Should I Hire a Live Band for My Wedding?

March 30, 2021

Getting married and planning a wedding reception is an exciting journey for any couple. In between selecting a venue, caterer, and finding the perfect dress and tux, you may wonder whether or not to hire a live band.

While DJs can play a list of selected songs, there's nothing like the sound of live music. You can have the same music played as if you were to hire a DJ, but with an elevated level of entertainment on your special day.

If you're interested in live wedding bands and want to know all the benefits of hiring a band, then stay tuned. You'll learn all about hiring a band for your wedding and how they'll provide hours of enjoyment at your wedding reception.

Deciding to Hire a Live Band

When contemplating your wedding entertainment options, a live band is an excellent choice. For starters, they can play the same songs as a DJ, but with added entertainment. Your guests will be able to hear all the classics while watching a live show.

Band members can come onto your dance floor to interact with guests and encourage audience participation. This will amplify the experience of everyone attending your wedding reception, giving them memories to last a lifetime.

Live bands are also able to accommodate your schedule throughout the day. Things often come up on your wedding day, and you may experience delays. A live band can work with you, playing music when and where you need it.

They can also play the music you choose to walk down the aisle to, elevating your ceremony. DJs are only able to play pre-recorded music on your special day, while a live band can ebb and flow with the demands of your wedding, accommodating your every need.

Another benefit of hiring a live band is their PA system. Discuss with them if you can use their PA system for toasts and announcements throughout your wedding reception. Live wedding bands also host activities during your wedding reception, such as tossing the bouquet and garter, as well as the cake cutting.

Choosing the Right Band

When selecting your wedding vendors, it's important to hear the live band you choose ahead of time. See if you can watch them in action at a wedding or similar event, so you know their style. Make sure to discuss with them the style of music you want to hear, and whether or not they're familiar and comfortable with your music choice.

Talk to the band of your liking about prices and availability. When you find a band you wish to hire, let them know as soon as possible, as many live wedding bands book up months in advance. This is true for all wedding vendors, so be sure to hire them with as much notice as possible.

Planning a Wedding

If you're looking for live entertainment that will keep your guests dancing all night long, then look no further than live wedding bands. These entertainment professionals can play any song you choose, accommodate your wedding day schedule, and provide a show for your guests. Be sure to hire a live band to have the wedding of your dreams.

For more articles about marriage and family life, be sure to check out the rest of our blogs. We've got the best information for all your wedding day needs.

mpm

Meal Planning... Wednesday

March 24, 2021

It's Spring Break - halfway through it actually.

Which explains the lack of blogging. I intended to get this out on Monday, but the computer was shut down and this old dinosaur of an Apple desktop lost is marbles and took ages to reload. (sigh)

Thursday | Buffalo Chicken Stuffed Sweet Potatoes (FW Recipe)

Friday | Issac Toup's Cornbread & Drunken Shrimp (best meal ever, I have the cookbook but found links online)

Saturday | Eating Out

Sunday | Trader Joe's Freezer Meal

Monday | Sunday Sauce (this was a bust, I've made it a ton of times but it wasn't my fave today)

Tuesday | Breakfast Tacos - sausage, eggs, Ole Low Carb Tortillas, salsa

Wednesday | Sam's Chick-Fil-A Nuggets with Fries

Breakfast - Orgain Shake or Atkins Bar

Lunch -Low Carb - Cobb Salad (FWTFL Recipe Portal)

Reg Macro - Cobb Salad with less fats and a homemade granola bar (egg, bacon, green onion, romaine, grilled chicken thighs, a little blue cheese, and the Aldi Three Cheese Vinaigrette)

mpm

Meal Planning Tuesday

March 16, 2021

I've finally let Jeremy convince me to redo our meal planning days. He shops on Thursday. (That's his off day so he shops to save us a wasted Saturday morning - grocery pickup here is awful)

Originally I was planning Monday-Sunday but food was going bad. So I gave in and now plan Thursday-Wednesday. It's actually working out better, changing my meal planning mentality, and we are having less food waste.

Thursday | Grilled Lemon Pepper Pork Chops, Roasted Sweet Potatoes, Broccoli Salad

Friday | Crawfish Etouffee

Saturday | Eating Out (we went to Mugshots and it was a bust, the bun was awful)

Sunday | Trader Joe's Freezer Meal

Monday | Low Carb Taco Salad

Tuesday | leftovers

Wednesday | Sam's Chick-Fil-A Nuggets with Fries

Breakfast - Orgain Shake or Atkins Bar

Lunch -Low Carb - Italian Sub Salad (FWTFL Recipe Portal)

Reg Macro - Grilled Chicken with Jazmine Rice & Roasted Broccoli

March 15, 2021

As you walk down the aisle, your husband-to-be sheds a tear, your audience gasps, and you feel beautiful - that's what you've always wished for, right?

