Private party hiring staff / music

[vanillacinamon]

I think i am going about this all the wrong way
Planning a private family party on sunday 28 August.
Would like to hire some reasonably priced waiting staff (max 2 maybe just 1) and if it is not too expensive a band, maybe a string quartet or a jazz thingy max 3 players or just 2 players.

The point is it is a small family party - attendees likley to be less than 30 in total and the venue will be a local church hall type venue if not our house.

I just don't know where to go to get the above - I have tried agencies and the music bands I am being quoted are saying £500 - way too much (I was thinking more of a couple of hundred for an hour or two of entertainment). For staff I have tried catering companies but they all seem to say unless you buy our food no staff can be hired out - and then I try the bigger staff agencies like Champion and Blue Arrow in oxford and they say we dont do that sort of thing

What i have in mind is more along the lines of some nice 6thform girls who want to earn a bit of cash one Sunday or at the least some local waitresses who want a bit of extra Sunday weekend work. And a local band who are good but not professional. How do I go about getting that for Wheatley Oxfordshire?

Try advertising on the Daily Info or Gumtree sites maybe?

Why don't you contact a couple of schools / sixth forms? I'm sure some GCSE courses involve doing some practical things in the community. Worth a go.

As for finding a band, you could go see a couple performing in pubs and then approach them? Also, I always see people (and sometimes bands) playing in the street in Oxford town centre.

Hope that helps.

I would advertise on gumtree for the waiting staff, too. I had a party similar to you are describing and hired a friends eastern european au pair and her friend, who worked in costa. They wanted £8 an hour each, which I rounded up to £50 each when they were fab and stayed really late washing up all the glasses. Post it on the gumtree - oxford - part time jobs section.

Not so sure about how to get a band. I got one who were semi-pro for our wedding (10 years ago and not in Oxford so can't recommend) by asking around contacts in that local area.

Re the music: how about advertising in the Music Faculty? They'll be doing finals and prelims at the moment, but the second years who are still around (it's only 4th week) will be popping in and out and there are bound to be some who are staying in and around Oxford over the summer.

Brookes have a resturant so they probably do some catering managment type courses, they may be able to help. My daughter's school (St Helens, Abingdon) have several musical ensembles of the type you want, Headington or Oxford High may also be worth a try.