Standard Rates Vs Wedding Rates

[discreet]

[quote name='cameltoe' timestamp='1401304862' post='2462318']
...Type no.2 is the Scarlet Pimpernell, who you see fleeting glimpses of during the evening but will not approach you or dance. He then pulls a Lord Lucan as soon as you've finished and no one can track him down, delaying your departure quite significantly. We have left weddings empty handed before because of the Scarlett Pimpernell dad, and had to hire Columbo to track down our payment.
[/quote]

[size=4] Hahaha![/size]

[bobbytodd]

by the sound of this we massively undercharge.our wedding rate is 750-800 for that they get 2 one hour sets the first dance if possible and we also do the disco.

[dand666]

Cameltoe, I have to disagree with your post.

Speaking from experience here, a lot of the weddings we play are fantastic. Brilliant events where everyone just wants to have fun, get pissed and dance.

All weddings we get there for 6pm ish, unless specified by the client, and if they would like to get us earlier (for setting up purposes) then we charge another £50-100. Yes we won't leave till around 1am, but ho hey.

As we are on an agency, we are contracted to food, and we make sure we either get paid in cash on the night, or a bank transfer is already set-up and ready to go in that evening or the morning after, so all that jazz is sorted. Recently we had a sit down dinner with all the guests on our own table! And we also sort out set requirements beforehand, or they just let us play what we think will rock.

Yes, you do get requests that you won't like playing, but our job is to entertain and make sure the guests are happy, if that means playing Sex on Fire and Chelsea Dagger, so be it, they're paying over £1000 for you.

To be honest, I love them. Great pay, great company and I'm playing music to hot chicks all night. Sweeeet.

Edited May 28, 2014 by dand666

[JTUK]

You ask for a deposit and you know what time the P.A has to go up and they know what time the P.A comes down. If they want an ipod through the P.A, it stops when we pack-up unless the guy carrying the P.A has been paid more.

It is simple negotiation that you know what you are supposed to do and they know their end
and that should all be upfront. The balance is paid before hand, food and drink is included
and even things like power and stages sizes are pre-determined.
If you want to put all that in the contract, then you should do.

Edited May 29, 2014 by JTUK

[oggiesnr]

As my alter ego Pedally Steve I charge £350 plus exes for weddings and no-one yet has blinked an eye even though I'm very much a side show. Last one I did the photographer was getting £2k and the band £600 each.

You have to give them what they want but within that it's money to be made. If they're having a big enough wedding to have a live band etc then the cost of the band will not be high up the expense list. The wedding dress can easily cost more and that's ignoring the matching bride's maids.

Steve

[cameltoe]

[quote name='dand666' timestamp='1401306405' post='2462348']
Cameltoe, I have to disagree with your post.

Speaking from experience here, a lot of the weddings we play are fantastic. Brilliant events where everyone just wants to have fun, get pissed and dance.

All weddings we get there for 6pm ish, unless specified by the client, and if they would like to get us earlier (for setting up purposes) then we charge another £50-100. Yes we won't leave till around 1am, but ho hey.

As we are on an agency, we are contracted to food, and we make sure we either get paid in cash on the night, or a bank transfer is already set-up and ready to go in that evening or the morning after, so all that jazz is sorted. Recently we had a sit down dinner with all the guests on our own table! And we also sort out set requirements beforehand, or they just let us play what we think will rock.

Yes, you do get requests that you won't like playing, but our job is to entertain and make sure the guests are happy, if that means playing Sex on Fire and Chelsea Dagger, so be it, they're paying over £1000 for you.

To be honest, I love them. Great pay, great company and I'm playing music to hot chicks all night. Sweeeet.
[/quote]

That's fine, I'm talking from my experiences. Most of the weddings I have played in my experience have been bad gigs. Sometimes only because they book a venue that is far too big for the crowd. Sometimes other reasons.

Long and short of it is, though, (and in the spirit of the OP's thread) we are not a 'function' band, we are more or less a regular honest gigging band (although not playing your regular rock/ pop covers) and we do it as a hobby, because we want to, not for the money (although it is nice). I took the OP's post in that regard too, and how you justify the price difference for your average gigging band.

Hot chicks?

Food?

Fun, pissed, and dance?

Let me know if you need a dep!

[cameltoe]

[quote name='JTUK' timestamp='1401307079' post='2462355']
You ask for a deposit and you know what time the P.A has to go up and they know what time the P.A comes down. If they want an ipod through the P.A it stops when we pack-up unless the guy carrying the P.A has been paid more.

It is simple negotiation that you know what you are suppsoed to do and they know their end
and that should all be upfront. The balance is paid before hand, food and drink is included
and eeven things like power and stages sizes are pre-determined.
If you to put all that in the contract, then you should do.
[/quote]

Sounds very simple! I can't think of a wedding yet we've played where we could have been that specific in advance, to not be let down ultimately.

