Live Entertainment
It goes without saying that live entertainment is something that I believe is really important (not only am I married to a singer, but I’ve been a dancer since I was 2 years old!) The reason I have chosen this as my 5th top wedding regret is that I have SOOOOO many brides come to me (sometimes in tears) when they realise that Adam’s not available for their date… simply because they didn’t realise that such an option existed until it was too late.
“Why a singer above a band?”
I think there is probably a stigma attached to the whole idea of a ‘wedding singer’ - and rightly so! If our only options were Adam Sandler-style performers or cheesy crooners (let’s face it, we’ve all seen them around!) then I honestly would prefer to just have a disco! I think the reason that Adam’s diary sells out so quickly is that people really do feel restricted to either a) a cheesy 80’s function band that sing “Celebration” all evening or b) an equally cheesy “swing” crooner who walks around the room like he’s ‘working’ the crowd at a Working Men’s Club! Once brides see that there is another option they throw themselves at me! I have had so many brides tell me that if they can’t have Adam then they’ll just have a disco because the idea of a “wedding singer” turns their stomach… yet Adam performing his show at their wedding is an entirely different concept!
As I couldn’t make Adam sing all evening at my wedding (with him being the groom!) I obviously had to look at other options. It is so hard to find a band with a decent lead singer! And even then when you call them they reveal that they can’t guarantee who the singer will be on the evening (as they have several). Do these people not understand that a bride needs to know who will be there? Do they really think that it’s unimportant if they change the singer, the set, the number of people in the band etc on the biggest day of her life?! Needless to say I really struggled to find a respectable band that fit my criteria and, although they were great on the night, they simply couldn’t do what Adam can do with his show: bridge the gap with the audience and really have them in his hands. Band singers don’t learn their trade the way that solo singers do, they hide away and feel comfortable in the knowledge that, if the show doesn’t go down too well, there’s several people to blame. Solo performers are usually far more responsible for their act and know what has to be done to really make a connection with the people. I have never seen an empty dance floor at any of Adam’s performances, yet at our own wedding it was like pulling teeth trying to get people up to dance!
“But entertainment is the least of my worries at the moment”
Please, please, please don’t put this off! Whichever way you decide to go with entertainment, if you are a music lover and care about the 5 hours that you will need to be entertained by whoever you choose, you MUST book early. We have confirmed bookings for late 2011 and are turning people away all of the time for late 2010! Don’t assume that because the wedding planning lists all have entertainment down at the bottom that it is a low priority: it is at the bottom because it happens late on in your day. Your entertainment is the longest individual part of your day and will always be remembered by everyone that is there: either because it is an amazing surprise or because it’s a dreadful disappointment. Research your act, choose wisely and book early!