Congratulations! You've listened to a lot of demo CD's or cassettes, 'auditioned' your short list of bands as they performed and finally chosen the group that really 'caught your ear'. Once you took the step in confirming your band you set in motion a 'checklist' process that bandleaders follow, the 'behind the scenes' activity, as it were.

Our band follows a procedure like this: you'll receive a confirming letter from us listing the size of band, fee agreed upon, name of venue and any other pertinent details. Along with the letter we'll enclose a partial repertoire list of several hundred most-requested songs. In the coming months we consult with you over choice of music. You can pick your first dance from a suggestion list or request a personal favorite. We like to know what artists you enjoy listening to or sometimes, equally as important – what songs you absolutely don’t want played! No Macorena? Our pleasure, believe me!

Once you've sent back a signed copy of the contract with your deposit cheque, the musicians, who've been patiently waiting in the wings, are now confirmed for your date. At this time, we also firm-up items like dress requirements and logistics: would you like us to wear tuxedo or business attire? Is a site inspection required?

Closer to the date, we'll speak to the banquet or catering manager to find out when it's convenient to set up all of the instruments and amplification. The venue will want to know what size of staging or risers to prepare for us and what our electrical power requirements are.

Of course, all of the details will be reconfirmed with you the week before the wedding. Often we'll fine-tune some aspects of the day, such as start time, timing of speeches and special dances and songs as your plans become finalized.

On the wedding day we'll usually arrive at the reception venue in the early morning, positioning the amplification and P.A. and, of course, performing the famous 'testing...one, two' long before your guests arrive! Because many weddings involve cocktails and dinner music, many brides like to have some of the musicians there early to play light ambient music. Often that includes jazz standards and show tunes played by our keyboard, string bass and saxophone players. We draw on our classical music repertoire for ceremonies in the church, synagogue or in the backyard.

After we've played the first dance or opening hora, the rest of the songs will follow smoothly. We know it's really important for us to establish good 'pacing' with gradual build in tempo and variety of music. We're experienced in relating to your wedding guests and watch to see what they are enjoying.

As you can see a lot will have gone on since that day you first chose the musicians.

Remember that the suppliers – florists, caterers and musicians – that you contact for your wedding all have valuable experience in how to make your day run smoothly. As we've specialized in weddings and corporate events for over twenty years, consider us a sound resource.