Welcome to Top UK Wedding Bands, home to the very best selection of bands available for weddings in the UK today.
For Wedding Couples
Couples can browse bands directly from the home page or click through to the specific categories (wedding bands, tribute bands, solo performers or DJs). The more details buttons lead to information about the act – photos, biog, audio, videos etc. and links through to the web site for more info and booking.
The first step to getting added to Top UK Wedding Bands is to choose a type of listing from the four options:
Bronze Listing (£5/mnth)
Silver Listing (£15/mnth)
Gold Listing (£20/mnth)
Platinum Listing (£70/mnth)
There are also various listing enhancements which you can choose from. Payments are quick and easy via Paypal and there is no obligation to subscribe for any particular time period. You can create or delete an automatic payment profile using Paypal at any time.
What are the differences between the different types of listing?
Bronze – the entry level listing that includes basic details like biog, photos, vidoes and a link to your web site.
Silver – upgrade to appear above all the bronze listings near the top of your category.
Gold – this listing type is highlighted in the search results and will show up above silver and bronze listings.
Platinum – the best possible listing, always shows at the top of the home page (on rotation with other platinum listings) and includes all listing enhancements.
When hiring we wedding band you probably have lots of questions you want to ask them. No questions are silly and so here are a few tips on what you may want to ask a prospective party band.
–Do you have public liability insurance?
–Can you play something for both the old and young?
–Do you take requests?
–How many musicians are in the band?
–Can you provide references for recent performances?
–How much does it cost to hire you?
–If things run later than expected are there any additional costs?
–Do you provide lighting?
–How long to you play for?
–Can you play our first dance?
–How long do you require to set up?
–What do you wear when you perform?
–Do you require feeding and soft drinks?
Well there are are few for you to consider asking and we are sure you can think of many more.
A great number of couples get engaged around Christmas and new year as well as scores of proposals on Valentines day. Many of these couples want to get married within the year and find themselves frantically planning the details. At the top of your list, once you have found the location of the wedding, should be the entertainment and because you are in a little bit of a rush you may well find that the best live bands are already booked up. If you are really lucky you may find your big day lies on a random free day for the band of choice. We recommend confirming a booking with your favourite band at the earliest point possible. The last thing you want is to be left with 2nd or 3rd choice on this one big day of your life. A great band is an essential component of wedding entertainment.
Happy new year particularly to those of you who were lucky enough to get engaged over the festive period. If you are planning a quick marriage in 2013 then make sure that booking your entertainment is one of the first things you get sorted. Take look at the list of function bands on this site and make direct contact with any of the acts you are interested in. The best function bands get booked up very quickly and often by the end of February you’ll be leaving it too late to get the best.
From the start of August 2017 we are pleased to announce we have once again upgraded our hosting. Recently a few members have pointed out problems with uploading large files and occasionally the site speed wasn’t ideal, so we have just completed another server upgrade.
You will probably notice the speed increase straight away as it’s quite noticeable. We have run preliminary tests and it seems like all the issues with uploading large files have now been addressed, although please note there is a limit of 500MB per file. If you are having problems trying to upload a larger file, please use a free compression utility to make the file size smaller, then try again.
If you have any questions or comments about the new hosting or Top UK Wedding Bands in general, please get in touch:
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It really doesn’t matter what county or region your are looking for wedding bands in, North West, South East or Central England, this website lists party bands who perform all over the UK. Whereas some of the live bands travel only locally others travel UK wide and even further afield to international weddings. Simply look through the acts and make contact requesting a quote mentioning the location of your wedding. Even where some bands do not normally perform outside a specific region, coving their travel and a nice meal may just sway them to perform at your wedding.
If you are look at this site and based in another European country you’ll be pleased to know that many bands will travel internationally because of the availability of cheaper and cheaper flights. This means it is still worth making contact with the band that you like the sound of. for those people looking from outside Europe, be aware that musicians may require Visas and other documents to be able to perform at your event.
So you’ve said your vows, exchanged rings, filled up on food and now comes the long awaited first dance. Ah, that ever memorable dance, the perfect photo opportunity and the moment all your wedding guests stand and watch as you awkwardly sway together. What could go wrong?