Well, if you've met the person of your dreams and want a wedding to match, it takes some serious planning. If you're wondering how to get married in Chicago, make sure you've got all the insider info before going ahead.

A poorly planned wedding is no way to start your marriage, but a beautiful wedding will set you both up for the rest of your life.

Read on to learn 3 vital tips to pulling off the perfect Chicago wedding.

1. Choose a Venue

Some prefer Chicago courthouse weddings; others love a City Hall Chicago marriage. You have a big choice to make if you haven't had your venue picked out since you first set eyes on the love of your life, and you're still wondering where to get married in Chicago.

Of course, it comes down to personal preference - but the most important thing? View the venue, plan a little, and then view it again. No matter how much you love it the first time, once plans unfold, it may be clear that it doesn't fit the theme of your wedding.

2. Set the Guestlist

This might seem obvious, but you need to think about your guest list early. No matter how organized you are, guests are notoriously difficult.

How many guests can the venue seat?
Do you and your fiance have equal amounts of friends?
Are there any family feuds that need sorting out before the day?
How long will your family and friends need to RSVP?
Who will want a plus one?

You want your marriage in Chicago to go off without a hitch (other than getting hitched yourself, of course). So, before planning the dream day, you need to make sure your guests are sorted.

3. Plan the Big Day

Planning a wedding can be as stressful as moving house. The lists of jobs go on and on. Arranging food; flowers; music; officiators; marriage license; decorations; budget; timings; cake; hair; makeup; dress... need we go on?

But when you're getting married in Chicago, it doesn't need to be a stressful day. Consider wedding planners and all inclusive wedding packages to take the load and leave you free to enjoy your day.

Most importantly, avoid a pre-marital fight about who was meant to pick up the cake - that's no way to start your marriage.

How to Get Married in Chicago: Are You Ready?

Now you know how to get married in Chicago, it's time to start planning your dream wedding.

Sit down with your fiance and talk about how you both picture the day. Once you've ironed out the basics, look at all inclusive Chicago wedding packages to do the hard work for you.

Did you find this article helpful? Check out our other posts for more wedding planning tips!

March 11, 2021

Plato asserted that if you love your friends and love your partner, you love your community – the people who helped make you who you are. Humans have come a long way since Ancient Greece, but one of the most staggering differences, according to the 20^th Century thinker Hanna Arendt, is the fact that humans now have less of a public community. People are far more individualist, which can make people feel discontented – when you spend your life connected with other people, relying on each other for different things, you tend to feel more fulfilled. If you want that satisfied feeling, a great way to get it is to give back to your community. Luckily, doing just that isn’t too hard – here are some ideas:

Do Some Volunteering at a Shelter

Your community probably has a shelter of some kind, whether it’s a shelter for the homeless or an animal shelter for unwanted dogs and cats. Helping out at a shelter whenever you have some free time is greatly appreciated by everybody there and can make you feel a sense of belonging as you help those who need your help and interact with people that you might not normally get a chance to speak to. You’ll find you’re spending quality time helping others.

Organize a Sale for Charity

Whether it’s a garage sale or whether you want to try your hand at designing some t-shirts, organizing a sale for a local charity or organization that really needs it is both fun, fulfilling and can help you connect with your community more. You can both donate the proceeds and any items that didn’t sell, making it a great idea regardless of your skills as a salesperson.

Start a Peer-to-Peer Fundraiser

There are so many good charities that need your help, and one of the ways the big charities recommend you get helping is through a peer-to-peer fundraiser. This can include creating your own fundraiser for doing something special like a tough run or even just for your birthday. The Red Cross recommends many different peer-to-peer methods, including raising money through playing your favorite games!

Join the Community Garden

Many communities have a garden – if yours has one too, you can consider getting involved. Whether that’s having your own plot or volunteering to make sure that the garden stays in good shape, it’s a good way to feel connected to your environment and community. You can even donate any vegetables that you produce – locally grown veg tastes better and is far better for the environment.

Get Your Pet Involved

Do you have a pet? Do they love attention and making people happy? If they make you happy, they probably can help other people too. If your pet is up to it, you can take them to community centers where people might not have a pet but might be grateful for the chance to interact with yours! Good ideas are senior centers or veteran’s clubs, even hospitals or hospices if they allow you in!

March 8, 2021

My lack of sleep is killing me right now! I stayed up too late, and then was up too early watching Australian and British morning show coverage.

