FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
GOT QUESTIONS?
I WANT TO BOOK! WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?
Send us an enquiry! After you've confirmed the availability of your preferred artist, let us know you're ready to book and which package you'd like and we will send you an invoice for the initial (50%) booking fee required to book in the date, a contract to seal the deal, and a short questionnaire with all the information we need to set things in motion.
CAN YOU LEARN MY SPECIAL SONG?
If there is a song that you would absolutely love to have your artist play for you live for one of your special moments but it's not currently on their song list, please let us know as soon as possible! Musicians will always try to accommodate requests as much as possible however they may charge an additional fee for this service to compensate the artist for their time as it often takes several hours to learn a new song and prepare it to be performed live.
We don't guarantee any song until the artist has had a chance to try it out because we prefer to keep a high-quality standard and be honest with our couples about what we think will sound best.
So please let us know what your dream song is so that we can (hopefully) make it happen! At the very least your artist can play any song you'd like at any time via mp3.
CAN YOU SEND ME A RECORDING OF MY SPECIAL SONG PRIOR TO THE WEDDING SO THAT I CAN REHEARSE A CHOREOGRAPHED DANCE?
No, at this time this is not a service that we are able to provide. Recording audio/video is a difficult art and it takes quite a lot of time. All of our musicians have busy schedules full of event bookings, learning songs, rehearsing, resting their vocal cords between gigs, and family time so that unfortunately, it's too difficult to fit in the extra time commitment required for recording.
It is also common for our artists to play their own unique versions of cover songs that are different from the original recordings and may even differ slightly each time they play them. If you are needing a song to be played the exact same way with the exact same tempo to fit choreography, we highly recommend using an mp3.
WILL THERE BE MUSIC PLAYING DURING YOUR BREAKS/MOVES?
Always. We aim to bring you a day full of uninterrupted music.
(How? We have a battery-powered PA system that we like to bring along for outdoor ceremonies and while we are packing down/moving the ‘big’ PA system, we leave our background playlist running on the ‘little’ system.)
CAN I CHOOSE MY OWN PLAYLISTS FOR BREAKS AND DANCING?
Of course! You are free to have as much or as little control as you would like over what gets played on the DJ side of things.
As soon as you book we get straight into planning mode and start to nail down the finer details. At this point, you will let us know whether you’d like to (A.) Leave selection completely up to us, (B.) Give us some suggestions as to your musical taste and leave the rest up to us, or (C.) Create your own break or dance music playlist for us to play via Spotify. Whatever you decide is fine by us.
HOW DOES THE DJING WORK? DO YOU TAKE REQUESTS?
Unless you say otherwise, we’ll happily take requests from you and your guests throughout the night. We have a huge library of mp3 music and in addition, as long as we have adequate internet access, we can download any song on the spot.
HOW DOES THE TIMING OF YOUR PACKAGES WORK?
Our package coverage starts when the artist starts playing music and ends when the music ends, regardless of how many music breaks or location moves there are within that coverage time. Live sets last for 45 minutes max. with 15-minute breaks in between. Beyond that, we will work around your formalities and the timing of your day to try and fit in as much live music as possible into the first 6 hours (max.) before switching to DJing for dance time.
We do not offer live music for dance time because not only does this usually fall outside the maximum amount of time that we can offer live music for (6 hours), it is too difficult as a solo/duo acoustic musician to keep the upbeat atmosphere needed for dancing going constantly. This is why we recommend switching to DJing when you're ready to dance so that we have a better chance of keeping that momentum going.
Here is an example run sheet for a ‘typical’ wedding day that shows how our 8 Hour Package would fit in: https://www.thefamos.com/post/a-typical-wedding-day-with-live-music
*Please note, venue packages often begin when the ceremony begins, but if you're wanting us for the standard 30-minute pre-ceremony set while your guests are arriving this means our package will start 30 minutes earlier. Please factor this in and let us know if you need to book any extra time.
HOW DOES THE TIMING WORK FOR THE PROCESSIONAL (AISLE SONG)? WILL THE SONG FINISH BEFORE I GET TO THE ALTAR IF WE DON'T TIME IT RIGHT?
Your musician will have a chat with your celebrant and/or coordinator before your ceremony to make sure that someone cues them to start the song at the right time and to double-check how many bridesmaids/flower girls will be walking so that they can predict around-about how long it will take.
Then, the musician will play through the song and repeat or cut a verse or a chorus here and there, add in some more guitar, etc. so that the song only ends when you're at the altar. We would NEVER end the song before you get there and leave you walking in silence.
At the very worst you may end up having to wait for a moment at the end of the aisle for a few seconds while we finish a chorus. In our experience, it's much better to finish the song at a good part even if it takes a few extra seconds than to finish at the "right" moment but at a weird/anticlimactic part of the song, and actually, quite a lot of celebrants will request this anyway because they find it's good for everyone to take a moment to relax and get settled before they start.
