Over the past few months, Joey and I have been on the hunt for a rockin’ wedding band.  Or make that a rockin’ wedding band that wasn’t already booked and didn’t cost an absurd amount of money.  We’ve spent countless nights at bars and in hotel lobbies and while finally booking a band was our #1 goal, I’d be lying if I said all the things we learned along the way weren’t my favorite part.

1. Most people don’t know how to dance.

While I plan on getting down on my actual wedding day, during the great wedding band search, I was all business.  I mean, it was serious research, right?  People watching became our favorite part of seeing a band and I was constantly wondering things like “is that really the most natural movement that person could come up with to fit the beat of the music??”

2. Brass sections are awesome.

The first band we saw had a killer brass section and there was no going back after that.  Any band without one suddenly seemed to fall flat.  I was starting to consider just booking a brass section.  They’re that cool.

3. Performance matters.

We were thisclose to booking a band when we decided to see them perform a second time just to be sure and they suddenly had all new singers — none of which knew how to perform.  If you’re uncomfortable on stage, then I’m uncomfortable watching you on stage.

4. Singers can make or break a band.

Look, my musically un-inclined ear wouldn’t know the difference between a great bass player and a so-so bass player, but even I can tell the difference between an okay singer and a good singer.

5. Every band loves Bruno Mars.

I’ll be darned if we didn’t hear “Locked Out of Heaven” performed by every single band we saw.  I guess I can’t blame them, I love it too.

6. Speedy communication is key.

This is actually a huge consideration for every vendor we’ve booked for the wedding.  I have no tolerance for someone who can’t return emails in a timely matter.  I mean, they take all of a few minutes to write.  I’m still in shock that one of the highly rated bands I emailed twice, never responded.  I’m looking at you, Raising Cain!

7. Bands are expensive!

We saw a band we really liked and they called to tell me they were booked but they had an “alumni band” that charged $7800.  And then I didn’t even want to know how much the actual band cost.  I think the band we booked is a steal!

8. Volume is a factor.

Our reception is in a big warehouse type building so any time we heard a loud band and I had to scream into Joey’s ear, all I could picture was our guests having to do the same thing.  You better believe I made sure our band could control their volume easily.

9. Two voices are better than one.

Take it from me, one voice for hours gets old real fast.  Plus vocal harmony sounds lovely.

10. Take your time.  The “research” is half the fun!

Although, if they hadn’t already been snatched up, I would’ve booked the first band we heard, going to all the shows ended up being a blast and I’m glad we “had” to do it 🙂  I’m kind of sad we don’t have any more performances to go to.  Well I guess we do have one more… the actual wedding!

And while we’re on the subject of the wedding, we sent out our Save the Dates and booked a cake baker this week!  We went with Indulge Bakery for the most important of reasons… their red velvet cake!  Joey and I have been set on red velvet since we got engaged and I’m pretty picky about my red velvet 😛  They’ll also be making a chocolate cake with one layer of chocolate buttercream and one layer of vanilla buttercream.  Drool.

DJ or live band?

Weekend plans?

Favorite cake?