Tony...
Your thoughts were my first thoughts. Lap top...MP3's...Bose L1 Compact. How exciting.

Years ago, I was in a really good "wedding band" and the booking procedure usually involved a personal meeting with the bride and her family. Almost always there were requests for several tunes that we had to learn. In addition we provided the MC service and there was the learning of the bridal party's names, how to pronounce them and coordination of events and format for the event...which almost never went as planned.

One time we were even requested to play in the back of the room so the wedding cake could be on proud display in front of the dance floor. (That gig was a total disaster.)

Receptions were always "tux jobs" which required wallpaper instrumentals during cocktails, society music during dinner and early dancing and gradually segueing into balls to the wall rock or disco or whatever was the genre of the day...and watching the over 40's leave and the under 40's turn the reception into a liquor-laden frenzy.

We even had a routine at the end of the prescribed time that would almost guarantee us another hour at an overtime rate.

I haven't done a wedding in 20 years...but I have been to a few...and I see why DJ's are the entertainment of choice.

The DJ's can provide any request, any genre, at a moment's notice and it will be by the artists the revelers are accustomed to hearing. The best of the DJs will dress appropriately and do a good job of MCing, but have replaced musicians with Ipods and theatrical lighting.

When the DJ's first made their appearance on the wedding scene, bands had the advantage of multiple people, interesting routines and live music. Dj's had the advantage of lower price. That has all changed..as Randy has pointed out.

As a OMB I don't solicit weddings...but if I did, you can bet I would have to rely on MP3s and DJ disciplines. (Yeah...I can play rap and hip hop....with a laptop..or Ipod....but I don't wanna.)

Eddie

Eddie ... you are soooooo right ... and man, I thought you were describing MY experiences when we had a 'wedding band' ... even down to what we called the "money set" - the last 1/2 hour of the regular gig, during which we would try to get the crowd looking for more ... while the tunes in the 'money set' changed depending on the venue, age of the crowd etc, the intent was always the same - 'overtime' for us - ...

t.