How Much Should I Spend On Wedding Music?
By Matt Black | 27th Jul 2025 | 15 min read
I need music for my wedding! So… what’s the damage going to be? The right music can elevate your wedding, creating an unforgettable day for you and your guests. The wrong music can literally destroy it. We’re not kidding. But we’re all on some kind of budget, right? So the trick is balancing your budget with your vision for wedding music that isn’t, well… crap. To help you through this process we’ve created this comprehensive guide to the costs of hiring wedding music in Melbourne or country Victoria.
Understanding Your Wedding Music Needs
When planning your wedding the crucial first step is ordering your priorities. Where does the music fit in: up the top, or somewhere down near the bottom? Okay, not everyone’s into music. For some couples it’s just something they know they need at their wedding. That’s perfectly fine. I’m not into flowers or bridal growns (though I assure you I’d rock one), but I do understand the necessity for both at a wedding. Sure, as entertainment suppliers we’re prejudiced, but at the same time music is undeniably one of the handful of things that can actually make or break a wedding. It’s what sets the tone for your ceremony. It’s what creates the atmosphere at your cocktails. And it’s definitely what brings the energy to the dance floor at the reception. But poor music can turn a good wedding bad. So it probably needs to be somewhere in the top half of your list of priorities. Leave it to fate and you might get lucky. Then again you may not.
What’s Your Budget?
You already know your overall wedding budget. At least I hope you do, because without one it’s going to get real expensive real fast. Okay, so now you want to break your budget up according to the list of priorities you’ve made. You’re going to spend the most on the thing at the top and the least on the thing at the bottom. Pretty straightforward huh? Now you’ve got a ballpark figure for what to spend on your wedding music, let’s consider what music you want at your wedding.
Live Or Recorded Music?
Some people are die-hard fans of live music. They go to heaps of gigs, and don’t miss a tour from their favourite artists. Others spent their youth clubbing, know all the EDM bangers, and love a good DJ. Most couples like both. Or they just want to keep their guests happy with a balance: from the intimate and genuine touch of live acoustic music, to the versatility and dance floor energy of a DJ. A good first step is to ask yourself where on this scale you sit. Because it’s going to determine what combination of entertainment you book, and ultimately, the cost.
Aesthetic
What aesthetic are you going for? DJs tend to have setups that are neat and discreet, and for at least the first part of the reception aim to be heard but not seen. At the other end of the scale you’ve got live bands, which are more of a showpiece at your wedding reception: a bold visual statement. Acoustic acts like duos fall somewhere between the two.
Limitations
Your choice of music for your wedding may be determined in part by what the venue allows, or what is suitable for the space. We advise to always check with potential venues about noise restrictions before laying down a deposit, especially for inner Melbourne venues or those in residential areas. Unfortunately not all venues are forthcoming with this information, so it can come as an unpleasant surprise. Spending thousands on hiring a live band because you want a pumping dance floor, then forcing them to keep to background levels all night because of noise restrictions, is simply a waste of money. Have limited space due to the number of guests and size of the room? It might be better to book a more compact act like a soloist or DJ than to shove the band (and dance floor) in a separate room where they can’t be seen or perhaps even heard.
Why Does It Cost So Much?
If you want to know what value for money looks like, you’ll need to understand what is involved in providing high quality music at a wedding. So let’s break down what makes up a wedding music quote.
Duration
This would seem obvious, right? A longer performance is naturally going to cost more.
Location
Venues outside major cities like Melbourne tend to incur travel loadings. For example, we don’t charge travel costs for weddings held within an hours’ drive of Melbourne CBD (if you’re interested, we calculate this using Google Maps). However once you get outside that zone it’s $100 per performer per additional hour of travel or part thereof. So let’s say you’re hiring a four piece band for your wedding in Rutherglen. Be prepared to pay an additional $1200 in travel loading (3+ hours’ travel x 4 performers). You’d also likely be looking at accommodation costs to put the band up for the night. Can really add up.
Season & Day
While we can’t speak for other vendors, we typically offer discounts for weddings held during our off-peak season (June through August). This would usually be in the form of waiving the travel loading (see above) or fees for extra services like learning songs (see below). Same applies if your wedding is mid-week – our peak days being Friday to Sunday. The exceptions are long weekends and the Christmas period. Some wedding music suppliers may also charge loadings for particularly popular days. We only do that for Christmas Day and New Year’s Eve though – two days you’re unlikely to hold your wedding on anyway.
