Ideas for your live wedding drinks reception music

Published: 02 Jan 2020   |   Written by: Mike Paul-Smith

Hiring live music for your wedding drinks reception is a very popular idea. It’s a great part of the day – you’ve just got married so everyone is naturally in a great mood, and also they finally have a drink and get to mingle (which doesn’t always happen before the ceremony).

Having live musical entertainment for this part of the day creates a fantastic vibe, and it’s one of the moments where you can most effectively use live music.

Down for the Count have a great range of bands to hire for drinks receptions. All our bands can perform either indoors or outdoors - although we do have some suggestions for which bands work better for different scenarios.

Outdoors: our top suggestions for outdoor entertainment

Indoors: our top suggestions for indoor entertainment

 

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Outdoor wedding drinks reception entertainment

Acoustic entertainment options and walkabout acts for outdoor receptions

If you’re lucky enough to have your reception outdoors in a place far away from the nearest power source, you’ll need a completely acoustic act. We have four such groups available – the first three also have the added advantage of being walkabout acts, so they can move around your reception making sure everyone gets a bit of the action. You can find out a bit more information about our roaming, wondering bands here.

Our most popular outdoor walkabout act is The Vintage Strollers - a really fun, female-led acoustic trio (which can be expanded all the way up to a 7-piece band). This roaming band for hire stroll amongst your guests, entertaining them with upbeat swing, pop and soul numbers to get everyone in a good mood.

Our other two walkabout acts are Alexander’s Dixieland Band - who are fun and quirky, performing trad jazz music in a unique style - and Get Brassy, who are a louder New Orleans-style brass band playing covers of pop songs. 

 

You also need to think about the type of ambience you want to create. The three above bands are fun and lively, whereas Down for the Count Strings are subtle, sophisticated but certainly not boring – they have a great repertoire of both classical and pop music and we think they are ideal for wedding drinks reception background music. Even better, you can also book them for your wedding ceremony for a fraction of the price of having two separate acts!

Do remember that if you’re planning an outdoor drinks reception, you must have a wet weather plan – you’d be amazed how many people don’t! Also, please remember that musicians perform with incredibly valuable instruments and will need to move them inside at the first hint of rain.

If you’re able to run power outside to the band, you also have the choice of our fantastic jazz bands. The Hollywood Jazz Band and Lady Gatsby Jazz Bands are both fronted by a vocalist (and therefore need power for the PA system) and both bands are fun and classy. See below for more details on these bands.

If I had to choose, and you really, really pushed me, I think I would probably go for one of our four above acoustic acts for an outdoor drinks reception, over one of the jazz bands below. An acoustic act is just that bit more flexible, and running power cables outside can sometimes be quite a bit of effort, and can look a bit messy. Having said that, we do often perform outside with our vocal-led jazz bands, and it’s still a great way of adding atmosphere – if those are your favourite bands, go for it!

 

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Indoor wedding drinks reception entertainment

Amplified entertainment ideas for indoor receptions

Our vocal-led jazz bands come into their own for indoor receptions, where the acoustic is a little kinder to live music.

The Hollywood Jazz Band is smart and sophisticated and adds a touch of glamour to the occasion; whilst the Lady Gatsby Jazz Band is 1920s themed and has a slightly more fun, uptempo feel. If you can’t decide between the two, don’t worry – just let us know and we’ll provide you with a mix of the two bands!

 

If you're looking for something a bit more subtle and soulful than the vocal-led jazz bands above, check out The Soul Essentials - a female-led duo or trio with a fantastic range of soul and pop music, creating a lovely relaxed atmosphere.

Another option for indoors drinks reception entertainment is a cocktail pianist or an instrumental jazz band.

I never think a cocktail pianist sounds quite right outside – but indoors it is fantastic. If you’re fortunate enough to have a venue with a piano our pianist can use that, but he will always bring a digital piano as a backup. Also, it’s possible for us to arrange the hire of a grand or upright piano – let us know if you would like a quote for this option.

Finally, we also have an instrumental jazz band, the Jazz Essentials. We think this sounds best indoors, but it can perform outdoors as well (it would usually need power, although there is an acoustic option available).

 

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Any questions?

Down for the Count have loads of fantastic entertainment options for indoor and outdoor drinks receptions. Remember that if you’re booking them alongside one of our evening party bands we offer fantastic package deals!

We can also create bespoke acts so if you have any ideas, just let us know and we'll see what we can do!

If you have any questions or would like to know more, email us now or call band manager Mike on 07855 488 462.

 

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