Starting Small... Booking a Core Band that Can Expand

“Will you marry me? Please let me know by Friday at 12 pm, or my availability might change.”

Photo courtesy of David Gillette Photography

Dear reader, allow us to take a wild guess that your proposal didn’t sound like this (if it did, please get in touch with us -- we would sincerely like to learn more).

Meaningful decisions take time. And while you’re not committing to your wedding band for life, we do think you should make decisions about wedding music out of love, not fear. Unfortunately, it is true that quality wedding bands book up early; while WeddingWire recommends booking your music vendor at least 9 months out, we often book up as early as 18 months before busy dates. 

“You should make decisions about wedding music out of love, not fear.”

The plethora of choices involved in wedding planning come with a risk of decision fatigue, a phenomenon that leads decision-makers to take mental shortcuts when faced with a large number of decisions. As the New York Times explains, “eventually [the brain] looks for shortcuts, usually in either of two very different ways. One shortcut is to become reckless: to act impulsively instead of expending the energy to first think through the consequences... The other shortcut is the ultimate energy saver: do nothing.” 

In terms of the music for your wedding, those shortcuts can come in the form of either arbitrary decisions -- “sure, we’ll go for the 15-piece band and DJ combo!” -- or postponing music choices altogether. This can lead to disappointment when you circle back to a favorite vendor and realize that they’ve booked up.

“... limit the number of decisions to only those that are most meaningful. That might mean booking your catering company now, but holding off on specific decisions about what they’re serving for desert.”

One way to combat decision fatigue is to limit the number of decisions to only those that are most meaningful. That might mean booking your catering company now, but holding off on specific decisions about what they’re serving for desert. We support this stress-free decision-making style in all of our ensembles. If you know you want a great dance band, but you’re not sure how much of a priority a horn section is, you can reserve a core band and reserve the option to expand it later. If you know you want to lock in strings for your ceremony, but you’re not sure about cocktail hour, start small and expand. And if you know you want a killer DJ but you’re not sure if your budget will accommodate live instruments, you can lock in that essential piece and leave the option open to add the extra touches later. 

As the Beatles sang, “you’re asking me will our band grow? Well I don’t know, I don’t know..”