If you have already picked the perfect first dance song you should have no problem at all. But when it comes to actually choosing a song – it can be tricky. Most couples will decide on a tune that means something to them both. Some quirky couples may pick something more alternative and a little out of the ordinary.
If you haven’t decided yet then you need to be careful with your song choice and really have a think about it. A love song you think is beautiful and romantic may actually be about a break up and have really inappropriate lyrics. Not exactly what you want to mark your long future together. These are the first dance songs you really want to avoid. And so, the list of first dance songs to avoid begins.
I Will Always Love You – Whitney Houston
This is top of our list purely because it will be a strong choice for a lot of people. It’s slow, it’s beautiful and it’s about love. So what’s wrong with this one?
Well, this song is actually about a break up. If you delve into the lyrics and look beyond the main line ‘I will always love you’ you will actually see that Whitney is singing goodbye:
‘So good-bye Please don’t cry We both know I’m not what you, you need’
This is really not appropriate for your first dance as husband and wife. Pick another.
Marry You – Bruno Mars
So this seems like a really easy choice for some of you. Bruno Mars is pretty awesome and this song is about getting married. It’s not too upbeat and something you can dance to. What’s the harm?
Yes, this song is about getting married and clearly Bruno wants to marry this girl. Again it’s a song with very inappropriate lyrics:
Cause it’s a beautiful night, we’re looking for something dumb to do Hey baby, I think I wanna marry you
Essentially he is saying that getting married is a pretty stupid and dumb thing to do, so YOLO right? Wrong. Actually looking into the lyrics further, it may be about getting married on a whim whilst drunk:
Who cares if we’re trashed Got a pocket full of cash we can blow
Getting drunk then married just because you have nothing better to do isn’t exactly the best choice to make, so just avoid this song.
A Whole New World – Disney
For the couple who are obsessed with Disney (we don’t blame you), there are plenty of other songs to choose from, out of all of them please don’t pick this one.
Yes the lyrics might be cute however, we cannot stress how unbearable this song is. Particularly since Peter Andre and Katie Price (now divorced may we add) killed this song when they performed it together back in 2006. No one needs to hear it again.
Thinking Out Loud – Ed Sheeran
We can hear the tuts and gasps already as soon as you read the title. What is wrong with this song? Surely there can’t be anything. Well being honest here, yes it is a rather beautiful song – these lyrics will literally melt your heart:
So honey now Take me into your loving arms Kiss me under the light of a thousand stars Place your head on my beating heart
However, having worked in the wedding industry for a while; literally every couple who ever got married in 2014-2015 had this song as their first dance song and it has been totally overplayed. Please, please be a little more original and pick something else.
Love Will Tear Us Apart – Joy Division
For most people it might be a little more obvious that this song is definitely not appropriate for your first dance song, but I’m just going to reiterate to those of you that are looking to be original, that this song should really be avoided at all costs.
Yes it is slow – but this is the only positive point about this song. The title speaks for itself. Don’t pick it!
Anything for Love – Meatloaf
Some might argue against this and, if you are die hard Meatloaf fans, don’t let us stop you- but apart from the fact that this song has been overplayed at weddings, the lyrics aren’t all that appropriate for a first dance song. It starts off quite nice:
‘And I would do anything for love I’d run right into hell and back I would do anything for love’
Seeing these lyrics you may question why this song has made the avoid list. Meat Loaf himself has said that this song is about how far you would go for love. The lyric ‘But I won’t do that’, well we’ll let your minds make up what he means by this. But further on in the song he goes onto explain how their love will die out:
‘ I know the territory, I’ve been around It’ll all turn to dust and we’ll all fall down Sooner or later you’ll be screwing around’
Not something you both want to be dancing to!
Macarana – Los Del Rio
If you’re the sort of couple that hate the limelight and would prefer all your guests to be up on the dancefloor with you, please don’t try and be clever with this one. This is a classic disco song and is garunteed to be on your DJ’s playlist for the night. So don’t ruin your first dance with the Macarana.
It’s too cheesey and the lyrics are in fact, about getting someone into bed. Not really what you want.
A Thousand Years – Christina Perri
We don’t care how cute you think this song is, you have to remember that your life isn’t a movie and no you are not starring in a film.