The weddings I've played we've absolutely had to be fluid with regards to how their day works out. How can you not be? We're not about to start setting up behind the best man while he's in full flow because that's the time it says in the contract. If we did we'd look like idiots! And no-one yet has ever ensured the speeches don't run over because the band are waiting to set up!

Surely this is why we charge more, no? Because we do have to be prepared to fit into their day, however it turns out?

[dand666]

[quote name='cameltoe' timestamp='1401313466' post='2462464']
Sounds very simple! I can't think of a wedding yet we've played where we could have been that specific in advance, to not be let down ultimately.

The weddings I've played we've absolutely had to be fluid with regards to how their day works out. How can you not be? We're not about to start setting up behind the best man while he's in full flow because that's the time it says in the contract. If we did we'd look like idiots! And no-one yet has ever ensured the speeches don't run over because the band are waiting to set up!

Surely this is why we charge more, no? Because we do have to be prepared to fit into their day, however it turns out?
[/quote]

Agreed, no two weddings are the same. 1 wedding we did not go on till 11pm, last week we was on at 8pm sharp (1st dance). Your quite right in saying, you do have to tailor you day around them, and the large majority of them are always behind schedule.

[crez5150]

[quote name='cameltoe' timestamp='1401304862' post='2462318']
I like to think we're a fairly standard pub band in as much as our gigging schedule and what we charge, and when wedding enquiries come in we will charge a bit more. We didn't start off charging more, but with time comes a bit of wisdom-

1) most weddings are terrible, terrible gigs where you wish you hadn't bothered. I hate to go out and just play for the money, but for weddings, that's often the case.

2) you can expect to be told to get there a good few hours earlier than you would for a pub gig, only to stand around until all the formalities have finished, (usually a good 45 minutes+ than you were told they would be) at which point you'll either be told by 'Jesper' the wedding planner, or Bridezilla, that you need to start in 10 minutes. The massive amount of gear piled up outside the marquee that you and I would call a 'PA' seems to have escaped their attention. This is despite agreeing before the wedding that it will take over an hour to set up.

3)Mother in law will despise you, and spend most of the gig either telling you to turn down, or eyeballing you from the side of the stage.

4) despite agreeing with the happy couple you will play 2x 1 hour sets with a small break in between, they will still expect you to start at 8 and finish around midnight come the big day.

5) they may want you to get there in the middle of the day to set up the PA so they can play tunes through it before you start. I actually don't mind doing this, as it cuts down on the possibility of 2) happening.

6) father of the bride will usually be responsible for payment at the end of the night, and he will typically fall into 2 categories- type 1 is the 'music fan' dad who wants to be your friend, talks to you whilst setting up (inevitably slowing this process down) tells you all about his really nice Yamaha guitar, spends a lot of time dancing right in front of you during the gig (on the verge of air guitar- you can almost see him twitching) and running up straight after the gig to pay you and chat about how great you were. These guys are ok, and will usually stay with you (often helping to load gear into the van) until you drive home. They will continue to tell you 'honestly guys, that was fantastic' until you until you leave. Type no.2 is the Scarlet Pimpernell, who you see fleeting glimpses of during the evening but will not approach you or dance. He then pulls a Lord Lucan as soon as you've finished and no one can track him down, delaying your departure quite significantly. We have left weddings empty handed before because of the Scarlett Pimpernell dad, and had to hire Columbo to track down our payment.

6) they will ask you to learn a cover that you hate, and playing it will make you feel like you've sold your soul to the devil.

So, yes, we charge a bit more when it comes to weddings.

I also feel that a wedding is a one-off, where as a pub is likely to give you repeat bookings for several years if they like you, so even though you charge the pub less, ultimately you may get 4 gigs a year for the next few years from your landlord. It's like a trade price thingy.
[/quote]

From my perspective (playing predominantly in wedding/function bands)

1. Weddings are fantastic gigs.... You get to play in often very nice surroundings with other businesses that are working for the same client to make their big day as special as can be. You often make great contacts through these other businesses and obtain further bookings through them as they can honestly recommend you having seen your offering.

2. Yes there is a lot of waiting around but any Wedding band worth their salt would have been into the venue prior too them setting the breakfast/evening room and set up and sound checked long before any of the guests arrived. This is part of what you charge a fee for! Working in unison with the wedding organiser is part of your remit as a wedding band.... Working against them will only end with a no faith view from this person.

3. Prior too the big day, as an event supplier you should arrange to meet with Bride, Groom, Mother/Father & in law (if they are paying) Venue/wedding organiser. You should do this to go through the running of their day and where you will fit in around the schedule thats planned, making clear the time allocated for setting up, guest speeches etc...

