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Guide to booking entertainment

From The Morris Agency

 If you have been put in charge of looking after the music and entertainment for your next event, here is a definitive guide from entertainment industry guru, Daniel Morris of the Morris Agency.

 “Initial fears that people have with planning the music and entertainment for their event are reasonable, as it is an integral part of the event and can even be part of the main focus. There are many factors to consider when planning your entertainment, not only whether the act you are booking for your event will suitably entertain your guests, or fit within your budget or them;, but you also need to consider whether they will be reliable and professional. In the worst case scenario we have heard of cases where artists have failed to turn up on time or cancelled without giving enough time to book another act in their place. Even if they do arrive, how do you know that they are going to be as good as their demo or showreel? And this is all on top of the rest of the event planning process of organizing catering, a venue or conference facility, florists, guest invitations, transportation, accommodation… need I go on? It can be a very daunting task.”

 With this in mind, here are the key elements to think about to help get you started:

 The Venue

When booking the venue it is important to check that they have the appropriate entertainment licence and the conditions of their licence including the type of entertainment they are allowed (some venues are not permitted to have amplified music), finishing/get out times, performance area size/space restrictions, if they have any noise restrictions (such as sound limiters), access times for the band/artist, power supply etc.

 If you are considering a speciality act that uses fire or pyrotechnics, you also need to make sure that this is permitted in the venue.

 These points are always good to know early on as this may dictate the kind of entertainment you can look for. For example, some venues have sound limiters that cut out sound automatically when it goes over a certain volume, so if you have booked a band, this can damage their equipment and most importantly can disrupt the whole evening.

 However, all is not lost, even with a limitation on sound, there are still many acts that can be employed such as acoustic artists, but knowing this in advance will help you narrrow your search or review your venue.

 Band Hunting

So you know have an idea of the kind of act your venue will accommodate, lets go and look for your entertainment.

 Armed with the information acquired from the venue you can now approach the artists, but where do you look? Well, there are a few options available to you:

 Option 1 – Search the internet. You can do a search for a certain type of artist/ band, listen to their website demos or watch their showreel and contact the artist directly. Although many artists have their own website, a great website does not necessarily mean a great artist. So not only can this method be quite simply mind numbing and time consuming, it is also a bit of a lottery if you are booking an artist you have never heard of.

 Option 2 – Go on recommendation. This can narrow down your search quite fast, but do remember that colleagues may not have the same tastes and what one person may think is great might not be ideal for the guests attending your event.

 Option 3 – Go to an agent. There are lots of agencies out there, (I should know, I am own one of them.) Obviously there is going to be a fee increase for this service, (normally between 15- 20 % ) but, if the agency is a reputable one they should be able to earn their commission by verifying the acts and their ability, negotiating their fee to meet your budget, contracting the artist (more on that later) and communicating to the artist exactly what you need.

A note on professionalism. Many people place an importance on the performance but it is important not to overlook the other elements involved with booking an act/band for example, the way they conduct themselves both on and off stage, their dress code and also making sure they turn up in plenty of time etc.

 Things to ask the band/act

Whether you are going through an agent or directly to the artist, the questions are still the same.

 Here is important information you need to know about the artist:

 Availability: Read the rest of this entry »

  Hello, Charlie here from Mango Acoustic Duo.

 Having sung at over 200 weddings with Mango, I know all too well that one of the most challenging things for a couple to do, is choose their ceremony music. Choosing the right music is very important as it accompanies all the major parts of the ceremony and sets the mood for the wedding. The songs you choose could be; songs you simply like, or songs that have some meaning to you both!
There are many websites out there to help choose your music and give you some ideas. Also, you can get inspiration from other brides in wedding forums such as; youandyourwedding.co.uk.

If you are having live music, perhaps talk to the band about your ideas. We, as Mango, have an extensive repertoire from different era’s and genres that suit a lot of musical tastes. So many couples find the songs they love from that. However, we do offer to learn a special song for our couples as this personalises their music choice. For example, we have many couples that have asked us to learn songs that fit in with their theme. One Bride had a Grace Kelly themed wedding and asked us to learn ‘True Love’ from the film High Society. Not only did it fit in with the theme, but was the Brides’ late Grandmothers favourite song and extremely personal to the family. It was a fantastic song to play as we knew it meant so much to them. We get asked to learn all sorts of different songs from the Kingsmill Bread advert song (Lucky to me) to the Smashing Pumpkins song ‘Tonight Tonight’. If like us you love music, choosing which tunes to have can be great fun and will hopefully come together beautifully on the day.

If you don’t know where to start, then help is here!!
We suggest to our clients that they choose between 5-6 songs as your guests are arriving. This sets the mood for the ceremony, they needn’t necessarily be soppy love songs, but perhaps songs that mean something to you which you enjoy listening to. (Brides remember that you won’t be there at this point!)

  Read the rest of this entry »