For you, the wedding day is exciting minute-by-minute, but for your guests, the party can lag at times. The right entertainment can keep the party going, pacing the festivities and making sure everyone has a good time. Still providing ceremony and reception entertainment can get expensive.
According to a survey by The American Association of Bridal Consultants, wedding entertainment costs $1,300, with live music from a band totaling even more—$1,751. A DJ costs $748 and a musician/soloist or ensemble is $559.
Live music is typically more expensive then a DJ.
Photo credit: Kristen Castillo
While some couples don’t have any wedding entertainment, you don’t have to spend that much money to have a fun party. Having a church wedding? Ask if the church’s organist can play music for a nominal fee. Or play pre-recorded music for your ceremony entrance.
You can also hire one or more musicians like a pianist, a chellist or a harpist. Often fees for a solo artist are more affordable than you think. Hiring a musician for the ceremony can be budget friendly too since you only need to hire them for a few hours, such as 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. for a 10 a.m. ceremony.
There’s nothing like live music from a band and a DJ can play a variety of music from the original artists. While the DJ vs. band debate rages on, you need to decide what’s best for your budget.
As previously noted, bands tend to cost significantly more than DJs. While you can hire one or the other, it’s not cost-effective to hire both as many couples do. Sure live music for dinner followed by DJ music for the rest of the reception is pleasing, but it’s not worth the expense.
You might be able to get discounts from both DJs and bands, especially if you book at off-days and times. Much like photo and video options, you can also look online for deals on sites like Living Social, Groupon’s Wedding Shop and Bride Rush.
It’s a controversial idea but many couples choose to play their own wedding music via an iPod. Some people say “No Way” to the idea, feeling it’s an area you can’t do yourself but others are willing to give it a try to save money.
Depending on your venue, this audio option might not work because the music could be too loud or too quiet. You might need to set up speakers too. But for a small wedding with controlled acoustics, you might be able to be your own DJ, sort of, anyway.
If you choose to use an iPod to play your wedding music, you definitely need a friend (preferably not a wedding guest) who can be in charge of the music. You can program the music but let’s face it, you don’t want to have to shuffle through songs when it’s your time to enjoy your first dance or cut the wedding cake.
For $4.99, you can even buy a Wedding DJ app where you can program all your favorite songs to play for different moments of the wedding day, such as pre-ceremony music, recessional, cocktail hour and dinner.
Slideshow. Show a slideshow of photos of you and your groom through the years, such as baby pics, school age photos, graduations, shots of when you met and images from when you were dating or got engaged. Your guests will have fun watching this slideshow, which can be set to music and is pretty easy to format on most computers. You can also create a free slideshow on sites like Animoto and Smile Box.
Lawn Games. While you’re taking pictures between the ceremony and reception, guests can pass the time playing lawn games like bocce ball or ring toss. These games are cheap and easy to set up ahead of time and they’ll make for great guest photos.
Photo booth. Hiring a photo booth rental or setting up your own photo booth can be both entertaining for guests and provide everyone (including you) with a souvenir of the big day. Check out this blog’s tips on creating a DIY photo booth.
Puzzles & Games. Challenge and entertain your guests games with a word search, a crossword or a trivia quiz about you and spouse-to-be. Leave the games, which are easy to create and can be a lot of fun for your family and friends to solve, at each place setting. Pinterest has lots of wedding puzzle and game ideas.
Karaoke. If you enjoy singing your favorite songs among family and friends, karaoke can be a great entertainment idea for your wedding. After a few cocktails, more and more guests will likely step up to the mic to belt out a song. Karaoke machine rental prices can vary but typically start under $100. Before you rent a machine, make sure your guests like karaoke. If not, that’s money wasted and a bummer for your budget.