DJs, live musicians, and band DJ hybrid, where to begin! Finding the right entertainment for your wedding is a major decision. Above all, the entertainment experience you choose for your Kansas City wedding will be about more than finding someone who can pump out beats. It’ll be a matter of hiring an energy architect who can create memories and keep people shaking it all night long!
Memories like your first dance as newlyweds, the song that got grandma out on the dance floor, and the bops that kept all of your friends by your side by jumping up and down all night with glow sticks in hand.
So, how do you even begin to decide who to trust with creating that immersive wedding day experience?
In the article below, we’ll break it down for you a bit more. You’ll find out the key differences between a DJ and a live band, what a band DJ hybrid is, and whether or not you should hire that family friend who offered to DJ your wedding for practically nothing. As a matter of fact, let’s start there!
Hiring a Friend or Family Member to Play at Your Wedding
You may have a friend, family member, or even a friend of a friend who DJs on the side and has offered up their services for your wedding. They may have even offered you a special rate or discounted services, and you found yourself considering their tempting offer. It might be super inviting to take them up on it, but here’s where we would caution you against it.
The first reason to turn down that offer might be somewhat obvious. If a friend or family member is offering to DJ your wedding, you might prefer that their attendance at your wedding be only as a guest and not as someone who is working. If they’re in the DJ booth all night, you don’t exactly get to meet them by the bar for a signature cocktail, hop in the photobooth with them to strike a pose, or gobble down late-night bites with them.
Another reason to reconsider their offer is this. If the friend of a friend of a friend is not a professional wedding DJ, they might not have the insurance required by your wedding venue to work on the property for the evening. And yes, the venue will quickly turn them away! A scenario that nobody wants to deal with on the night of their wedding. Which would suddenly leave you with no DJ at all.
Lastly, you might not have a way to qualify this family member or friend’s work. DJ’ing, to them, might be a hobby or something they ‘do on the side’. If that’s the case, they may not have a website or even client reviews to provide you with any social proof of what they’ll deliver on the night of your wedding.
Furthermore, they might also lack the knowledge and expertise it takes to work with other wedding vendors on a preconstrcuted timeline.
All valid reasons why we would caution you to avoid being put in a sticky situation that will affect your ability to enjoy your wedding reception exactly the way you’ve imagined it.
Wedding DJ vs Band
Now that you’ve decided to turn down that enticing offer, you’re still left having to decide whether you’d like to work with a DJ, band, or even a band DJ hybrid at your wedding.
Honestly, wedding DJs, live bands, and band DJ hybrids are all amazing options for transforming your wedding reception into the party of a lifetime.
But you might be torn on which way to go and how to choose while sticking to your budget. Let’s explore each option a little bit more.
Hiring a Kansas City DJ for Your Wedding
We’re sure that when you picture your wedding reception, you have a very specific vision in mind. You’re imagining the moment you are announced to your family and friends as a married couple and the way your guests erupt with happiness now that you are officially newlyweds.
Or, maybe you’re thinking about the song you’ve already selected that will fill the room when you enjoy your first dance. Perhaps you are envisioning what it feels like to hit the dance floor with a sea of people at your side, belting out your favorite hits from Taylor Swift and dancing until it’s time for your grand exit.
Maybe you’re thinking about your wedding party making their way into the reception to a specific genre of songs with sunglasses and fun props to raise the energy in the room.
Each of these break-out moments will be brought to you courtesy of a skilled wedding DJ. One who knows how to properly time and introduce each of these moments. A DJ who knows how to bring that high energy into the room and when to slow it down.
You see, a trained, skilled wedding DJ is someone who does so much more than “just play songs“. They know how to communicate with their couples ahead of time to ensure their wedding day vision is not only met but exceeded. And when the night of your wedding arrives, they know how to read the crowd and keep the excitement going all night long. All in all valuing people over playlists.
Selecting a Live Band to Play at Your Wedding
On the other hand, maybe you recently went to another wedding or event where a live band or musician played. It could have been that the couple getting married opted for live music during their cocktail hour or reception, but either way, you thought the sound was amazing and unlike anything you’ve ever experienced.
In fact, you thought their decision to hire a violinist for cocktail hour was perfectly paired with the atmosphere, and you felt yourself transported.
Maybe you attended a wedding reception where multiple musicians took to the stage, and it was truly awesome to be in such a lively room at a private event. It might have left you wondering if you should hire a live band or musician for your own wedding.
Photo by Jessica Yahn Photography Entertainment by Elevate Entertainment
Hiring a live musician for your wedding comes with a caveat, because you then have to decide if you want to hire a multi-piece band, string musicians, or soloists. Not only that, you might find that some live musicians don’t play for the duration of the evening, which leaves you wondering how you’ll fill the gaps in time during your cocktail hour or reception.
Decision Time
If you hire a live band or musician, who will make all the introductions and keep pace? But if you hire a wedding DJ, how will that compare with the reverberating sound that comes along with the feeling created by live music?
You might be torn between which way to go, or you might even be considering hiring a DJ for one part of the evening and a live band for the rest of the evening.
It’s a tough call, especially when you think about how unique each experience is and what they both bring to the table on the night of your wedding.
Band DJ Hybrid
We’ve been energy architects in the wedding and event industry for, well, let’s just say it’s been a while! Like, a combined 51 years of experience, while. We know that couples typically crave the permanence of having a DJ in the booth for the evening. But we also know that as weddings continue to evolve, couples getting married are looking for new and exciting ways to enjoy a transformative experience on the best night of their lives.
So, we took all the amazing aspects of having a wedding DJ and blended them with the feeling of hiring a live musician. It’s a relatively new immersive concept, and it’s called a band DJ hybrid.
With a band DJ hybrid, you don’t have to choose a band over a DJ or vice versa, because you get both. A band DJ hybrid allows you to enjoy the high vibes of live musicians with the versatility of a wedding DJ for a unique experience.
The best part? We offer it all under “one roof”. No need to find and sign multiple wedding vendors who each have their own contracts. Nor do you have to worry about who plays the beginning part of the evening and who plays later in the night.
A band DJ hybrid is a highly collaborative entertainment experience that leaves the vision entirely up to you, with the logistics completely in the hands of the pros.
It’s also highly customizable, all comes down to the vibe that you want to experience at your wedding. Our own band DJ hybrid offers a professionally trained DJ with anywhere from 3 to 5 musicians.
Giving you that wow factor for an unforgettable wedding, where entertainment is at the forefront, memories are made, and your evening is flawlessly curated to your own personal taste.
If you’re ready to hear more about a band DJ hybrid for your Kansas City wedding, you can book a complimentary entertainment consult by following this link.
