How to find a last minute wedding musician

If the bride is smiling, it’s usually a pretty good sign ;)

Shot by Kelly Weech photography at Lottie & Alex’s wedding, Tall Trees Glamping, Somerset.

Whether it’s because a couple has left entertainment until the last minute or their booked musician has cancelled on them, I get a surprising amount of booking requests at the last minute. When it’s this late in the day, couples are often unsure how best to go about finding the right musician for the job. The good news is, I have you covered!

Question: how do I go about finding a last minute musician?

This one is easy. A quick internet search for ‘last minute musicians’ or ‘last minute wedding musicians’ or ‘last minute wedding singer’ will present you with options. If you add the name of your county or area - eg last minute wedding singer somerset/last minute wedding musician somerset - some of the results will most likely be the websites of artists close to you, meaning you can go directly to them and make contact (this avoids things like agency fees, saving you some money and ensuring the musician gets everything you pay). It’s also worth bearing in mind that most will travel; most of my bookings come from across several counties, I’ll happily travel all over the country. But failing that, you’ll probably get some agency sites in the results too, and that’s not a bad thing if you’re happy to do some scrolling. Be mindful that most agencies (Hitched, Bridebook, Encore to name a few) are a decent resource but they do take a fee, either from you or the performer, which isn’t ideal. There are also sites like lastminutemusicians where the fee (paid by the performer) is much smaller and it’s a handy site in a pinch, but it’s a much less curated space so you’ll need to spend some time really investigating to find the right person. Some agency sites like Entertainment Nation not only take a large fee but they even make the artist change their name on their directory so you can’t find them online to communicate directly! If in doubt; always try to find a musician’s own website - you’ll be so much happier in the long run.

How do I know I’ve found the right last minute musician for my special day?

You might rightly spot that I’m slightly biased on this one! But I’ll try to answer based on the feedback I’ve had from past clients.

• Your musician should make you feel at ease. We’re not just there to play music, we’re there to make sure you have a great time! If you’re not smiling, something isn’t going right. We musicians would like to play our part in putting a smile on the face of the bride, the groom, the mums & dads, gran & grandad, the friends and family who’ve made an effort to be there. So when you make contact with potential musicians, ask lots of questions and make sure their answers make you feel relaxed and like they know what they’re doing.

• Ask to see their song list. If you have any special requests, ask your musician if they’re able to learn them and bear in mind that if it really is very last minute (and particularly in the heat of wedding season) it may be a big ask, but you never know; they might already know it or they may have some spare time to nail it for you. In any case, it’s not just about one or two specific songs, it’s about the general vibe. You want a musician who knows popular tunes from across enough decades to give everyone a smile or two.

• Ask if they have a PAT certificate and a public liability insurance certificate. All venues technically need these documents, though many will forget to ask. A PAT certificate tells the venue that any equipment being used is safe to plug in (so this one may not be needed if the musician is using battery powered gear instead of plugging into the mains). A PLI certificate tells the venue that the musician has insurance in case of a guest falling over their gear, or in case their gear gets damaged.

• Is the musician happy to deal directly with the venue? A lot of couples want to personally manage conversations with suppliers even on the day but in most cases, personally, I’m given the contact details of a wedding planner/events manager or I seek out a manager at the venue and they become my liaison on the day so that I don’t have to interrupt the happy couple while finding a plug socket or ask whether things are running to schedule.

• In short: you’ll know. Make contact, ask questions, you’ll know in your gut whether you’ve found the right one.

Is my last minute musician going to be any good? Why aren’t they already booked up?

There are of course some great performers and some less than great performers out there, so you’ll want to see some video footage really before you make your mind up. But the great news (for you) is that even the best performers end up with holes in their diary - cancellations, time off that they no longer need for whatever reason. So even at the eleventh hour, if you look around there might well be some amazing options out there! If in doubt over their availability, just ask them if they can help.

Will there be a bigger charge for a last minute booking?

I can’t answer for everyone, but my personal feeling here is: generally no, not really. As someone in this line of work, I find myself available for last minute bookings for one of two reasons: either I’ve chosen to take the time off, or there were simply no bookings coming my way for that date. There have been times when I’ve been approached and had to say I can’t do it, but there have been lots of occasions when the last minute booking was just what I needed to fill the calendar and it’s worked out beautifully for all concerned. If I can do it, I’m grateful for unexpected pay day and I don’t add a premium for it. In fairness, there are occasions when a last minute booking might be doable by your last minute musician but which does for some reason cause an expense they may need to factor in (maybe they have to cancel personal plans and lose a dinner deposit, which is the only thing I can think of that’s happened to me!) but generally speaking I don’t believe in adding a premium. As with most things; speak to your musician and if you feel like they’re being reasonable then go for it.

Ok, you’re all set. Don’t panic: even if you’ve left things a bit late, you can still find your perfect wedding singer!

Shot by Kelly Weech Photography. That’s me walking down a beautiful avenue of trees at Tall Trees Glamping, Somerset.