How to Budget for Day-Two Wedding Entertainment

By day two most couples have spent everything they planned to and a bit more. Good news: day two doesn't need wedding-night money. It needs the right act at the right hour.

Headcount drives the price

Every extra musician is another fee, another travel bill and often another room. A six-piece band costs a lot more than a duo, and on day two a duo will fill most rooms just fine. Pay for the line-up the room needs, not the one that looks best on Instagram.

Where couples waste money

Booking live music for eight hours when the party really has three good hours in it. Paying for a stage-sized light show in a hotel bar. Bringing an act across the country when there's a cracking one twenty minutes down the road.

Use the county pages on this site — local acts mean lower travel, no overnight, and they usually know the venue.

Where it's worth spending

The peak hours. Put your money into the stretch when the most people are in the room, and fill the quiet afternoon with a solo act or a decent playlist. Nobody remembers the 3pm music. Everybody remembers the 9pm one.

Ask about a package

If an act is already playing your wedding, ask what they'd charge to come back the next day. They're already there, already set up in the area — there's often a deal to be had. Weekday and off-season dates are worth asking about too.

Get it in writing

Every quote should spell out travel, accommodation, overtime, the deposit and what happens if the venue pulls the plug early. If it isn't on paper, assume it's extra. And check the venue's noise rules before you sign anything — a sound limiter can make an expensive band sound like a radio.