If you can watch a live wedding band before booking we would recommend you do but most wedding bands are strickly private events bands and so don’t usually have any public shows. Wedding shows and showcase events put on by live wedding bands themselves are usually the best places to see them perform outside of weddings.

Yes, you should provide your live wedding band with sufficient food and drink for the duration of their stay at your wedding. Soft drinks and a hot meal or buffet food for each member is usually sufficient.

Wedding bands perform every genre of music but like to tailor what they play for you and your guests and any wedding theme you may have. From Motown to Oompah music you can find a wedding band that performs the music you want. The most popular styles performed are Rock and Pop hits from the ’50s right up to the present day as these genres cover a wide range of tastes and age groups that’s perfect for getting any dancefloor packed.

The most popular types of live bands for weddings are Rock and Pop bands, Soul and Motown bands, Acoustic and Roaming Folk bands, Ceilidh bands and multi-genre bands. Multi-genre wedding bands are usually similar to Rock and Pop wedding bands as they can perform a wide range of genres over many eras to entertain anyone and everyone at a wedding.

Wedding bands are usually fully self-contained, meaning they bring quite a lot of lighting and sound equipment to weddings. This means they need a decent amount of space to perform and ideally a stage. Generally speaking, 3 piece wedding bands need 3×3 metres of space, 4 piece wedding bands 4×3 metres, 5 to 6 piece wedding bands 5×3 metres and 7 piece bands or bigger need in excess of 6 to 7×4 metres of performance space.

Live bands can perform during your wedding ceremony, drinks reception/wedding breakfast and especially at your evening wedding party. Live bands need a certain amount of space and do produce a decent amount of noise to create that wedding party atmosphere so make sure you speak with your wedding venue, making sure they can accommodate such acts. Stage space and decibel limits are two topics you should discuss with your venue before booking any wedding band. If you want a unique live musical experience at your wedding then a wedding band is the perfect entertainment to book. If you are looking to create a DJ-esque, club vibe then a wedding DJ may be a better option.

If a performance space is easily accessible and near to their vehicles, a live band can unload, set up and sound check within 60 – 90 minutes. Sometimes even 30 – 40 minutes in an emergency. Pack down usually takes around 40 – 60 minutes. Busy city venues, lack of nearby parking and general delays at weddings can increase these times significantly.

Even while you and your guests are in a room at your wedding venue, most live wedding bands are still able to set up in the same room at the same time. They can set up quietly and work out with you or you venue manager a more suitable time later on for soundcheck. If your wedding venue has a stage curtain available, is running to a tight schedule or only has one room available for you, your guests and the wedding band, this option can be very useful. It is well worth speaking to your live band and venue about this.

Wedding bands are generally self-contained meaning they provide stage lighting, PA sound system, musical backline equipment, appropriate outfits and background music or DJ equipment as part of their booking package. It’s always best to check what your wedding band provides as most wedding venues have limited access to this kind of equipment.

All acts at Seventh Second are happy to discuss and try to implement your song choices as best as possible into their live sets. However, being professional wedding musicians, they will always use their considerable experience when finalising the playlists for the evening which usually strike the perfect balance between your wishes and what they know works and what they know they can perform to their absolute best for you and your guests.

Wedding bands vary in volume depending on how large a group they are, the genres of music they perform and the instruments they use. All live bands have to adjust their volume levels to the natural volume of the drum kit (or the next loudest acoustic instrument if no drums are present) and this is usually in the 100db range minimum. This level roughly equates to you having to talk directly into someone’s ear to have a conversation with them while you are both very close to the band’s PA sound system as they perform. All acts at Seventh Second are proficient at meeting venues and clients volume needs so everyone can have a safe and enjoyable time. Please contact us directly for more details or if you have further questions.

All acts at Seventh Second are very used to performing in wedding venues with sound limiters although we would warn anyone that sound limiters are no fun for anyone who enjoys live music or performs live music so if you can book a venue without one, we would strongly recommend it. If your venue does have a sound limiter ask what the decibel limit it is set to and notify any wedding band you are thinking of booking as some sound limiters volume restrictions are set too low for even the smallest and quietest bands to perform within. If a sound limiter is set to 95db or above most bands should be able to perform within this restriction but anything below this, especially anything in the 80’s is almost impossible for a live band to work within.

Although we like to keep our roster small and unique, most of our wedding bands travel all over the UK and worldwide for weddings. Even if we don’t have a wedding band near you, we will have plenty that are willing to travel to you and for very competitive prices. You can check any of our live bands’ prices for your location on their unique pages. If you need more information or a bespoke quote, please contact us.

PLI and PAT certificates come as standard with all wedding bands at Seventh Second. Any wedding band you are looking at hiring should also have these important documents.

Yes, all our live wedding bands offer comprehensive covid cover which you can learn more about here.

We are a unique company because the musicians who perform in the wedding bands you see on our site, also run and manage the site. We decided to work this way over 15 years ago so that when you speak to us, you speak to actual band members you are looking at booking for your wedding. Unlike other entertainment websites where you simply speak to a salesperson, at Seventh Second you get to speak to musicians through every step of the booking process. Please ask us if you wish to speak to a specific band at any time and this will be arranged but most wedding bands are very busy and private function bands only so it is difficult to meet them in person unless there is a specific or extraordinary circumstance.

We supply you and any live wedding band you book with a fully comprehensive contract which fully supports you and the artist. You can always view the specifics on our T&C‘s and covid cover pages. We also have special contact numbers where we are available 24/7 to assist you in any way in case of an emergency or serious issue with one of our live bands. Alternatively, we are always available 10 am to 10 pm, 7 days a week via phone, text, online chat or email.

Yes, it is safe to book a live wedding band online as long as any band you book has customer reviews, professional representation, good promotional material, fair and open pricing, a professional attitude and a secure and robust contract to keep both you and them safe and fully protected.

Most wedding bands are happy to perform first dances at weddings provided couples discuss their song ideas with them beforehand. Not all songs can be replicated by live wedding bands so it’s always best to check with your band or their representatives first.

You can have wedding music at any time during your wedding but the most popular and suitable times are at the wedding ceremony, drinks reception and most commonly at the evening party after the wedding breakfast. Having a fantastic live band during your evening party is the perfect way to celebrate getting married with friends and family.

Typically, wedding bands play for 2 hours usually splitting that into 2×1 hour or 3×40 min sets. Over the standard 4 to 6 hour period that a wedding band stays with you, the live sets usually begin around 8 pm/8:30 pm and finish around 11:30 pm/12 am with background music or a DJ in between. Of course, once fully set up, any wedding band should be able to perform any type of set length at any time you need them to assuming you have agreed on it with them beforehand. Wedding bands do regularly perform for longer than two hours and often past 12 am if required.

Prices for live bands can vary wildly but wedding bands worth booking start from around £600 and can go all the way up to £5000 easily. A good three-piece live band can range from £600 to £1000, 4 piece bands from £800 to £2000 and 5 piece bands or bigger can start from £1000 right up to £5000. You have to bear in mind extra petrol costs, other expenses and off-peak and peak season price fluctuations so for example, if you booked a 6 piece wedding band in the off-peak season that was based near to your venue they could actually cost less than booking a 3 piece band in peak season that’s based 100 miles away from your venue. It’s always worth asking any live wedding band or their representatives about discounts or offers too. For all the information and answers check out our in-depth post all about it HERE.

For you to get the wedding band you really want we suggest you look at booking them at least a year in advance. Booking a live wedding band any later than 6 months before your wedding could mean they are already booked up. Popular wedding bands get booked years in advance so when you see the band you want we suggest you book them quickly!