Notoriety & Popularity
If a performer is a household name, is recognised from a talent show like The Voice or sporting events like the AFL Grand Final, or is a highly sought-after wedding musician or DJ, you’re going to pay a premium. They may even have an agent or manager handling their bookings, whose commission you’ll also be paying.
MC Service
Want your DJ to MC? That’s going to cost you. We charge $400 for this service, which is about average. Apart from the actual job of MCing on the night, if your MC is worth a damn there’s quite a bit of prep work involved in the lead-up to the wedding: gathering all the relevant info and drafting the running sheet. Sure, some DJs include MCing in every booking, but you’ll find it gets figured into their overall fee. So either way you’re paying for it. “But it’s going to be a casual wedding and we don’t really need an MC.” Sorry, yes you do. It doesn’t have to be a full-on MC role, but someone has to make announcements and keep the night running on schedule, or else what’ll you’ll get is chaos. And no, your DJ or musician won’t appreciate being roped into it on the night with no time to prepare. If you’re on a budget we recommend asking an outgoing family member or friend to take on the role for the night. They often do a great job. But you do need someone to do it.
Equipment
Professional grade sound and lighting equipment is one of the biggest expenses for a wedding music provider. And just like for tradies, professionals use professional tools. Some wedding music vendors might be cheaper to hire, but use cheap and nasty equipment. Caveat emptor. Cheap and nasty looks and sounds cheap and nasty. It’s also more prone to breaking down. Pro wedding music suppliers not only keep their equipment in top condition, but carry backups in case anything fails (like a spare DJ laptop). That’s the kind of thing you’re paying for when you hire a pro as opposed to an amateur. AV also accounts for much of the labour involved in putting music on at a wedding. Transporting equipment, loading it in/out, and setting it up, all takes significant time and effort.
You may be up for additional expense when your wedding music vendor has to bring and set up extra equipment. The most common case is when they’re required to provide music in multiple locations. Relocating a full PA system in the middle of a wedding is a bad idea, so this usually means bringing an additional rig for the ceremony and cocktails. These are usually portable and battery-powered, as wedding ceremonies don’t demand high volumes, are often held outdoors, and in areas without easy access to power. Wedding music vendors vary, but as an example we charge an extra $500 for an additional setup and location. To simplify things though we include it in all our wedding packages at no extra charge.
Compliance
Victoria is a state renowned for its red tape, and wedding music vendors aren’t immune to that. Like any other business we have expenses relating to taxation, employing people, acquisition of certificates, insurance, public liability, and testing and tagging of electrical equipment. There are also expenses related to the use of copyrighted music at events. It all adds up.
Difficulty Factor
We don’t charge a tax for venues that are particularly difficult to work at, but at the same time we’re unable to do favours on price for weddings held at them. So what makes a venue difficult? Perhaps parking is expensive. Maybe access is particularly difficult, with security check-ins, lifts, and stairs to navigate (this blows out our bump in and out times). Maybe the event manager is on a power trip and is making it difficult for us just for the sake of it. Thankfully those are rare. Or they might have a contract with an AV supplier or music agency that wants to discourage outside vendors they perceive as threats to their contract. These are all factors that may contribute to the price you ultimately pay. So be aware that you may have trouble negotiating a cheaper rate for a wedding held in an inner Melbourne venue with arduous logistics.
Will I Pay More Just Because It’s A Wedding?
It happens. The general public seem cognisant that when a vendor hears the word “wedding” dollar signs light up in their eyes. And it’s probably a fair stereotype to be honest. We get many enquiries from people about hiring music for their “event”. They don’t tell us it’s a wedding until after we’ve quoted. It makes no difference with us, as we charge the same for all kinds of events. However, as weddings tend to go for longer than other events, and demand more extra services like MCing and learning songs, they naturally end up costing more.
Find Potential Suppliers
The next step is to create a shortlist of potential wedding music vendors. This step is covered in detail in this article, but here’s a quick summary. These tips are in order of effectiveness, so try to work your way down the list, and check off as many as you can.
See Them Perform First-Hand
You may have already seen the musicians or DJ in action at an actual wedding. If so your task is pretty much done. Hopefully you had a chat to them and found out if they’re the kind of people you want at your wedding. Many suppliers put on public showcases, which is a reasonable alternative option if you haven’t been lucky enough to find what you wanted at a wedding.
Word Of Mouth
Get recommendations from friends or family who have seen the musicians or DJ in action at a wedding.