CAN I USE YOUR MIC/PA FOR SPEECHES?
Absolutely. Say the word and we will bring our wireless microphone for you to use free of charge.
CAN THE MUSICIANS MC FOR US?
No. Unfortunately, MCing is not a service that we are able to offer at this time. We have tried MCing before and it tends to clash too often with the timings of our music duties and breaks (i.e. our only chance to eat dinner is usually during speeches when an MC needs to be on duty, etc.) and it is important for us to have time to break and rest our voices. In addition to this, though it surprises many people, most of us musicians are actually not comfortable public speakers and while we are at ease singing in front of others we feel immediately out of our comfort zone and area of expertise when we try to deliver a speech.
We highly recommend asking your celebrant if they provide MCing as many of them do, or alternatively, a charismatic family member or friend as this is often the best option since the guest will already be familiar with you and the other guests to whom they are speaking.
DO WE NEED TO PROVIDE YOU WITH DINNER?
We do ask that you provide a meal for each performer if they’re playing at your reception. The musician will be arriving at least an hour before they start playing and from then on are almost constantly busy - playing music, moving/setting up gear, making sure the PA system is attended to and music is turned down whenever needed for your MC/speeches, running to the bathroom for a quick break, etc. and they won’t have time to leave and go get their own meals.
WHAT HAPPENS IF WE HAVE TO CHANGE DATES OR CANCEL? WILL I GET MY BOOKING FEE BACK?
If the date of your wedding changes, we will, of course, try our best to rebook your wedding, subject to availability. If we are unavailable for the new date or if you have to cancel entirely, unfortunately, you will forfeit your booking fee. (But you will not be billed the final payment which is due 2 weeks before your date.)
This is because, while we do sympathise with you, each artist has a limited number of dates they can book out in a year, and as soon as you paid your booking fee your musician began turning down other couples who wanted the same date and will have inevitably missed out on another potential booking in order to save your date for you.
WILL WE CHAT/SKYPE/MEET THE ARTISTS BEFORE THE WEDDING?
We are unable to organise phone/skype/zoom meetups with the musicians prior to the wedding. Your musicians are extremely busy with the music side of things - learning songs, practicing, and performing - so as part of the agreement with them, we will act as your point of contact for the planning side of things so that they have enough time to focus on the music.
You are welcome to organise a meeting with me (the booking agent) prior to your wedding if you'd like. I don't regularly organise meetings/calls with couples beforehand but am always happy to set one up if you would prefer this to email and I love it when I get to meet you guys before the big day.
CAN YOU PLAY FOR OUR REHEARSAL/SHOW UP EARLY ON THE DAY/RECORD A VERSION OF OUR AISLE SONG SO THAT WE CAN REHEARSE THE TIMING OF OUR WALK?
Musicians don't generally have time to participate in rehearsals/make recordings, but not to worry - one of the benefits of having a live musician instead of an mp3, is that we can be much more flexible (repeat or cut a verse or a chorus here and there, add in some more guitar, etc.) so that the song only ends when you're at the altar. At the very worst you may end up having to wait for a moment at the end of the aisle for a few seconds while we finish a chorus (which actually quite a lot of celebrants will request anyway because they find it's good for everyone to take a moment to relax).
DO YOU PROVIDE YOUR OWN PA SYSTEM?
Yes, of course. Each musician provides their own PA system. We will need you to provide cover from weather and access to power for the gear (see note below) but beyond that, we bring the rest.
CAN YOU PLAY OUTSIDE? DO YOU NEED POWER? SHELTER?
Access to power for gear will be required at all times, except for outdoor ceremonies. We can bring a battery-powered PA upon request to accommodate outdoor ceremonies but will need cover/power for the rest of the day beyond that.
Adequate protection from the weather (rain &/or sun) is required at all times. All musicians are happy to play outdoors uncovered for ceremonies only. However, if they believe it's likely to rain and have not been provided with cover, the musician reserves the right to make the ultimate decision of whether to set up or pack up on the day. Our musical equipment is very expensive and not waterproof, so unfortunately, we can’t play in the rain, no matter how light.
DO YOU PROVIDE LIGHTING?
Yes, each musician brings their own stage/dancefloor lighting, and since we don’t believe in nickel-and-diming, this comes standard with all packages and is free of charge.
WHAT HAPPENS IF YOU’RE SICK AND CAN’T MAKE IT?
We obviously take weddings very seriously and will make a great effort to be there precisely when we planned to.
However, in the extremely rare and unfortunate event that for whatever reason your musician was unable to make it on your wedding day, we would immediately start going through our extensive contact list of other great musicians from the Sunshine Coast to find an act of the same standard who could step in and replace your musician.
If for some reason we weren’t able to find any such replacement at all, we would, of course, offer our sincerest apologies and a full and prompt refund of all payments.
