person with 9 different hors d’oeuvres and candy stations etc. When you compare those to an all-inclusive entertainment package around the ~$8500 mark. Dividing by an average wedding of ~175 people and it equals to roughly $45 per person for a complete, elite-level wedding band package.
Even reallocating $5 per person (or one less type of hors d’oeuvre!) can be the difference between good entertainment vs amazing entertainment.
Online Client Survey; 2011-2016
How Much Did You Budget (in %) ? vs. Most Memorable From The Wedding?
55 %
20 %
10 %
5 %
5 %
5 %
17 %
54 %
22 %
4 %
3 %
0 %
…What Sets Boston Common Entertainment Bands + DJs Apart…
Beyond our Band+DJ Combos and show production, our focus extends past just playing music… It encompases being your host for the evening, managing the energy level effectively, making sure our volume is evenly set, our lighting is programmed with colors that capture the mood of the song, and ultimately ensuring that everyone is partying all night long. With our comprehensive approach to events, we offer and deliver amazing results for every single one of our clients!
What we provide, above & beyond most other entertainment companies…
- MC / Host — We believe that we’re the Quarterback of your wedding. We provide an Online Planning system and schedule consultation sessions with you, the head coach. That way, we understand your game plan, and can execute it perfectly!
- Sound System — We have scalable sound systems which can cover spaces, both large and small! As you can imagine, a small boombox won’t be enough for your 400 person ballroom… just the same as a 2000 watt speaker system is overkill for cocktail hour! We’ve got the correct size systems to provide sound in many different areas/rooms of venues.
- Lighting — Our lights are completely programmed, by song. This enhances the atmosphere of the room, and dazzles guests with tastefully designed lighting effects.
…The “4 Ps” of Entertainment…
When looking at diamonds, you have the 4 Cs… in the Entertainment industry, there’s the 4 Ps : Planning – Performance – Professionalism – Production.
There’s a huge distinction between entertainers that bring their “A-Games” to every performance, versus some who only do the bare-minimum.
Furthermore, top-quality entertainment does more than just perform songs. The best Wedding Bands and DJ’s who will make your party successful will act as your host for the evening, keeping guest where they need to be according to the agenda, managing the energy level effectively, and ultimately ensuring that everyone is partying all night long.