WEDDING FAQ

Q: How much space do you need for the standard 9 piece band?   
A: 24 x 12 is our standard space for the 9 piece group, 18x12 for the small groups. For the larger band (11 + pieces), we go up to 24 x 16. For some venues a stage is not necessary. All of our electrical & staging needs will be included in our contract.

Q: Will you act as Emcee for all of the announcements and introductions?   
A: Yes! Our Deejay will act as the Emcee for the entire evening and co-ordinate with your photographer, videographer, caterer and wedding coordinator before he announces any of the evening’s festivities.   

Q: Do you have a wireless mic so that we can do our toasts from the head table?   
A: Yes! 

Q: What is the process for confirming The Buzzcatz for our date?   
A: It's very simple. You send us a confirmation email with all of your details (date, time, venue,  number of pieces you want in the band, your mailing address & phone number) and we will email you back our contract. It's a very simple two-page document and there's not a lot of legal mumbo jumbo. You sign and email (or mail) the contract back to us along with a 50% deposit. We will send you a signed copy for your file. The balance payment is due 7 days prior to the wedding.   

Q: Do have music playing on your breaks? 
A: Yes, we bring a LIVE Deejay to keep the party going. For our smaller band packages, we offer a pre-mixed playlist of your requests, played on Ipod. 

Q:  Can you learn our First Dance song ? 
A: Let us know which song you have in mind. If it's in our wheelhouse vocally or something we've done before (there are lots of songs we've played once for a first dance before that are not on our list) we'd be happy to give it a go for you. 

Sinatra-style and horn heavy swing/Jazz songs require an arrangement from our arranger, and an additional fee of $350. Our Deejay will gladly handle any other special requests that do not already appear on the band's song list, along with all of the introductions, formalities, and announcements. 
 

Q: Can you provide a microphone and musicians for our ceremony?   
A: YES. We can provide sound with a tech/DJ for your ceremony, along with musicians. Additional fees apply, and this service is subject to availability and venue. We don't do beach ceremonies. If you need strings (trio or quartet), check our LINKS page for Central Florida's best ceremony string players.

 Q: What is your policy if we should need to postpone our wedding due to circumstances beyond our control (pandemic) ?
A: 2020 was a year like none we've ever seen in the 21+ years of The Buzzcatz, but we are happy to say that we were able to reschedule 100% of our wedding gigs. We have recently amended our contract to allow for just such a situation. Deposits are non-refundable, but we offer you a makeup date, to be played within a year of our original event date and based on the band's availability. 

Q: What do you need in a way of a stage, power, etc?
A: You provide the stage (24 x 12), the power (power drop), and any tenting needed. Your wedding planner will help you with all of those rental needs. None of our requirements are extraordinary for the hotels or country clubs. The hotels and will typically charge for a power drop, but unfortunately there is no way around it for us or any other band. It's required for proper power or we'll blow a fuse in the middle of your first dance. We always have our tech speak to the house electrician so that everything goes smoothly on the day of.

Q: What type of music do The Buzzcatz play?
A: The Buzzcatz play danceable, timeless, fun classic songs from lots of different eras and genres - it's a cool repertoire of horn-heavy Jazz, Blues, Swing, Soul, Motown, Classic Rock, 70's & 80's hits, and party tunes. Your guests will know and love every song we play. We're not current, modern, cutting edge, or "Top 40".  Our Deejay covers the current music and any other requests that you may have that are not on our song list.  We start out with Sinatra & Jazz during dinner, and then shift to Motown, Disco, Classic Rock, and Party Anthems after dinner.

Q: Do we get to pick the songs you will play?
A: You can pick all the songs for our deejay to play, and then just let us know some of your highlighted favorites from our band song list for the band to play. We will mix your favorites into our sets.  We do not work from a "Do Not Play" list, and we reserve the right to pull from our songlist as we see fit. 

Q: If we need to extend, can we?
A: Yes. The band's maximum is 4 hours, but our Deejay can stay an additional hour if needed. Additional fees apply.

Q: We'd like to have a custom medley/mashup edit played from the Deejay for our choreographed Father/Daughter Dance. Can you do this for us?
A: Yes, we can. Our studio master Randy does this for us. Additional fees apply - $75 per hour with a two hour minimum. (Two hours should get it done). 

