How much does a live wedding band cost?

Plan­ning a wed­ding can be both an excit­ing and daunt­ing task

With many parts of it requir­ing care­ful con­sid­er­a­tion. One of the key ele­ments that most cou­ples need to think about ear­ly on is the wed­ding band. After all, it’s the musi­cal heart of the recep­tion, set­ting the mood and ensur­ing your guests have a fan­tas­tic time. So, just how much does a wed­ding band cost in the UK?

Under­stand­ing the Basics

Typ­i­cal­ly, the cost of hir­ing a wed­ding band in the UK can vary great­ly, rang­ing any­where from £600 to over £4,000. This broad spec­trum is influ­enced by sev­er­al fac­tors, includ­ing the size of the band, their expe­ri­ence, loca­tion, and the dura­tion for which you’re hir­ing them


1. Size of the Band:
A sim­ple acoustic duo will gen­er­al­ly be more afford­able than a 9‑piece band with brass, drums, and mul­ti­ple vocal­ists. Remem­ber, each musi­cian expects to be paid for their time and exper­tise, so as the num­bers increase, so does the cost.

2. Expe­ri­ence and Rep­u­ta­tion:
A band that has built a strong rep­u­ta­tion and has expe­ri­ence per­form­ing at wed­dings will often charge more. If they’re high­ly sought after, you can expect their fees to reflect their demand. How­ev­er, if bud­get is a con­straint, con­sid­er look­ing for up-and-com­ing bands that are still build­ing their rep­u­ta­tion. They often offer com­pet­i­tive rates and can deliv­er an out­stand­ing performance.

3. Loca­tion:
If your wed­ding is locat­ed in a major city like Lon­don, Man­ches­ter, or Birm­ing­ham, you might find prices to be high­er com­pared to small­er towns or rur­al areas. Addi­tion­al­ly, if a band needs to trav­el a sig­nif­i­cant dis­tance to your venue, they may include trav­el and accom­mo­da­tion costs in their fee.

4. Dura­tion of Per­for­mance:
Some bands offer pack­ages that might include two sets of 45 min­utes each, while oth­ers can play for sev­er­al hours. Under­stand what your event requires and nego­ti­ate accordingly.

5. Addi­tion­al Costs:
Beyond the per­for­mance, some bands offer added ser­vices like light­ing, a DJ set, or a sound engi­neer. These can add to the over­all cost, but they can also enhance the over­all expe­ri­ence. Always clar­i­fy what’s includ­ed in the quot­ed price.