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These have been truly uncertain and alarming times as the Coronavirus pandemic has engulfed the world. If you’ve had to or are having to cancel or postpone your wedding you are, amongst other worries, wondering what you do with your live wedding band or entertainment. Well, in a nutshell, I strongly advise you try and reschedule your booking with them as soon as you can. If this isn’t an option and you have to cancel be prepared to still pay some of the remaining fees due to the band and most likely lose any deposits you have already paid. Make sure to check the contract you have with your live wedding band so you can understand the steps you need to take. Read on to get all the help you need including an important update after Monday’s announcement!
I’m sure like everyone here at Seventh Second, the damage this pandemic has done has really taken you by surprise and if you are reading this, has come at seemingly the worst time ever for you. Whether you have a wedding, party or corporate function planned, I have put together some useful advice so you know what to do during these unsettling times. All information I offer here is relevant for any live wedding band, live entertainment or suppliers you have booked. Our comprehensive guide outlining our covid cover is a must-read as it is generally imitated industry-wide but please contact us if you need more help or assistance in any way.
Most people have now managed to move their wedding, party or function to a later and safer date, but if you like many you were waiting on the government to fully lift restrictions come June 21st it’s a stressful and confusing time right now! At the moment, weddings and events are now allowed an unlimited number of guests, live music is allowed but dance floors are banned. Hmmm, that sounds confusing I know. What do you do if you want to dance the night away or simply cancel or postpone your wedding? Well, keep reading…
So as of Monday, the good/bad/confusing news came in from the government…
The Good News: You can now have an unlimited number of people at your wedding, however social distancing rules must be adhered to. Yey!
The Bad News: Dance floors are still banned suggesting that you shouldn’t dance at your wedding as your live wedding band performs for you or as you play any type of music. Boo!
The Confusing News: Yer, so you can have a live wedding band/entertainment but you can’t have a dance floor? Hmmm. There’s no specific mention of not being able to dance so to me, this suggests that if you can stand outside and listen to your live wedding band, you can probably have a bit of a dance as social distancing rules are far less strict outdoors. It’s very muddled and confusing advice so I strongly recommend you speak to your wedding venue and see what they can accommodate or are going to allow as crucially, you are still allowed live music at your wedding! Woohoo!
There are also far fewer restrictions when it comes to you and your live wedding entertainment being outside so again, chat with your venue, see what they allow and then get on the phone to your wedding entertainment stat! It’s been chaos here at Seventh Second as you may imagine over the last few days but most of our clients who are having their wedding in the next 4 weeks are going ahead using the above advice and commonly, moving their wedding outside when it’s live music time! I really hope you can do the same! Of course, if you have been left as befuddled as many by this news, you can always contact us for more help as there are many live music options our wedding bands and I imagine other bands can offer which limit “dancing” but keep the live music going at your wedding.
I do think that (dance floor bans aside) the fact that you can have live wedding entertainment at your wedding with unrestricted guests numbers is fundamentally great news but what seems even better is that the government seemed to suggest that after July 19th, there will be, under no circumstances, any restrictions to our lives with lockdown rules fully removed. That’s amazing news and means that if the government sticks to their word and your wedding is after July 19th, you don’t need to read this guide anymore! The drinks are on me!
Here at Seventh Second, we have been working hard with our clients over the last year to get their weddings and events rebooked and your live act or their representatives should be trying to do the same for you. Hopefully, this can be arranged seamlessly but if you are feeling confused or unsure about anything, speak to them or contact us obligation-free. If you are looking to move your wedding or event to another day you shouldn’t incur any fees or penalties either (you won’t with us anyway) but check your booking contract first!
Over the last year or so, we have managed to rebook 85% of our client’s weddings and events for dates that worked for everyone which is brilliant! The odds are in your favour – coronavirus will not stop us! As a guide, most people are looking to rebook for autumn 2021 or 2022 and with 2021 becoming incredibly busy for live bands and entertainment, 2022 is the much safer bet. Once you have an idea on a new date, I suggest you speak to all your suppliers including your live wedding band or entertainment as soon as possible. Get that ball rolling asap so you can hopefully rebook for the perfect day! I recommend you read our guide on postponing your wedding entertainment due to COVID-19 here for more.
