Information
Tommy Green
514-952-0419

Planning your wedding

Planning a wedding or other event is always a big job.

The Preville Big Band has over 25 years of experience playing for all kinds of events, so you know that everything is taken care of.

By the way, don't forget us for wedding anniversaries, too.

Relax! Don't worry! Be happy!

You might as well have fun at your own wedding. There's no sense being stressed out on the wedding day. Even if things get behind schedule (and they usually do), nothing really matters other than you and your guests have a ball. And with the big band there, that's nothing to worry about.

Here are some things to think about.

Schedule and musical options
Cost, contract.
Room set-up
Choice of Music. Special requests
Care and feeding of musicians

Complete Tech Sheet

Schedule and musical options

Here is a typical schedule for a wedding. Yours may be different, of course.


	2:00 - 3:00		Wedding Ceremony at Church
	3:00 - 4:00		Guests drive to hall. Couple photos
	4:00 - 5:30		Cocktails. Couple arrives. Receiving line
	5:30 - 8:00		Meal
	8:00 - 9:00		Speeches. Videos shown (optional)
	9:00 - 1:00		Dance with big band
	12:00		Sweets table opens

With that in mind, what music do you want for each activity?

Before and after the wedding ceremony

Consider...

The church organist (no charge)
A string quartet. (Sorry, we don't provide that.)
A brass quartet. (Yes! We can help you.)

During the cocktails

You need to know if the cocktails will in the same room as the dinner, or outside in the garden, or in the entry hall.

Consider...

No music (not really so bad if out in the foyer)
Recorded music (if in same room as dinner)
A jazz duo or trio (piano, bass, sax)

During the dinner

Here's where you need to think about your budget. Traditional Italian weddings will open the dance with the full band right from the start. Others open the dance later.

Here are options...

Recorded music (Laid back, not too loud)
A jazz duo or trio (piano, bass, sax)
Our Italian singer
The full big band

See note below about clearing tables.

Speeches

If you need a microphone or two, just let us know. We will be all set-up, with a full sound system, long before you and your guests arrive.

Here's an alternative: open the dance right away, while guests are finishing their coffee and dessert, and leave the speeches to band breaks.

The dance

This is when you want the full band in all it's glory. No choice but...

The Preville Big Band !
By the way, we are a 15 piece dance band, with full brass and rhythm sections plus singer. We don't cut the band down, and we don't wash windows. Sorry. But we are good!

Band breaks

We have (optionally) a great DJ who works with us, and shares our sound system. That means we can provide continuous dance music all night long.

So during the breaks you have the choice of...

Recorded dance music. We'll bring some, or you can bring your favorite CDs if you like.
Our superb D.J.
Have your speeches during the breaks.

Cost and Contract

We can't post prices on our web site, but we will tell you that we're not expensive, compared to many wedding bands out there.

The reason is simple. We don't try to make a living on this stuff. We just love the music and love performing. But we're not free, either. Heck, we do have some principles.

It is important to reserve the band well in advance, because we operate on a first-come first-serve basis. So don't delay.

To reserve the band takes a signed contract and a deposit. Nothing complicated. Details like starting times can be changed later.

For a wedding, the minimum booking time is for 4 hours. That's from the time the band is ready and scheduled to start, until the band finishes. Obviously, the longer the full band plays, the more expensive. So your lowest cost option is the band for 4 hours and a DJ for the dinner and breaks. Bringing the band in earlier is obviously more expensive.

Room Set-up

Stage

The band needs a space 16 feet deep, and 24 feet wide. This works pretty well with standard 4 x 8 foot risers.

Click here for complete Tech Info

Many halls will provide a stage, but it isn't absolutely necessary. But we do need the space! If the stage is too small (and isn't too high) we can put the sax section on the floor in front of the stage.

To get really fancy, make the last row of risers (the back 4 feet) a tad higher. It looks really nice.

Ideally you want the band next to the dance floor. Often that is in the middle of the room, but not always. Talk to the hall manager. If you like, call us and we can look at the hall together with you. Having the band at one end is usually not too bad either.

Sound and Lighting

The band is fully equipped with a full top-quality sound system which we will set up in the afternoon before the guests arrive. It good powerful enough for a room of up to 300 people, or even small outdoor concerts. We have small lights for the musicians. Major stage lighting we would have to rent, but typically it is not necessary.

Spare room

If you can, ask the hall to reserve a small room where musicians go during breaks, and we can put our instrument and equipment cases.

Clearing Tables

Sometimes when space is limited, tables are put on the dance floor, and it takes 20-30 minutes after dinner to clear them off before the band can start. All the guests are asked to leave at this time. Be sure to ask the hall about this, and include the time in your schedule. We don't particularly like this option, but sometimes there is no choice.

Choice of Music, Special Requests

If you have a particularly mix of music you would like, let us know in advance. That said, we have a pretty good of what works for wedding, after many years of experience.

Opening Dance

In particular, if you have an opening dance song you want, let us know. One of our favorites is When I Fall In Love.

Special Requests

We have a large repertoire with many many great dance tunes from all eras. Feel free to mention tunes you particularly want, (in advance when we are planning our sets, please).

But we may not have your particular favorite in our big band "book". If not, here are some alternatives:

Have the DJ play it.
Fake it with the rhythm section and a couple of horns (if we know it).
Have us arrange it for full band and work it up. (Give use some time to do that.)

Guests who sing

If any of your guests is particularly talented and would like to sing with the band, that's fine with us. It's an exciting experience to sing with a live big band. (Be sure you check with them first, however.)

We will be delighted to work with them to pick a tune we have that is in their key. It you're really serious, ask them to contact us and come to a rehearsal, where we will work with them and tape the session so for them to practice with.

Care and Feeding of Musicians

Musicians are wonderful people (aren't we?).

And if we don't play too early, there is no need to feed the whole band. (You just saved $100 x 15 people!) We do ask for meals (not all the courses, but some real food), for the combo (present during cocktails) and the set-up crew. We're really not difficult. Just people.

It would be nice to have, however,

Water, coffee, and soft drinks. Playing makes us thirsty. Heck, maybe even a beer
A room to leave our cases in, and to go to during breaks to prepare for the next set.
A smile.

So, you see, it's really easy. And it's going to be a GREAT party!