So one of the questions that pops regularly up on the Wedding Forums and Facebook Groups (aside from ‘What to wear to a wedding’ OR ‘How to plan a wedding’) is what is the average price for music for my wedding ceremony.
ANSWER: There are factors that go into an average and if you look at a Google Searches from local Online Wedding hubs you’ll find that they’ll tell you the average is somewhere between €400 and €440 based on their information.
Are these Averages correct?
Well it all depends on how they collect their information and who they collect their information from. For instance, if you question a solo performer with a guitar or keyboard then you’ll probably find a disparity between €100 and €250/€300 which is a big difference.
The discrepancy is probably not as pronounced in a two piece but again you will probably look to somewhere between €300 and €500/€550.
And so forth. In fact I once took part in a wedding where I was hired by another musician to join with 5 others (and a choir!). If the couple getting married were asked as part of these survey’s then I’m sure they would have independently increased the average cost of a wedding ceremony.
Why does this question come up so often when the information is there available from a simple Google Search?
It’s possible that this is the wrong question. (AGHAAAASTTT!!!!)
Maybe because couples getting married are buying a lot of services they’ve no experience in purchasing, they are nervous about getting the best value for their buck. There’s the question – “Do I go for a ‘Professional’ where I expect the cost will be more expensive than a friend or Amateur”. And a friend or Amateur can work out perfectly well. I know. I’ve sung at friends weddings!! However, of course not everybody knows a Wedding Ceremony Singer.
So the question then is ‘How do I value the Ceremonial Live Music?” Well the difference between the Professional Singer and the Friend/Amateur and the is that Professional Singer probably has costs that the Friend/Amateur doesn’t have to deal with. Like tax, Public Liability Insurance, travel, Web hosting and all those things that are easily swept aside with a shrug. Except unfortunately they are all real. And the friend is probably delighted that they can say that their few songs in the Ceremony are her Wedding Present to you!!… Cheapskate! 😉
So my Friend is a beautiful singer and I’d lover her to sing for my wedding!
Great. Go ahead.
The reason why Ceremonial Singers exist is because there is a need for them. Why you pay what you do for them (aside from the boring tax, Public Liability Insurance, travel, etc). Well, probably because they are experienced at what they do. They know the ropes. They can give you advice and can preempt issues that you could never foresee. They probably invest in their own training. They are ‘Match Fit’ because they are doing this regularly. They invest time in YOU and YOUR specific wedding (if they are serious) and simply because they are Professionals. In most of the above you will not get a friend or an amateur to tick most of these boxes.
So when you take out the boring costs (tax, Public Liability Insurance, travel, web hosting, etc) you’ll probably find that the Professionals are close to a Par with the Friend/Amateur. What you need to decide I suppose is do you want to pay for the reassurance that you get with your Professional? And only you can answer that.
Blog by Bobby – bobby@vocimusic.ie