Honestly I'm finding that, as usual, the standard American doesn't get it at all. They're barking about American things and you have to look at this through the British lens.

from the Associated Press

I honestly wanted to be excited about her, but totally saw the Duchess of Windsor writing on the wall. It wasn't going to work. Love can not overcome duty. No matter what, duty and service have to come first in that family. If you marry in you know what you signed up for.

Take Harry's last two girlfriends, they dated for ages and ultimately decided they didn't want what came with these level of scrutiny.

I love that he had a whirlwind romance with Meghan, I can relate on that level. But the difference is a regular Sally isn't on television during a Commonwealth service after their quick romance.

She says she wasn't trained. Okay, many others haven't been either. William famously kept Catherine at a distance for 10 years of dating before they finally married. He was determined that she could withstand it better than his mother did.

Harry - well he quick wed (and now we are finding out LIED about everything and married her 3 days earlier, making all that taxpayer money a sham) and her lack of preparedness blew up in their faces.

They're saying they don't want to slander the Queen's name, but in dropping this baby skin color bombshell that they won't dive further into and talking about how his father cut off his money... is not helping anyone.

More background - titles aren't usually given to great-grandchildren. William's children only got them because he WILL be king. Harry is the spare, a role that Andrew has suffered from. The slew of bad decisions that comes from these spares is shocking.

They also can't very well make it sound like the Crown took away security, the MET police are in charge of security. If we can all recall from a year ago - they were getting pushback for the cost of keeping Met officers in Canada for that long. So it was tossed to Canada to cover it, and they said no. Trump even famously said they the US wouldn't pay for it either.

People, people, the York sisters have private security. Why didn't they think that they would need private security if they "stepped back." It was coming at them full force. Harry's own father is who has pushed back at Andrew for trying to stay so senior royal and make his children who will never be on the throne senior royals. They know that to make the monarchy last they have to keep the British people happy.

Where else do I want to go with this?

The money.

While I'm glad that his mother's money (and didn't the Queen Mother also leave them money?) helped in this time... he needs to not act like 20 million is chump change. Charles probably saw that they could stand on their own financially and set them free. The people of Wales already complain about Charles's Duchy of Cornwall, why on Earth would they want to foot the bill for two defunct royals as well. If the York girls were taking taxpayer money I assure you their would be anarchy.

But, they're again they are saying this all on American news media and your standard American doesn't know a thing about any of this. They don't even know that Wales has been murmuring about independence again.

If the allegations she's making a

bout racial things are true, then that is heartbreaking. Especially for a royal family that has worked so hard, or a Queen for that matter, to show that race and gender do not matter. She has famously danced with an African leader (the name leaves me now) when racial tensions were high. She drove the Saudi leader around, when he was still against letting women in that county drive. This woman has WORKED. FOR. EQUALITY. across the Commonwealth. They have high standards for countries that are involved in the Commonwealth. How does Meghan not know this? Why has Harry not informed her on this matters.

Like honestly, one weekend on old BBC documentaries on Youtube could have solved a lot of problems for the woman.

My mind is shot.

For a royal interview - it was incredible. They talked about things we always wanted to hear.

As an anglophile who was born in the wrong country - this is devastating. Like send letter to the Queen sad. Phillip is in the hospital going on week 4, at age 99, and this can not be helping. Surely this is why our dear Queen got two new Corgi puppies this week. I'd need a new puppy to make it through this too.

Share your thoughts with me friends, I'd love to hear your take.

Simply Earth

Simply Earth Essential Oil Recipe Box || March

March 1, 2021

This month's box is themed BEAUTY!

Check out the video where I run through this month's box, as well as discuss why I use Simply Earth.

Now, here's the quick run down.

This month's box comes with 6 recipes that are personal care products. You'll get a hair mask, serum, lip balm, facial essence, a beautiful skin roll-on, and a diffuser blend.

The Oils::

Beauty Within - This is your blend, it smells incredible. This is used for improving skin appearance.

Tea Tree - Uplifting, cleans, and general skin care (TT is the OG of our household oils) (Medicinal and woody)

Palmarosa - (this is a new to me oil) Calms, soothes pain, and skin care. (sharp and floral)

Amyris - Calms, cleans, skin care (smells woody with a vanilla note)

And incase you didn't know, Simply Earth devotes 13% of their profits to end human trafficking. I love a company that supports worthy causes.

As always head over to Simply Earth to order your MARCH box and use the code LABRIDEFREE to get a $40 giftcard/credit towards your next order when you get your Bonus Box!

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Should I Hire a Live Band for My Wedding?