Do You Really Need A Professional Wedding Musician?

Weddings are expensive and because of this you’ll be looking for as many ways as possible to save money. Everybody tends to know one or two musicians. It could be somebody in the family who sings or perhaps a mate who plays a bit of guitar. You’ve seen them play and you like what they do, so why not ask them to perform instead of a professional wedding musician? It’s a valid question and one that is definitely worth considering. If you decide that asking a friend to play instead of a professional musician it could help to save you a bit of money and have a few other benefits too. If you have a musical friend is there really any point in hiring a wedding musician? Is it really worth it? There’s no ‘one size fits all’ answer here so let’s look at some of the potential pros and cons to help you decide whether or not you actually need a professional wedding musician for your big day.

COST

The most obvious difference, and the reason you’re probably weighing up your options is the cost. A friend or family member will probably offer to perform at your wedding for free where as a professional wedding musician will charge a fee. There’s no getting around it, cost alone is a big incentive to call on the talents of a friend rather than a professional wedding musician. What you need to decide is whether the pros of a wedding musician justify the cost. There are many factors to consider so keep reading to discover what these are.

PERSONAL

You might want your friend or family member to perform at your wedding because it gives your day a more personal touch. Having your brother play you down the aisle might be just the personal touch you’re looking for. A professional wedding musician would be able to play your chosen song perfectly but you might not get that same feeling as you would if it was a family member or friend.

PRESSURE

Now onto some of the points it would be easy to overlook until it’s too late. Performing at weddings can be really hard work! You might not think it but it is. There’s a lot of pressure to get it right, especially for the key parts of the wedding such as the bridal procession, signing of the register and the recessional. During the bridal procession you can hear a pin drop. Every note your musician plays will be heard clearly. When the room is so quiet it’s much easier to hear the slightest of mistakes, an out of tune guitar or poor vocal intonation. If you’ve only ever heard your friend perform in a noisy pub at an open mic night or busking in the street you probably won’t notice these things. On your wedding day as you walk down the aisle, you will.

TIME

If you’re planning to have music for your ceremony only and your friend is an impeccable musician, they probably won’t mind doing this for you. However if you’re planning to have music for the drinks reception, photographs and/or wedding breakfast, it becomes a massive imposition for the wedding guest you’ve asked to perform because it takes up so much time. It might be your wedding day but your friend is there to support you and share in the celebrations. They might have travelled a long way at considerable expense to find themselves working for free at your wedding. This is not likely to be well received. A professional wedding musician won’t mind one bit. It’s what they do for a living and they’ll do a fine job. If you’ve hired a wedding musician instead of your friend then all of your guests get to share in your special day and celebrate your marriage, which is kind of the point of having the wedding in the first place.

NERVES

I sort of touched on this earlier when I mentioned mistakes. Performing at a wedding in front of a hundred guests can be nerve wracking. Add into that the expectation that every note needs to be perfect and it only makes the nerves worse. Nerves can have an extremely detrimental effect on the standard of performance and are only compounded by making more mistakes (it’s a vicious cycle). Nerves and stage fright are such a big deal that experts have dedicated their careers to helping musicians overcome this issue. A professional musician has certainly encountered nerves before in their career and will know how best to handle them. It’s unlikely that a professional wedding musician will get nervous and make mistakes at your wedding because they will have played many such occasions before. Plus they’re as much experts in performance management as they are masters of their instruments. Can you say the same about the friend you’re considering asking to play at your wedding?

Just a quick word on alcohol. Many people think that drinking alcohol will help to settle nerves. It might just do the job but it also has other negative effects on performance. Motor skills, memory and lowered inhibitions are just a few negative side effects. The result is exactly the same as excessive performance anxiety; a poor performance.

EQUIPMENT

Professional wedding musicians will turn up fully equipped with the most appropriate equipment to make your wedding a success. They will have spent a great deal of money on the best musical equipment to make sure they have the best sound possible. It’s a pride thing. I don’t know of any professional wedding musician who would dare perform using equipment which makes them sound bad. We just don’t do it because we want to sound good. An amateur musician might also want to sound good, but because it’s not their job it’s unlikely that they’re invested the same amount of time and money in selecting the best equipment possible.

REPERTOIRE

A wedding musician will have an entire repertoire filled with music suitable for weddings. Again it’s their job so they’ve invested the time and energy into creating the most appropriate set lists for your special day. If you ask your friend to perform a 45 minute set during the drinks reception, you might find them having to dig deep to fill the time. This means you’re likely to hear a crude rendition of Tenacious D’s ‘Tribute’ or something even more inappropriate. Those familiar with Tenacious D will know what I mean. Don’t get me wrong, I love the band but there’s a time and a place. Your wedding probably isn’t it.  A wedding musician will be able to pick and choose songs from their repertoire and will be able to tailor their sets to your tastes. This means you get an appropriate soundtrack to your wedding which doesn’t result in anyone getting offended!

EXPERIENCE

One thing a wedding musician has which your friend almost certainly won’t is wedding experience. Wedding musicians attend weddings every week and know what to expect. They know the general order of service and the timings for each part. They probably even know the registrar who will be officiating your ceremony. Wedding experience is not to be under estimated. You’ve been planning your wedding all year long and you just want it to be perfect, a professional wedding musician can ensure this is the case.  I know the perfectionists out there will appreciate this peace of mind.

Professional Wedding Musician or Friend?

There are definite benefits to both. It probably depends on a couple of key things; how good a musician your friend is and how much live music you want on your wedding day. I wouldn’t let the cost be a big factor because you might live to regret it. For the sake of a couple hundred quid it’s worth hiring a professional wedding musician if you don’t have any reliable friends who you know for certain would do a decent job.  If you’ve got no idea what to look for in a wedding musician, please check out my guide on selecting the best wedding guitarist as you may find it useful.

Why not share your story?  Did you ask a friend to perform at your wedding?  Did you opt for a wedding musician instead?  Leave a comment and tell me about your experience!