4. Timing is part of the pre-event meeting. It's important that you get this discussed. Yes the speeches will run over... they always do.

5. As already mentioned. Get there early. Set up. Sound check. Dress the stage. Get out until required.

6. Full payment of the gig is usually accepted 2 weeks prior to the event. At booking get a deposit 25% say with the rest to be paid 2 weeks (or whatever you feel comfortable with) prior to the event. Make sure that you have full payment before you even turn up on site. Why on earth would you play before you are paid.

7. They will ask you to play a cover that you may hate. This is what you get paid for.... if you feel like you have just snogged Justin Bieber for doing this then you are not really ideally placed to play in a wedding band. This is what you get paid for.

Weddings are a one off... however, word of mouth.... honest recommendations from people that saw you perform throughout the day.... other wedding suppliers seeing you work hard to provide a professional service.... will gain you more bookings that will far out strip 4 gigs at the dog and duck next year. We get another booking or recommendation at pretty much every wedding we play.

There are bands that will take wedding gigs and their are Wedding Event Suppliers.... you have to think as the latter. I find a lot of bands under value what they charge.. We work on roughly 10% of the wedding budget. Our average package offering is £1950 for the band and DJ. It can go up from there depending on location and if the couple require additional support such as Audio Visual equipment.

[BassBunny]

That has pretty much nailed it Jay.

[Mark Dyer]

The biggest problem I have with weddings is not the money but trying to convince the couple that it would be a bad idea to hire us. What usually happens is they see us in a pub one night, enjoy the gig and then approach us with the "We think you'd perfect for our wedding" line.

I try and convince them that it would be a bad idea but they usually insist, saying they don't want a typical 'wedding' band or DJ and that all of their friends like rock music, and it's their wedding and they can do what they want.

Come the big day the 20 or so friends of the bride and groom are outnumbered by 80 odd relatives etc who hate us. No amount of extra cash has ever made the evening bearable.

There was one memorable occasion though, I didn't know the groom personally but he was Scottish, anyway the first song was Nothing Else Matters by Metallica and we started it with the stage curtains drawn and they slowly opened up (the bride and groom didn't know we were going to be playing) it went down well.

For the second set the best man said to do the same with the curtain routine, I said it maybe wouldn't have the same effect, but he insisted. I think we started with a U2 song, as the curtains parted we were greeted with a line of 20 blokes, all in kilts, facing us, they proceeded to lift the front of their kilts up and perform the can-can for the entire song. It's an image in my head that will probably never go away.

[BassTractor]

[quote name='Mark Dyer' timestamp='1401350019' post='2462604']
It's an image in my head that will probably never go away.
[/quote]

Great story!
And what a great idea they had, improvising a return of the favour as it were.

But ... are you without affection for that image or are you quite fondle of it?

[discreet]

[quote name='BassTractor' timestamp='1401350903' post='2462617']
...are you without affection for that image or are you quite [i]fondle[/i] of it?
[/quote]

Your Freudian slip is showing...

[BassTractor]

...or are you underestimating me, or bringing the [i]thing[/i] to possible other readers' attention? Edited May 29, 2014 by BassTractor

[PaulWarning]

seeing as how I play in a band because I enjoy it and not for the money, I'm happy to play for whatever, done 2 wedding gigs, one for my daughter which obviously was a freebe, and one for a regular to our gigs, we were more than happy to do it for £50 expenses because they were broke. We've got another coming up, we are charging the pub (£250) rate we're not into ripping people off.
But the pub rate varies, if the pub says they can only afford to pay £150 we're usually cool with that, to be fair we've never played for that and the place has been rammed, we have been known to give some of the fee back if there's not been may in, pubs are struggling and closing down so it's not like they're lining there own pockets at our expense, we played a 40 minute set last night for £60, PA supplied, on a Wednesday night what else would we be doing?

[dand666]

[quote name='PaulWarning' timestamp='1401354062' post='2462653']
seeing as how I play in a band because I enjoy it and not for the money, I'm happy to play for whatever, done 2 wedding gigs, one for my daughter which obviously was a freebe, and one for a regular to our gigs, we were more than happy to do it for £50 expenses because they were broke. We've got another coming up, we are charging the pub (£250) rate [b]we're not into ripping people off.[/b]
But the pub rate varies, if the pub says they can only afford to pay £150 we're usually cool with that, to be fair we've never played for that and the place has been rammed, we have been known to give some of the fee back if there's not been may in, pubs are struggling and closing down so it's not like they're lining there own pockets at our expense, we played a 40 minute set last night for £60, PA supplied, on a Wednesday night what else would we be doing?
[/quote]

But to some of us, this is our job, our full time wage, it's not about 'ripping people off'. We provide them with an evenings entertainment, at to be honest a cheap price compared to the rest of the wedding.