With things as they now stand in the UK, cancelling could become expensive and complex as events and live music can currently go ahead so cancelling could be seen as your own choice and could leave you exposed to cancellation costs. With us, we would hold onto your booking deposit which you could then use at any other time or even give to a friend or relative as a gift for their own event. Our covid cover covers this and a lot more so it’s worth a read.
I would still strongly suggest you try and avoid cancelling as you may incur contractual penalty fees but if you feel you have to cancel I suggest reading our guide here as it has lots more information about that. Considering the unique situation we’re all experiencing, live bands or their representatives may be willing to reduce or waver any fees owed but please do check with them and your contract first as cancelling could become quite expensive. We’ve spoken to many understandably confused and upset couples this last year with many wedding venues, entertainment agencies or live wedding bands charging quite a bit of money for cancelling. Time is of the essence here as the longer you leave it, the more money you may have to pay in compensation.
As we slowly leave lockdown restrictions, this is thankfully a rare sight now but if you find your wedding music band or entertainment has cancelled on you, click here to find out what steps you can take. As well as many other industries, the music and entertainment industry has been devastated by this pandemic so if your live entertainment has cancelled it’s most likely through absolute necessity. All musicians are struggling with their jobs and careers still heavily restricted after over a year so read our guide for some guidance and then make sure you talk things through with your band or their representatives. Unless they can cite a strong reason for cancelling, you have strong consumer rights to object to the cancellation.
If you are struggling to contact your wedding band, entertainment or their representatives and are understandably getting stressed, why not have a scan of their T&C and FAQ pages? Ask them for their covid cover guidelines too as any professional supplier should have some in place. You may hopefully find some extra information or emergency contact details there. Musicians and wedding agencies have been inundated with emails and calls since the beginning of the pandemic so it could be worth scanning their website for information just in case.
Even if you don’t have a booking with us, we are here to help during this confusing and uncertain time. We are following the government’s advice, staying open but working remotely and so if you are looking for general help or to hire, cancel or postpone any event or wedding we are here for you, obligation-free. Let’s help each other as much as we can so we can beat this pandemic once and for all and get back to normal life and partying with friends and family!
This has been a unique guide that I hope I never have to write again but here at Seventh Second, we are feeling positive after such a tough year. Monday’s announcement possibly felt like a slight spanner in the works but there really seems to be light at the end of the tunnel and I’m sure that after reading my guide you would agree that rescheduling your wedding or event to a later date rather than cancelling will really help everyone involved, including yourself! I hope it’s an option for you.
We still have live bands available for 2021 and 2022 so come and speak to our music experts and hire your perfect wedding band, party band or function band. Due to the coronavirus disruption, 2021 and 2022 are going to be incredibly busy years for weddings and events, so I suggest hiring everything and everyone for your wedding or event as soon as is plausible to avoid disappointment.
For a little inspiration, I have our guide on our top 10 corona-proof wedding bands here, plus we have reduced all our prices by 15% for 2020 and 2021 bookings, cancelled any inflation-based price rises for 2021 and will never charge any fees for rescheduled or cancelled weddings due to COVID-19. We hope this offers some good news for once!
Our post on how far in advance you should book a band might help you and we also have our dedicated last minute musicians who are coming in very handy so far this year.
Finally, here are some useful links from the government regarding coronavirus.
Guidance for households with possible coronavirus
Coronavirus latest information and advice
Don’t forget that we are here 7 days a week, 10 am to 10 pm via phone, email, text and live chat to help in any way and if you found this guide useful, please consider sharing it with others. Stay safe and healthy as we near the end of the pandemic. Everyone here at Seventh Second looks forward to performing for you in the future!
Thanks,
Jon and the Seventh Second Team.
