Hints And Tips

We don't have all the answers, but with the huge number of weddings, functions and parties we have played at over the years we have probably seen most of the good things and unfortunately a fair few bad things that can effect the success of any function. So using our experience we have put together a few helpful hints and tips to try to help you make your evening run as smoothly as possible.

Timing
We are often asked how "early" we can start playing at a function! We have noticed particularly at weddings that they are often a chance for families and friends to get together and have a chat, and the first opportunity of the day for people to freely mix is often the evening reception. So it's unlikely that your guests will want to get up and dance to a live band straight away! Letting them have time for a chat and two or three drinks usually relaxes people into more of a party mood when they will be more likely to join in the fun! We would suggest deciding when your evening function will finish (in many cases this is determined by the venue) or by what time you will be leaving if you are the Bride & Groom. We can then work the timing of our live sets back to a reasonable but not too early start time. As part of our package we supply background music once we are set up to give people something to chat over. Later in the evening this can be turned up in our breaks to keep the party atmosphere flowing with disco music.

Space
You might think having lots of space and different areas for your various guests to spread out into is the ideal situation at a wedding or function, somewhere for everyone to go! A room for the bar, another room for the evening buffet, some quiet space for the older generation to retire to. Actually nothing could be further from the truth. In our experience the more rooms you use the more your guests will spread out and the less of a party atmosphere you are able to create! Obviously you need enough space in one main room for everyone to fit into including the band. The ideal location certainly needs to contain most of the evening's essentials, especially the bar which should always be either in the main room or as close by as possible. Another tip is try not to have the room full of tables for people to sit at but just dot a few chairs and tables about. This way you help to create a good area for people to dance in rather than giving them the opportunity to split into lots of small groups just sitting around tables. Your guests will definitely be more inclined to join in the party on a busy dance floor especially after a drink or two so keep the drinks available and flowing easily! Anyone needing a quiet space will usually find somewhere to have a rest.

Food
Evening buffets are often an integral part of your function and obviously looked forward to by your guests. However they can also bring a party to an instant standstill as everyone dashes for the food …while the band play on, with the live music you have booked being wasted on an empty dance floor! Ideally let us know early on when the venue intend to serve the food and we can aim and coincide this with the end of one of our sets and announce the buffet for you.

Discos
Although you may be booking the band as your main entertainment for the evening, the thought of booking a disco as well to fill out your evening may have crossed your mind! We have no problems with this in principal but there are some points worth considering. Do you have time at your function to get the full value out of a band and a disco? We generally play two one-hour live sets with a break between them. As part of our package we also supply all the disco music for when we are not playing through our integrated iPod system. You can even supply your own selection of songs for us to use in the breaks if supplied as a playlist on your own iPod or a similar MP3 player. As a live band we use some of the latest high quality equipment available and can therefore supply a sound and lighting system easily as good as and in most cases better than most mobile discos. Space to fit the equipment of both a band and disco into the same room can also cause problems. Finally having booked the band as your main entertainment the last thing you will appreciate is everyone holding back waiting around for a disco to start up to play Aggado, Bob the Builder and the Birdie song!

People
Don't forget that no matter how nice the venue you've hired is or how good the band are at playing the right music, your guests may be starting to flag by the evening. Wedding guests will have been stood waiting, or walking around a lot of the day and are probably fairly full from the wedding breakfast. Many will be quite content to sit back, relax and just watch the band! Those with small or tired children may even feel they have had enough by now and leave fairly early. This can result in a fairly quick reduction in the number of people left to celebrate into the night! This is where you need to introduce plenty of new evening guests to get the celebrations moving with some fresh energy.

Whether you are arranging a Wedding or a party, it's always worth inviting some young energetic friends or a couple or two who you know like a good dance. Get them up on the floor and they are almost certain to give many of the other guests the confidence to have a dance themselves! The more that join the dance floor the better the atmosphere. Don't forget to keep the bar close at hand and the drinks flowing to help rejuvenate those tired dancing feet!

Noise
Due to the equipment we use most of the volume the band produces is created by our out-front speaker system. The placement of these speakers has to be in front of the band to prevent feedback through the microphones. The sound level can be quite loud very close to the speakers, but reduces significantly as you move away from them. We therefore recommend that when planning your table layout, try to keep some space between the speakers and any tables and chairs that are nearer the front of the stage area. Likewise any senior members of your party are unlikely to want to sit too close to a high powered speaker so maybe seat them a little further away so they are not annoyed when the band start playing.

Marquees
Holding your function in a Marquee can be one of the best solutions to solving the problem of finding the right venue in the busy summer months. The band have played at many successful events in marquees set up on the lawns of country estate hotels to village greens and even the odd reasonably sized back garden! They offer plenty of space for setting up everything you need in one place; from table settings for a meal, right through to a stage area for the band and a dance floor... and room for the all important drinks bar.

The only provision the band requires is a flat level boarded surface or stage for the band to set up their equipment on and an adequate power supply. Mobile generators and/or power cables will need to supply us with at least 26amps total power, properly weather proofed and connected via earth leakage circuit breakers (RCDs). There should be at least two separate 13amp outlets within 3 metres of the stage area. A single extension lead providing 2 sockets will not be adequate as this will normally be limited to a total of 13amps maximum.

On another note don't be fooled by the British summer weather! Even in the middle of a hot summer, although very warm in the day, once the sun starts to set, sitting in a marquee on a summer evening can very quickly become quite chilly and uncomfortable for your guests. So make sure your marquee hire company have provided some form of heating for the evening. Unfortunately we have often seen the prospect of a great evening function ruined by the guest disappearing to the nearest main building early in the evening just to keep warm.... they then rarely return to the cold empty marquee where your band will be left playing to just a few hardy souls trying to keep warm on the dance floor
.... or oblivious to the cold... stood next to the bar!

Party Poopers!
Most evening receptions, functions and parties will be hoping to create a great atmosphere. In fact this is crucial to the success of any memorable evening. This is not the easiest thing to create and not even we can guarantee a foolproof system. However one of the main things we have noticed that certainly improves the atmosphere is keeping people together enjoying themselves in one place.

So if you are thinking of running a few extra activities i.e., Casinos, Bucking Bronko bull rides, horse racing, etc. to create a more eventful evening we recommend that you definitely try keeping these activities in the main room or Marquee rather than putting them in a separate room or building.

The evening may then need planning to a greater degree, making sure these other activities are only available during breaks when your band are not playing, helping to ensure that your guests are kept together enjoying the same thing at the same time.

Money
We are happy to take a deposit as a cheque when you book the band the remainder of our fee then being due on the night of the function. As you can imagine having completed our performance the last thing we need at the end of the evening is to chase around the remaining guests finding someone to pay us the balance of our fee. This is embarrassing for both us and the guests especially if the allotted person has either left the party early or had one too many to drink!!. We would suggest finding someone trustworthy earlier in the day to hold onto the payment who can then hand this to the band earlier in the evening sometime after the sound check before the party and the drinks kick off.

If you are seeking further advice or would like to discuss what INNERVISION has to offer your particular event please contact Trevor using the details on the Contact page

Telephone Trevor on:
01722 427138 (Mon to Fri 9:30am to 5:30pm)