I see your point, and even now, sometimes it baffles me that we just got paid x amount for a gig, in the end of the day I just want to play music. But I also need to pay the mortgage!

[JTUK]

[quote name='cameltoe' timestamp='1401313466' post='2462464']
Sounds very simple! I can't think of a wedding yet we've played where we could have been that specific in advance, to not be let down ultimately.

The weddings I've played we've absolutely had to be fluid with regards to how their day works out. How can you not be? We're not about to start setting up behind the best man while he's in full flow because that's the time it says in the contract. If we did we'd look like idiots! And no-one yet has ever ensured the speeches don't run over because the band are waiting to set up!

Surely this is why we charge more, no? Because we do have to be prepared to fit into their day, however it turns out?
[/quote]

Agree that a few things will not run to plan and you don't want to add to any stress on the day... but by nailing things down
in advance, you can give the impression that you are totally sorted and you will be one less thing to have to wing on the day.
We know what time to arrive... we meet a point of contact, and things like stage and power and everything have been pre-determined
so you aren't going to be running round looking for someone to sort something. By the time our negotaitions have finished, we are expecting a deposit and everything is sorted. If you arrive with this sort of package, this is just another thing the couple have to deal with in the run up
to the big day, and they can assume that you aren't going to be a hassle.
Of course, no one is watching the clock and going to spoil the day, and every speech and sit-down meal will likely overun but we will hit our marks as agreed ... the one thing that isn't likely to over-run is the finish time.

This kind of operation is not limited to weddings and applies to all gigs.. and that is waht they pay the money for.
The smooth running of their evening and early arrival times. For example, guests arrive at 1900, so stage must be cleared
of soundcheck by then...which is meaning an arrival time of 1700 latest. Then we need food served times etc etc ..

[flyfisher]

Interesting posts, and they all just show that there are no rules and no 'list prices'. No doubt most bands just want to make as much money as possible and I'm sure if a pub offered £1500 for a night no one would turn around and say "no guv, that's way too much, the going rate is only £250".

Everything is negotiable, but not everything is a deal.

[crez5150]

[quote name='flyfisher' timestamp='1401357407' post='2462713']
Interesting posts, and they all just show that there are no rules and no 'list prices'. No doubt most bands just want to make as much money as possible and I'm sure if a pub offered £1500 for a night no one would turn around and say "no guv, that's way too much, the going rate is only £250".

Everything is negotiable, but not everything is a deal.
[/quote]

I think it depends on where you market your band.... of course there are a million bands playing weddings that charge £5/600 a go.... do you want to be in that price bracket? I think far too many bands undersell themselves

[PaulWarning]

[quote name='dand666' timestamp='1401356772' post='2462699']
But to some of us, this is our job, our full time wage, it's not about 'ripping people off'. We provide them with an evenings entertainment, at to be honest a cheap price compared to the rest of the wedding.

I see your point, and even now, sometimes it baffles me that we just got paid x amount for a gig, in the end of the day I just want to play music. But I also need to pay the mortgage!
[/quote]
fair point, if it's what you do for a living, like the rest of us you get paid as much as you can but I would imagine most bassist on here don't depend on gigs for their main source of income and like me it's just a hobby, something I would do for nothing because I enjoy it, any money I get is just a bonus

[crez5150]

I do plumbing for free in my spare time for enjoyment.....

[dand666]

[quote name='PaulWarning' timestamp='1401357746' post='2462718']
fair point, if it's what you do for a living, like the rest of us you get paid as much as you can but I would imagine most bassist on here don't depend on gigs for their main source of income and like me it's just a hobby, something I would do for nothing because I enjoy it, any money I get is just a bonus
[/quote]

Agreed, I would do it for free, and plenty of times I have done! As soon as you start depending on the money, it becomes a whole different matter. Still, I do believe being a musician is the best job in the world.

[flyfisher]

[quote name='crez5150' timestamp='1401358044' post='2462722']
I do plumbing for free in my spare time for enjoyment.....
[/quote]

Have you never done anything for anyone without being paid for it?


It's a tired old argument that leads nowhere. So what if plumbers charge a small fortune to come out at 9pm to fix a tap? If you want that sort of money, become a plumber - after all, it's a lot easier than playing an instrument!

[crez5150]

People always bring the '6 Plumbers out at midnight' quote which is irrelevant really. I was being sarcastic

[discreet]

People use the example of plumbing when talking about rates...

I know a plumber and asked him how come he gets paid so much just for knowing that water runs downhill.
He replied, 'It's not all water...'.