Again, this is another first dance song that has been over-used. Don’t be like everyone else, be different and pick something else!
Irreplaceable – Beyonce
Eveyone loves a bit of Queen B and this is a fantastic song. Looking at the title you may think this song its about a loved one being irreplaceable. However this song is far from it and is in fact a break up song:
‘I can have another you by tomorrow
So don’t you ever for a second get to thinking
You’re irreplaceable’
We don’t care how much you love Beyonce, play it safe and pick another song as this one is definitely not appropriate.
Every Breath You Take – The Police
Probably one of the most misunderstood songs since it’s come out, The Police’s ‘Every Breath You Take’ is actually excrusiuatingly creepy. Mistaken for an intense love song, when you really listen to the lyrics, you’ll start to realise how stalkish the song is:
Every breath you take Every move you make Every bond you break Every step you take I’ll be watching you
Unless you’re okay with your partner being this weird, perhaps you should avoid this for your first dance at all cost. Not to mention it also appears on on one of the top creepiest songs of all time.
There are plenty more music choices that just aren’t right for your first dance, but we’ll leave those for you to decide. Whichever song you pick, make sure it’s awesome and above all, special to you both. Enjoy that moment being in each others arms!
Tribute bands available to hire As part of our International Live Music Agency here at TUKWB we are representing a wide variety of tribute bands and artists. Many of these bands come complete with live bands for an authentic and unrivalled experience. We have selected only the very best tribute artists from around the UK and make your booking experience informal and easy. Simply contact topukweddingbands@googlemail.com and let us know which imitation artists you would like to book. Please provide us with as much information as possible about your event, venue, capacity and audience as possible.
So, you are looking for a wedding band in say Oxford? Naturally, you’ll begin your search by going to google and typing in “Oxford Wedding Band”. You’ll find a number of function bands and possibly a specialist wedding band or two as well as our website listing many other acts from around the country. You are also most likely to be swamped with agents websites offering a lot of the same acts under different names. Don’t worry, you’ll still be able to find a band directly without the use of an agent. If you are not happy with what you find through that particular search then why not broaden your search terms and try one of the following.
Don’t forget that you’ll see paid advertising of bands to the right of your search results and likely above them too. So be aware that these ads are not your search results and may direct you to wedding bands actually outside your area. Many of these ads are also placed there from agents so check the URL.
Choosing a function band that is in fact close to you, you will likely avoid excessive travel charges that knock the price up. Mind, we would always recommend deciding on the band that you think sounds the best and with the best reputation regardless of their distance and price.
Naturally you’ll be looking for a bargain when hunting around for wedding bands but you are best advised to not send out blanket emails looking for the cheapest quote and booking based on this. Find the band that sounds right and negotiate with them directly.
Good live bands do come at a cost. Firstly because they are professional and reliable, have good quality gear and therefore good quality sound. Then, you’ll notice the customer service and how willing they are to offer you the entertainment you are looking for. Many of the cheaper bands have limited set lists.
While we do try to maintain a good quality of act on this site we would recommend expecting a 4 piece bands price to start from around £1000, a 5 piece around £1200. That doesn’t mean that prices above this are not reasonable as it very much depends on the quality of the band. Remember, you are paying for 4, 5 or more quality and skilled musicians to perform and entertain on your wedding day. Well worth investing in.
Once again…Find the band you like the sound of and begin negotiations on their fee. Cheap is not always cheerful.
OK, well lets be honest this is quite simple. The answer is ‘Band’. If you have space for a band and a reasonable budget for the entertainment then there is no contest. No DJ can generate the atmosphere of a good party band. Firstly remember, your wedding is your special and it happens just once for most of us.
Rather than paying a single DJ to stand there and press PLAY on his playlist of party classics nearly everyone wants to hear, you could opt for hiring a PA system and plugging your ipod in. Still doesn’t sound ideal does it? Well, if you are playing a good fee for a reputable DJ then you may be surprise to know that by paying only a little more you could hire a decent band who will fill the night with quality live music, energy, the aesthetically beauty instruments bring and focus point every wedding needs.
A good band will bring a dynamic to your wedding that a DJ simply cannot and generally also provide complementary party music in between their sets. So, you get the best of both worlds. So click on this link to see just some of the live wedding bands in our listings.
