Wedding Music Tip #16

Where do you find your wedding musicians?

In today's world of technology, the answer to that question is most likely: the internet. Unless you're fortunate enough to have a college pal or first cousin who happens to be a violinist, or trumpet player in a big band, or your new neighbor is a professional flutist (which might not be so fortunate at all--I shared an apartment once with a flutist, and let me tell you, when they get out the piccolo--run for your life!), then you probably have no idea where to start. Google becomes your best friend.

Google is an asset for everyone involved, whether you are the bride searching for a string quartet or the jazz trio hanging out a "For Hire" sign on their web page. What you may find daunting, while embarking on your online wedding planning, is the number of sites out there offering wedding services. For those of you residing in New York, here is a run-down of some of the more--and less--popular sites to help you find The One. Nope, not your spouse-to-be. That was the easy part. I'm talking about your wedding musicians!

If you google "new york wedding music"--which I did, for the sake of research--what comes up first time and time again is the directory of music services on New York Magazine's nuptial guide, New York Weddings. You'll find a list of musicians ranging from string trios and quartets to forty-piece orchestras. Vendors on this site will be experienced, tasteful and probably high end. You don't advertise in New York Magazine without spending a bob or two, and these vendors will surely be recouping some of that marketing investment in their wedding fees.

Another prominent site is WedAlert, which has many helpful tools and lists hundreds of local musicians. Vendors can choose between free and paying advertisement, so the sheer number of vendors on the site is astounding. It's a lot of information to sift through, and unfortunately the site is on the loud side graphically-speaking, which makes it hard to stare at the page for more than a minute without feeling like you're going into some sort of wedding hallucination sequence. Advertisers do have links to their own websites, so if a musician catches your eye, you can go ahead and click through to a page (hopefully) less visually jarring.

Gigmasters is perhaps the most popular site for finding musicians of any type. Its easy-to-use site is clean and straight-forward, and although musicians must pay to be on the site, the advertising fees are minimal so you will find a wide range of professionals to choose from. Gigmasters does collect a booking fee and you must pay a deposit upfront--something you may or may not have to do if negotiating with the musicians directly.

The Knot is a heavy in the wedding planning world, and you will find plenty of musicians listed in their vendor directory. Fees for advertising on theknot.com are on the hefty side, so you will not find as many area musicians listed as you might on another site, and like New York Magazine, vendors will no doubt pass on their advertising costs to their clients in terms of rates. Theknot.com is designed particularly well, combining ease-of-use and aesthetics to make the online process as pleasant as possible.

Weddingwire is a relatively new site, which offers free advertising spots for vendors and the ability to create a profile similar to Facebook. Vendors can upload photos, videos and connect with other vendors on the site, so you can perhaps find a string quartet through the cake baker of your choice. Designed for maximum cuteness. Weddingwire has recently partnered with Martha Stewart Weddings, so you can easily cross reference local wedding vendors.

And last but not least... Craigslist. Craigslist is a great place to find anything, from a used bike to a photographer for your wedding. Since the recession hit a few years ago, Craigslist has become inundated with vendors who are either students, recent graduates, or just plain amateurs, hawking their services along side the seasoned professionals, making it hard to discern what kind of product you will really be getting. Buyer beware. If you find a wedding vendor on Craiglist offering rates far below the norm, chances are this person is not a professional.

Wedding Tip #16: Perhaps the best way to find your wedding musicians is by word of mouth, inquiring for contact information for a band or trio you heard performing at a friend or relative's wedding. But if this is not an option, by all means use the internet. Just use it wisely!

Until the next wedding,

Alice Hamlet, Director
www.tenstringsmusicstudio.com