My cousin got married last year in Philly, and she hired one of my favorite wedding bands. It was a 10 piece orchestra, with horns, 3 singers and a full rhythm section. They were simply amazing. This band has been voted Best Wedding Band for several years running by The Knot, Wedding Wire and NBC. As a professional wedding entertainer myself I couldn’t help asking my cousin how much she paid. She admitted to paying about $10,000. So then I got to wondering what other traditional wedding entertainment charges to play a reception. I went on to GigMasters, and asked for some quotes to see what some of those bands would charge. Here’s what I found:
I asked for bids for a 5 hour reception in NYC, including cocktail, dinner and dancing. I specified that the ceremony was in a separate room, and that I was expecting 100 guests. I put in a Saturday about 14 months out as my wedding date.
Charisma, a 6 piece band out of Newton, CT responded immediately with a price of $5,500. The Polka Brothers from NYC responded quickly with $3,000 for 4 polka musicians. Alchemy from Carmel, NY wanted $2,800 for 6 performers. Barynya, an 8 piece Russian/Gypsy band asked for $5,500. But that’s not the entire picture.
I asked around to several industry friends of mine that run established wedding bands and who DON’T advertise on GigMasters. They were telling me they charge prices of $10,000 – $14,000 for 7, 8 and 9 piece wedding orchestras. Some of them never found the need to advertise because their calendars were booked out 12-18 months just on word of mouth. Others had started advertising on GigMasters and similar sites, but at some point outgrew those sites. As they became more and more known, and were able to charge more for their Saturday nights, they found GigMasters less useful since they were now competing with bands that were willing to charge significantly less.
While you may get a good show from bands that charge $3,000-$4,000 (I’ve never actually heard the Polka Brothers), the bands that are able to charge $10,000-$14,000 are the ones that have nurtured and grown their reputations with each wedding at which they’ve performed. I’m sure that the brides and grooms that have hired them thought they were worth every penny.
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We can't thank you enough for making Jared's Birthday a hilarious, memorable occasion. Your customized birthday roast was TOP NOTCH!!! Everyone LOVED you guys.
Donna & Jared – Party Hosts
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The Dueling Pianos act on Saturday night went fabulously well! They did a fantastic job of getting the crowd involved and I could not be more pleased from start to finish. JOB WELL...
Tiffany H. – Events Coordinator
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it was AWESOME! we had a BLAST!!! The guys were great and so fun and talented. Thank you for being so professional and reliable.
Kelli CC, Corporate Planner
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Thank you both very much for all of your hard work in making our Carnegie Hall event last week a huge success. It was on of the most most unique, fun holiday parties...
Jessica L. – Event Planner
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Outstanding Job…Everyone had an amazing time…Our party was probably the best we’ve had since we’ve begun. Fun times!
John L, Marketing Specialist
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I am speechless. You guys are no joke. Thanks for rocking out our event at the Filmore Philadelphia. You are an excuse in your own right to throw another event!
Mark M. – Host
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Dozens at the wedding told us personally they were the best wedding entertainment any of them had ever seen! Eddie was great to work with, and he and Debbie and Micah truly rocked...
Andrew R – Groom
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Dan and Gray were absolutely incredible, the best, fun, perfect!!! Dan did a great job of MC'ing the wedding reception and they could play ANYTHING! Best decision ever!
Melissa P. – Mother of Bride
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Chris and Jed were UNREAL!!! I have never hired entertainment that was so good!! Super professional and they knew how to work a crowd better than anyone I've seen.
Justin R. – Event Planner
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You guys absolutely killed it. Never before have I seen so many people on a dance floor for the entire reception. You went above and beyond. You made our reception perfect.
Kennedy S. – Bride
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Everything was FANTASTIC with Frank and Nicky! I can't thank you enough for making this such an amazing wedding reception that we will never forget. Words can't describe how thankful we are
Christina K. – Bride
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Everything was fantastic! Dan, Heather and Chris did a spectacular job. And they accomplished something no other act has ever done - got the crowd willingly involved and up dancing.
Carolyn F – Director of Marketing
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SPECTACULAR. The show really exceeded our expectations. I wasn't sure what to expect as this wasn’t a “piano bar” scenario and I was blown away. We are beyond thrilled with the entire experience.
Crystal S. – Dir of Events
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They were spectacular!!! Everyone loved Debbie and Nate. It truly was an amazing evening. Thank you so much, looking forward to working with you again some day!!
Lisa M. – In house Event Planner
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In one word – FANTASTIC!! Nate and Sam were terrific! The crowd loved them. The interaction between the audience and Nate and Sam was great! Thanks again for the superb talent!
Gary J. – Foundation Director
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They were so amazing! Everyone had a great time. Your guys were so talented, funny and wildly entertaining! All of my team members were so surprised and elated to have them perform for...
Angela G., Corporate Event Organizer
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They were so engaged from young to old, that I am considering to retire as the event planner after your team’s performance- leaving the bar high and at the best selected performance to...
Dana K. – HR Coordinator
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You are wonderful, thank you! Your customer service is unmatched compared to the other vendors out there! Much appreciated!!!
Kristen G. – Guest Experience Manager
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Your boys killed it!!!!!!!!!!!
Gerry G – Party Host
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Everything went great. They are absolutely hilarious and would highly recommend them.
Darren R. – Event Host
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Everything was awesome and your guys did a fantastic job. We will more than likely have you guys back again next year.
Kevin G. – Company Chairman
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Last night was terrific. Steve and Eddie have amazing chemistry and the energy was awesome. It was a great event
Hugh M. – Entertainment Buyer
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Tyler and Josh were fantastic! The team really enjoyed themselves as they began to participate. Please thank Tyler and Josh for a great show!
Kaitlyn B. – Corporate Booker
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Our club had an absolute blast!!! By far our best event in the past year. They were great and really did awesome crowd work. We enjoyed them and WILL book with yall for...
Amanda M.
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The show was great! Everyone was impressed with the performance. I can’t thank you guys enough!
David C.
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For the past 30 years, we have had many different types of entertainment at our banquet... but this was the BEST we have ever had.
Kent L. – Executive Director
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We are hearing everyone raving about how AWESOME you guys were. It was better than I imagined!!!! I truly can’t thank you enough for being so GREAT at what you do.
Becky D. – Event Planner
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Fantastic entertainment! Eddie and his company are top notch professionals. Reliable, professional, and absolutely phenomenal performers. Could not have been better!
Kevin M. – Corporate Event Organizer
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It was the best gala we have had in the 4 years I have been with the Foundation. They helped us to raise some good money for our women’s center. I have had...
Tammy J. – Executive Director
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I just wanted to share that last night was one of the most fun and memorable events we've ever had at the hotel and the performers were the absolute best. I've been flooded...
Alisa C.
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A-MAZING. They were absolutely the stars of my event 🙂 thank you for everything!
Justyce P – Event Organizer for Corporate Event
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THANK YOU! so much. it was an amazing night and the members were overjoyed. I have heard nothing but compliments.
Shannon F. – Events Manager
