How Long Does a Wedding Band Play For?
Wedding bands typically perform 2 x 60 minute sets, but what time do they arrive, and what time should they start? Here's everything you need to know.
- By Adam Mezzatesta
- blog
- Updated: 21st March 2025
You're bound to have questions about the logistics of your wedding day, especially when it comes to the wedding band. How long does the band play for? When will they set up? What time should they start? These are all familiar questions, and unless you're working with a reliable wedding planner, you may be looking for some advice.
How Long Does a Wedding Band Play For?
Most wedding bands perform 2 or 3 sets to finish by midnight, typically:
- 2 x 60 minutes
- 2 x 45 minutes
- 3 x 40 minutes
Some bands offer additional sets for an extra fee, which can be another evening set or an acoustic set earlier on. An acoustic set can consist of the whole band performing or a smaller duo/trio.
If your venue is licensed to stay open until 1am, you may find that an extra set is worth considering. However, staying later often incurs additional fees and may require overnight accommodation for the band, depending on your venue's location.
Most bands also offer a DJ service or an add-on DJ, which is usually a more cost-effective way of keeping the party going into the early hours. Every wedding is different, and your band will do their best to work around your schedule to ensure the evening runs smoothly.
What Time Does the Wedding Band Arrive?
Your wedding band will typically arrive at 5:30-6:00pm, ready to set up their equipment as soon as the meal and speeches are over. You may find it a good idea to usher guests into the bar area whilst the function room is turned around for the evening and the band set up. Band sound checks can be noisy!
If your wedding breakfast and reception are in the same room, it's worth talking to your band about setting up earlier in the day before the meal.
Bands typically charge for an earlier arrival (an hourly rate before 5/6pm), but it’s worth asking whether the whole band needs to turn up or if just one or two members can arrive earlier to set up the bulk of the equipment. This tends to be a more cost-effective solution, with the rest of the band members turning up later for a quick soundcheck prior to the performance.
TIP Ask your band how long they typically take to load in, set up, and soundcheck before booking. Most wedding bands need about one hour, but this can vary depending on the band's size and equipment.
What Time Should The Band Start?
Even with the most meticulous of planning, weddings inevitably run later than expected, speeches can run over, and all sorts of unexpected hiccups can crop up. That's nothing to be worried about, as there's still plenty of time to get the party going. Although you may be eager to get the band up as soon as possible, we find it's good to start at around 8:30-9pm, depending on how long your band is booked to play for.
From experience, guests often like to grab a drink or some fresh air after the wedding breakfast. After sitting down for 2-3 hours and having eaten a lot of food, coupled with a smorgasbord of drinks, guests may not be ready to jump straight onto the dance floor.
Of course, everyone will gather for the first dance song, but it’s a similar story once this has concluded, so the later, the better has always been our motto. Ultimately, every wedding is different, and our team is on hand to help you organise a schedule that gets the most out of your band.
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How many songs fit into a set?
A common question we're asked is, "How many songs will the band play?"
While there’s no exact answer, we’ve put together a rough guide to help you plan. On average, if songs are around 3-4 minutes long, you can expect:
- 15-20 songs in a 60 minute set
- 10-15 songs in a 45 minute set
If the party’s in full swing and the band is feeling the vibe, they may extend a few songs with extra solos or keep the energy going with an impromptu encore — especially if the dance floor’s packed and the drinks are flowing!
How long do other wedding musicians play for?
We represent a variety of popular wedding musicians, and they all offer slightly different packages, so we do advise enquiring if you have a particular act in mind.
However, below is a rough guideline on how long acoustic acts, pianists, harpists and string ensembles perform for and the most popular wedding packages they offer.
Acoustic Acts
Acoustic guitarists, duos, trios and beyond tend to offer 2 x 45 or 2 x 60 minute sets (with the option of splitting the latter into 3 x 40 minute sets). They typically arrive an hour prior to the performance, as they don’t take as long to set up (roughly 20-30 minutes), and will perform their live sets over a set time period i.e. 2 x 45 minute sets over a 2 hour time period or 3 x 40 minute sets over a 3 hour time period.
If you want them to perform a set during the drinks reception and a set after the wedding breakfast, you may find the price increases due to the extended time on site.
Pianists, Harpists & Solo Musicians
Our wedding soloists offer similar packages to our acoustic acts and string ensembles. Harpists and pianists are ideal for wedding ceremonies and will often put forward packages that include some, if not all, of the following:
- Pre-ceremony performance (20-30 minutes)
- Ceremony performance (around an hour)
- Drinks reception / Wedding breakfast (2 x 45-minute sets over a 2-hour period)
Some musicians also offer a full-day package covering:
- Pre-ceremony performance
- Ceremony performance
- Drinks reception
- Wedding breakfast
- Evening reception with DJ service until midnight
String Ensembles
Our string ensembles tend to offer their time per hour, so you’ll find most quotes include pricing for a 1 hour, 2 hour and 3 hour booking. To clarify, this does not include arrival time and set up, and we ask all musicians to arrive an hour prior to the performance.
For a 1-2 hour booking, most musicians will typically play straight through, but for longer periods of time, they will require rest breaks (10-15 minutes at most). For bookings much longer than 3 hours, musicians will require a lunch break (30-40 minutes), so please discuss this further before booking.
TIPIf the musician that's been hired is to move location (whether this be from the church to the wedding venue or from one room to another at your chosen venue), then please do discuss this further with them to make sure they are agreeable. You may also find additional costs are involved if further travel is required.
