To be honest, you can't really have a wedding reception without music. Whether the songs come from a disc jockey spinning from his vast library of music or a live band that can entertain and lift the crowd into a spontaneous good time, music remains a traditional and essential part of the wedding reception atmosphere.

Choosing which music source to use – DJ or live band – depends largely on the exact atmosphere you want to create. It also depends, of course, on your taste in music.

A live band is spontaneous, but costly

The biggest advantage to booking a live band is also it's largest disadvantage. A live band is a group of people after all, and that human element plays a crucial part in the tone and shape of their performance.

A good live band can nurture and prod the crowd into having a good time. Depending on their retinue, they'll have any number of songs that can gift into your reception motif. On the other hand, they're limited to only the songs they already know or can learn before playing your event. Most professional wedding bands will take requests, and can certainly adopt themselves to learning new songs especially for a particular event.

However, live bands also take breaks between sets of songs, are more likely to commit mistakes when playing the music, and generally require more set up time than disc jockeys.

Disc jockeys bring a personal library of thousands of songs to any wedding reception, allowing them to play many different styles of music to suit an audience's varied tastes.

DJ's don't just have a standard collection of store-bought music, either. Many have created their own "mash ups," remixes, and alternate arrangements to modern and traditional music, fashioning something new and hybrid out of the original parts. This can give your reception guests a completely original listening experience and excite them with new musical innovations.

A disc jockey may not feel as connected to the audience as a live band, however, and can sometimes lack the people skills required to interact with or guide  the audience's mood.

Choosing the right entertainment

Live bands and disc jockeys alike usually offer promotional videos showing themselves performing to an audience. You can also request to interview them before making a final hiring decision, to ascertain their performing philosophy or to read their personality.

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