Venue Referrals
Your venue will probably have given you a list of recommended suppliers. Don’t rely solely on this, as often they prioritise how easy the vendor is for them to work with over quality. At the same time they’re not going to recommend terrible suppliers, as it will reflect back on them.
Watch Live Footage
Seek out videos of performances from real weddings. Polished studio recordings and footage might look and sound more slick, but they often don’t reflect the end product.
Read Wedding Reviews
Candid reviews on Google or social media can help give you a picture of your potential vendor. Be alert to fake reviews though – they’re rife.
How Do I Get Bang For My Buck?
Find a vendor who offers great value for money, basically.
“Well thanks for that stunning insight, Captain Obvious.”
It really is that simple though.
“But how can I tell that they’re great value for money?”
Well that’s the trick, isn’t it? So let’s dig into that.
Choose Vendors With Transparent Pricing
When I started Matt Black Entertainment back in 2012 (seems like another century now) I decided that I wanted completely transparent pricing. For two reasons. The first is that I didn’t want to be bothered by people with extremely low budgets, as in my experience a lot of time was wasted on those enquiries (both mine and theirs). Secondly, as someone who regularly purchases goods and services online myself, I prefer when prices are clearly advertised. When a website says “contact us for a quote”, I leave. I’m sure I’m not alone in that. So I didn’t want to miss out on enquiries from people like me.
Many wedding vendors don’t advertise their prices. You have to call or email for a quote. It must work for them. They must have great confidence in their ability to sell their service via that initial communication. Either that or they want the flexibility to be able to make up quotes on the fly. Do they have no idea themselves what they charge? Perhaps. Or is it that they want to get a feel for the potential client first in order to determine how much they can squeeze out of them? Don’t want to cast aspersions, but I’ve come across too many cowboys in this industry to have any illusions on this point.
Basically, if you don’t want to spend an inordinate amount of time chasing quotes, or risk being a sitting duck for more mercenary vendors, limit your search to wedding music suppliers who advertise their prices. Even if it’s only a ballpark figure, ie: “wedding reception DJ starting at $1500”, at least you’ve got a rough idea whether they’re going to match your budget. Don’t you want all your vendors to be honest and upfront anyway? The kinds of people who are going to go above and beyond, not mercenaries looking for any excuse to cut corners?
Get A Straight Answer
Getting a full itemised quote from a wedding music vendor shouldn’t be like pulling teeth. Check with them to confirm they’ve included all hidden costs. Then when they send you a Performance Agreement make sure you read it carefully before signing and/or putting down a deposit (which is typically non-refundable). We have Terms & Conditions for good reason. Of course much of it might not even apply to your booking, but there may be some important nuggets in there. Taking 5 minutes to peruse it might save you some serious money and heartache down the line.
Make the Most of Your Time
A common query we get is “but we don’t need you to start playing until x time.” Sorry. We (and most other vendors) charge from the time we’re set up until the time we start to pack down. In other words, we charge for our time. So you might want to consider if having the musicians mooch around for a couple of hours on site before you need them to start actually performing is going to provide good value for money. In terms of weddings this would only really be an issue if you’re holding everything (ceremony, cocktails, reception) in the same space within the venue, so require the DJ to be set up and clear before the ceremony starts (so they don’t interrupt the wedding bumping in). Fortunately this isn’t a common occurrence. But in such a case we’d recommend getting the DJ to handle the ceremony and cocktails music for you as well. Other vendors might look at this differently, but for us we consider that since the DJ is already on deck it shouldn’t cost you any extra.
Hire Versatile Vendors
Hiring all your wedding music from one supplier is always going to be cheaper than having to deal with multiple vendors. So look for those who offer the full gamut of services, from acoustic music, to DJs, MCs, and live bands. Most cost-effective of all is the solo musician who can double as a DJ.
Avoid Middlemen
We don’t recommend booking wedding entertainment through intermediaries like booking agents and entertainment directories. Why? Because in our experience the additional expense rarely justifies the benefits. Whether you realise it or not, you are paying extra. These middlemen aren’t doing it for love. Their commission can add anywhere between 10% and 20% to your cost for wedding music, and it will usually be hidden in the total. Sure they might streamline the process and make it easier for you. Then again they might do next-to-nothing for their fee, merely operating as a referral service. And even if they are more hands on, it can be a case of too many cooks – you don’t want communciation breakdowns and vital details getting lost. So book direct if you can.
