[SOINLOVE]

My fiance is a music major and I am very involved with music as well. This being so, we want a LOT of music at our wedding. We by no means want a concert, but we would like to have a few songs and a SMALL orchestra if possible. We have some friends that play instruments. Some have played together while others haven't. We're trying to decide if we should ask them to play... and hope they all agree AND sound okay together... OR... our other option would be to find a small orchestra elsewhere. Which would you think would be best to do? How much should we pay (how much is too much and how much isn't enough)?? Also, what would you think would be best as far as how many people/instruments (and WHAT instruments) should we have?

[MusiConcepts]

We would need to know alot more about your wedding, the number of people, the setting etc. to advise you completely. The most important thing to know, however, is that you don't want musicians playing together, who are not used to playing together on a regular basis. You don't want them bumbling and fumbling through the most important moments of your life! You could also have llive musicians or a soloist at the ceremony and a DJ at the reception. How much it would cost depends on the area you live in, how many pieces you want and for how long. There are many wedding bands that play together all the time. We feel that would be your best bet. There's a book named "How to Set Your Wedding to Music" that answers all these questions.

[Wedding Queen and MOG]

I have numbered your questions to be sure I answer them in order.

1. You should hire professional musicians with years of experiance in the wedding industry.

(by doing this you will keep a good relationship with your friends and not have to worry about the music at your wedding)

2. As far as cost goes I have no idea what musicians will charge.

The price depends on:

How long they will have to play

How many musicians you hire

If they will have to learn a new song

The distance they have to travel and the accessibility at the wedding location.

The cost of living in your area ( You could pay $400.00 or more per musician in New York City and $150.00 per musician in Greenfield Massachusetts)

4. It is hard for me to suggest how many musicians and what kind to use because that will depend on what style and sound of music you like and also which songs you choose.

I suggest you first choose exactly which songs you want for your wedding then match the musicians to those songs. For example if you decide on "Trumpets Voluntary " you should include a trumpet or two.

Be sure to keep the sound of music in scale with the space at the wedding location.

(Don't hire 20 musicians for a garden wedding).

If you would like to review the most popular classical wedding songs:
Wedding Songs and Wedding Music