Advice on musical entertainment

[RMoore]

Hi all,

I'm looking for something a bit out-of-the-ordinary musically for our wedding, as my fiance and I are both music-lovers.

We found a musical entertainer locally, early 30s, who apparently has a set of original songs he's written especially for weddings. The short video looks fantastic, and I don't want to go for the typical cover-band thing.

However, even though his marketing says it's for general audiences, and he seems super talented, I'm still a bit apprehensive - with original music I feel like we don't quite know what we're getting, and that seems a bit risky.

What are your thoughts? Any good or bad signs to look for? Does it sound like it would go over well? Is it something you would go for? Or should we just be safe and do the covers band thing?

As a music lover and musician, I'd be very wary of original songs at a wedding, unless it was a band/songwriter I already loved and a good number of my guests also knew. People won't be actively listening; they won't have the attention needed to appreciate and enjoy music they aren't familiar with (also, 'songs written especially for weddings' sounds kind of inauthentic, to me). What about a band that does covers, but in their own style? I was at a wedding a few years ago with a great Americana band, who covered a wide range of songs with accoustic guitars, banjo, double bass and close harmonies. They were fab!

Excellent suggestions, thanks so much multivac!

I'd completely disagree with the above poster in terms of looking for covers1
I wouldn't dismiss the entertainer but ask to hear a bigger sample.
If you like his video then he might be just what you need... artists need supporting and it would be a shame to dismiss someone you were initially drawn to just because they don't fit the corporate entertainment model / what everyone else is doing.

2 of the best weddings I've been to music-wise were a couple of hire a musician who'd been playing/singing in a restaurant they'd dated at. The songs were all original but they had more people dancing (romantically, in pairs rather than people just doing their own stuff) than any other party I'd been to. The other wedding didn't have a crowd that was likely to dance and instead had a jazz trio play live music through the meal. I really enjoyed it and it created such a great atmosphere. It's always the personal, original touches that make a wedding, when people follow a formula the weddings are inevitably disappointing because they end up being poor imitations of each other. If you're not drawn instinctively to the idea of a cover band just don't do it... follow your gut and whatever you end up choosing will be better because things chosen with heart and meaning always come across better, even when the execution is imperfect.

Is it for the reception at night? My worry would be that your guests might be dissapointed and lots won't dance but you know them well so might not be an issue.
You could have your man during the ceremony or between the ceremony and reception perhaps. Ultimately though it's your wedding so you get to have what you want!