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 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 depending upon your venue - we don't do beach ceremonies or nightmare load-ins.  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 as long as your cancellation is eligible based on the terms of our "excused non-performance" clause in our contract rider, we can offer you a makeup date 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  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 start out with Sinatra & Jazz during dinner, and then shift to Motown, Disco, Classic Rock, and Party Anthems after dinner. The Buzzcatz are 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 found on our band's song list. 

Q: Do we get to pick all of the songs you will play?
A: Not song for song, but if you'd like to highlight the ones you'd especially like hear from our song list, we will be sure to work them into our sets. You can also pick all of the songs you'd like our deejay to play, or you can just leave the dance floor in his very capable hands. We will gladly skip a few that you may not want to hear, however we don't work from a "Do Not Play" list; nor do we offer a "build your own" Buzzcatz show. 

Q: If we should need to extend the party, can we? 
A: Yes. If you need longer than the standard 4-hour reception, (5 hours with cocktail), our Deejay can stay an additional hour. (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!  (Additional fees apply). 

Q:  Can you learn our First Dance song ?  
A: This is not a service that we offer, but let me know which tune you have in mind, and if it's a song we can snap together easily - a four chord country song with easy lyrics, a familiar classic, or perhaps one we've performed in the past, we'll give it a go for you. Otherwise, our Deejay will gladly play any special requests that do not already appear on the band's song list. We're best at songs we already know.   

You might assume that since we specialize in the Swing/Sinatra songs, that a song like "Strangers In The Night" or some other Sinatra or Buble' song that doesn't already appear on our list would be a snap for us; but here's the trick with those type of Jazz & Swing tunes..... 

The horn arrangements that you hear The Buzzcatz play each require a custom chart (sheet music) - to be written by our arranger for each individual instrument (bass, drums, keys, guitar, sax, trumpet, and trombone). (Click on "chart" to see an example). The sheet music for the song that you can buy online won't work - that's just a lead sheet with chords & melody. I pay my arranger $400 per song to write my charts, so each time we want to add a new horn tune to my book, it costs another $400. My chart book is worth over $250k at this point. It's the old joke....you might be a bandleader if....your book is worth as much as your house. :) 

Q: What forms of payment do you accept? 
A: We accept direct deposit, payment apps (Zelle, Venmo, Cashapp, PayPal), cash, or credit card (a 3% convenience fee for credit card payments) for payments. No checks, please. 

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, 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 do a hora medley that works great. We can stretch is as long as needed. Our Deejay can also provide any other ethnic music or traditional music requests. 

Q: The wedding bands in New York play continuously for 4 hours. Do you offer this?
A: The bands in New York also charge $25,000!  No, we don't play continuously, but we do bring a great deejay to handle our intermissions and keep the party going. He will also act as Emcee for the toasts, parents dances, cake cutting, bouquet toss, etc; and you won't miss the band during these times. 

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, (usually bi-monthly at Blue Bamboo Center For The Arts in Winter Park), 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 US: CONTACT

A FEW WEDDING TIPS FROM THE BUZZCATZ:

• Hire a PRO wedding planner
  We are unable to accept your booking until you have secured a professional, reputable wedding planner.  A good planner already knows a long list of dependable pros that will fit exactly what you are looking for. Do yourself and all of your vendors a favor, 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. 
   
• 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!