Book Early
Booking wedding music is usually left until last. I’ve never heard a good explanation as to why. Seems to be one of those “that’s just how it’s done” things. But the earlier you put those feelers out the more choice you’re going to have. The average time we’re booked for weddings is one year ahead. But even a year out the calendar can already be looking quite full. For smaller, boutique suppliers, you might be limited in your choice of musicians and DJs. They might even be fully-booked on your wedding date. For reasons we’ve never been able to fathom, some years certain dates become ridiculously popular. One Saturday is empty; the next you could have done 8 weddings.
Negotiate
Polite, respectful negotiation is part-and-parcel of any agreement. Don’t be ridiculous (no we can’t do your entire wedding for $200), but don’t be afraid to angle for a better deal. What has worked on us in the past is when a client says something like “hey, since the wedding’s on a weeknight do you think you could waive the fee to learn those songs for us?” We like when you’ve put some thought into it rather than just saying “is that your best price?”
Breaking Down the Costs
We’re a mid-tier wedding music supplier. What does that mean? Well, we’re really average. Just kidding – we’re amazing! But in terms of price we’re smack bang in the middle. There are suppliers who target high-end weddings and charge WAY more than us (some DJs don’t get out of bed for under $3000). Then there are suppliers who target the budget end of the market, with a budget service. So for the purposes of getting a feel for what wedding music in Melbourne and Victoria costs, we’re actually a pretty good median. Feel free to use us as your yardstick. Below we’ll lay out a bunch of typical wedding music bookings, and price them up using our current prices, including all extras and hidden fees.
Acoustic Duo for Ceremony & Cocktails in Melbourne CBD
Duration: 3 hours
Extras: Duo to learn 2 songs
Base Price: $1400 (3 Hour Special)
What’s included: Portable battery-powered speaker, song requests.
Additional Fees: $200 to learn the 2 songs ($50 per song per performer)
Total: $1600
DJ for Wedding Reception in Ballarat
Duration: 5 hours
Extras: None
Base Price: $1500 (5 Hour Special)
What’s Included: PA system, lighting, decks, wireless microphone for speeches, song requests.
Additional Fees: Travel loading of $100 for one performer.
Total: $1600
4 Piece Band For Wedding Reception in St Kilda
Duration: 5 hours
Extras: None
Base Price: $2900 (5 Hour Special)
What’s Included: PA system, lighting, DJ service in breaks, wireless microphone for speeches, song requests.
Additional Fees: None
Total: $2900
Soloist & DJ for Entire Wedding in Bendigo
Duration: Soloist for up to 3 hours (ceremony & cocktails), DJ for up to 5 hours (reception)
Extras: Soloist to learn 1 song
Package Price: $1900 (Wedding Package 1)
What’s Included: PA system, lighting, wireless microphone for speeches, multiple setups/locations, song requests.
Additional Fees: $100 travel loading per performer, $50 for soloist to learn 1 song
Total: $2150
Acoustic Duo & DJ for Entire Wedding in Yarra Glen
Duration: Acoustic Duo at ceremony, cocktails and 1st half of reception, DJ at reception. 8 hours max total.
Extras: None
Package Price: $2900 (Wedding Package 3)
What’s Included: PA system, lighting, wireless microphone for speeches, multiple setups/locations, song requests.
Additional Fees: None
Total: $2900
Acoustic Duo & 4 Piece Band for Entire Wedding in Sorrento
Duration: Acoustic Duo at ceremony and cocktails, 4 Piece Band at reception. 8 hours max total
Extras: Duo to learn 2 songs, band to learn 1 song.
Package Price: $3900 (Wedding Package 5)
What’s Included: PA system, lighting, wireless microphone for speeches, multiple setups/locations, song requests.
Additional Fees: Travel loading at $100 per performer = $400. Songs learned at $50 per song per performer = $400
Total: $4700
Outcome
So you’ve decided what music you want at your wedding, priced it up, and maybe even got a couple of quotes from potential wedding music vendors. Now, are you relieved, or in shock?
Hooray, the music I want is within my budget!
You’re all good, congratulations! Have a smashing wedding!
Oh no, my music is going to go way over budget.
Okay, so you have a couple of options.
Raise your wedding music higher on your list of priorities, giving it a greater share of your wedding budget.
or
Downgrade your music booking to something more modest.
We hope this has been helpful to anyone budgeting for their wedding. Wedding music is super important, and can take a significant chunk out of a wedding budget, so the decision about who and what to hire should be made carefully. If you have any other questions about pricing don’t hesitate to contact us. We’re more than happy to walk you through it and provide free advice with no obligation.
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