Q: What forms of payment do you accept? 
A: We accept a personal check , direct deposit, payment apps, or credit card (a 3% convenience fee for credit card payments). 

Q: Can you meet with us to discuss our wedding?
A: Ricky is always available via telephone or video chat to help you with any questions, but unable to attend in person meetings or site visits. Your wedding planner will do that. All we will need is your completed online Bridal Form, your final timeline/agenda, and a diagram of the layout from your wedding planner on the week prior to the wedding. The rest can be done via email or phone calls. 

Q: If one of our guests wants to sit in with the band or play a song solo, is this allowed?
A: Yes - only for 1 song, and as long as it's been cleared by the Bride & Groom. Guitarists will need to bring their own guitar.

Q: Can you play The Hora for a Jewish Wedding? 
A: YES! We have played many horas, and we have hora medley that works great! 

Q: Can we see you play “live”? 
A: Since most of our gigs are private events, it may be awhile before you can see us play "live". We play some public shows every now and then, so check our website for any upcoming dates.  We'd love for you to see us in action at a wedding reception, but we've never felt good about bringing uninvited guests to our client's weddings. For this reason, we offer lots of live videos of our band on our website, Facebook page, and YouTube channel.

If you can spend a few minutes exploring our website, you can get a very clear picture of who we are, what we sound like, and what our band is all about. If you'd like some references, just ask any wedding pro in town about us!

Contact Ricky:  Email: thebuzzcatz@gmail.com 

A FEW WEDDING TIPS FROM THE BUZZCATZ:

• Hire a PRO wedding planner
  Do yourself and all of your vendors a favor, and hire a pro wedding planner. Pro vendors are used to working with pro coordinators. Your Mom and Maid Of Honor might have some party planning experience, but give them the night off and let them enjoy themselves. A good planner already knows a long list of dependable pros that will fit exactly what you are looking for. Save yourself time, money, and trouble, and hire a pro! 
   
• Talk to the venue in advance to arrange for power, staging, green room, and meals for the band.
  It's important to the flow of our setup that everything be pre-arranged and set for our crew's arrival. All of our rider requirements for power, stage, and green room will be listed in our (short) rider attached to our contract, and none of our requirements are out of the ordinary for any of the resorts or clubs. Expect a fee from hotel ballrooms for the power drop - that is common practice, and unfortunately there's no way around it for us or for any band.
   
• Book EARLY!
  The best wedding vendors in this area will book nearly every weekend, so don't delay in confirming the date with them once you've made your choice. A contract and a deposit is the only way vendors can hold a date for you. Our prime Saturday nights book a year or more in advance in some cases, with October-June being the prime season.
   
• Have a backup plan for an outdoor wedding in FL 
  An outdoor wedding in FL is always a roll of the dice, any time of the year. Floridians already know this, but many of our clients are from out of state. Florida weather can also be very unpredictable, even during the Winter months, when it can drop from 85 to 35 degrees overnight. Be sure that your venue has a "Plan B" if you are booking an outdoor reception, and trust your Wedding Planner if she makes the call to move indoors.
   
• Let The Buzzcatz do "our thing"
  Just let us know some of your favorite songs on our song list, and we will be sure to work them in the sets. Any other songs that you'd love to hear that are not found on our list, let us know and our DJ will be sure to include them between sets. Each reception has it's own pulse and it's own pace, and we've found that our band is at our best when we are in our comfort zone musically and reading the party as we go. 
   
• Know when to say when 
  After a four hour reception, your guests will have had five hours of an open bar including the cocktail hour. Your classy affair won't get any prettier in the sixth hour, and we've rarely seen a reception that needs to extend. If you're thinking you'll need longer than the industry standard four hour reception, we'd recommend that you book it for 4-hours and then make the call for overtime if needed on the night of. A better idea might be to plan an after party for the bridal party in the lounge of their hotel or near the venue.
   
• It only takes about 50 songs
  Music lovers can easily rattle off 150 songs that they love, but between the band and the deejay we will have time for only about 50-55 songs for the entire reception. Figure on about 25 songs from our deejay, including a mellow dinner set and two high-energy dance sets. 
   
• Have FUN!
  If you're hiring The Buzzcatz, chances are good that you've also hired all the best vendors in town. Many of the best vendors in Florida have worked countless weddings together and see each other regularly throughout the wedding season. Trust your team of vendors to make everything come together perfectly on your big day!