Doug and his band were everything we wanted and more at our wedding! He really went out of the way to make sure everything was special for us. Leading up to the wedding, Doug was professional, and easy to communicate with (even letting us add terms to the contract without any issue and answering all our follow-up questions) and stayed in regular contact about the itinerary. On the wedding day, Doug arrived early and the ceremony music and officiant sounded clear. During the cocktail hour and reception, he made sure everything moved seamlessly, keeping things moving along seamlessly. Doug, Shaliek and the rest of the group brought THE PARTY and kept everyone on their feet from start to finish. The sound and vocals were excellent and their song selection was perfect -- a mix of classic wedding songs, pop songs and new hits. They played music continuously (no breaks with recorded music), which was important to us, and during dinner service the tremendous trumpet player (Jim Hynes) did some solo pieces. He and the band enthusiastically went along with the sister of the bride to sing a song, learning it ahead of the wedding. After the reception, a bunch of guests were asking Doug for his business card. The only downside was our venue required them to stop playing at 11! We would recommend Doug and Best Kept Secret to anyone!

If you want to dance all night and have guests rave about your band, hire Doug Winters Music!

We had the best time working with Doug in preparation for our June 2023 wedding. Doug was always available to answer questions, brainstorm, and listen to our special requests. Our biggest goal for the wedding reception was for everyone to HAVE FUN, and the band 1,000% delivered.

Not only are Doug and his musicians incredibly talented, but their infectious energy spread like wildfire among guests.

Our three lead singers captivated our guests with their vocals, stage presence, and crowd work! The singers were out on the dance floor with our guests throughout the night, which brought the party to the next level - their crowd work is unmatched!

My only complaint is that we can't turn back time and re-live the night! We had the best time at our wedding and have Doug Winters Music to thank!

So, if you're looking for a band to keep your guests entertained, look no further. Doug Winters Music will create an atmosphere you and your guests will cherish forever. We're beyond grateful for the joy they brought to our big day!

THANK YOU, DOUG!!

I can’t say enough wonderful things about Doug Winters and the Best Kept Secret. Doug is the easiest person to talk with and he is a true professional who knows the business as well as how to make you feel special for whatever affair you are planning. This is the second time we have hired him and his band. When we attended our cousin’s daughter’s wedding many years ago we said, “Wow. This band is the best we have ever heard. They got the crowd dancing all night and the voices and instruments were amazing.” In fact we were so impressed that we hired Doug and his band the following week to play a B’nai Mitzvah for our twins. Ten years went by and our daughter got engaged. We then immediately called Doug and hired him for her wedding. This past weekend we had the wedding and we could not have been more pleased. This band is awesome and your friends and family will be raving about them for years to come. We had a ten piece band with a trumpet and a sax. Amazing. I can’t say enough about this exceptional band. Except don’t wait. Call them today so you can get a contract and secure your date. Doug is the absolute best. And his band is bar none.

Last Monday night, after four or five days of cancelling our big(ger) June wedding at a NYC hotel, we decided (because of a happy accident arriving next October) to hold a big reception following our private ceremony at my parents' home on the Upper West Side. Yes, it was smaller and sooner than we expected and yes, it was the greatest night of our lives. And most of that was due to Doug Winters and his band, Best Kept Secret...who turned up in great spirits and played and sang their hearts out with great celebration for us on March 9, 2020! They brought the "elegant funk" they use to describe themselves online -- AND SO MUCH MORE! We had thousands of dollars worth of takeout food, flowers from florists all over the city ( and a dozen bunches bought at West side corner delis) and nothing was as we planned. Except for the utterly fantastic music Doug and his group brought. Doug, we'll never be able to thank you enough! Your flexibility and total client approach (and Sari's) was refreshing from the first time we exchanged emails. I first heard you a bunch of years ago at my cousin's wedding at the Central Park Boathouse. This past Monday, at the apartment I grew up in on the UWS, you were better than ever! You kept the volume under control and still rocked our party and played everything we asked you for...last Friday! THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!

No idea how to express how awesome Doug and his band were at my wedding just this past Saturday night. In the midst of health concerns, the ONLY thing we knew would we didn't have to worry about for our long-in-the-works wedding on March 7, 2020 was Doug and his band, Best Kept Secret. They played every single song we requested during the reception and they . The ceremony was enhanced by their guitar and Doug's beautiful performance and the jazz trio Doug put together was smooth and the perfect appetizer for the evening. Once the night started, Doug read the crowd with the PERFECT mix of contemporary and some throwback tunes -- they learned many obscure alternative songs for us for during dinner and most of all, kept everyone -- including our parents up and dancing for four hours straight. No one wanted the night to end and kept chanting: "one more song." They obliged and they performed with so much passion and enthusiasm -- with all four singers out (we had an extra vocalist) out on the dancefloor ALL NIGHT LONG. Every genre of music was represented and they were flawless. One of my wife's bridesmaids said they were "delicious." I just want to say they exceeded our wildest expectations. I would not only recommend them to everyone I know -- I'd recommend Doug to every bride and groom out on Wedding Wire...they were truly beyond incredible! We love you Doug! ANd a special shout out to his wife and partner, Sari -- you were awesome -- you calmed my bride's nerves so often during this process and really helped with so many emotional decisions! What a phenomenal pleasure to deal with such a remarkable company! Hire them today!

We just got married last weekend and are about to leave for our honeymoon but we had to thank Doug Winters Music before taking off. You were the best vendor of everyone we hired! The venue and the food were outstanding, but Doug Winters Music was flawless. Thank you for all the time you spent helping us plan our wedding and for totally "bringing it" on the night of... you totally MADE THE WEDDING the crazy success it was! Your energy and that of the band's was so infectious, everyone keeps saying the "room was filled with love!" My new husband and I didn't hop from table to table, we found everyone on the dance floor and danced and celebrated with them. It was so perfect, Doug read the room perfectly and you knocked it out of the park. Thank you for everything! Your phone must be ringing off the hook -- everyone keeps asking us, where did you find these guys? You delivered everything you promised -- and SO MUCH MORE! We can never thank you enough!

Last Friday August 2, I married the love of my life and for me that was enough. I found Jules and he was -- and is -- all I ever needed to be happy. It was all I thought I'd need for my version of a fairy-tale wedding. We had thought, early on, that we'd have a city hall kind of low-key ceremony with a dinner after but my parents really wanted to celebrate because I was the last (and oldest) daughter getting married in our family. So I went on auto-pilot and let my mom and the planner do whatever they wanted and that turned out to be the "big wedding thing" -- the big dress, the beautiful venue, and they pulled out all the stops and to our complete surprise, it was amazing. And when we look back on it, most of all, what made it all so perfect was our band. And especially, our bandleader, Doug Winters.
What is so fantastic about Doug is how far out of his way he will go to make you feel cared about, important, comfortable, completely informed with all of our needs totally taken care of. That was for the months leading up to our wedding. During the night of, the band was absolutely electric and magical. They turned up the energy way past "High" and they sang and played their hearts out. Doug remembered every toast, every introduction and every single song we wanted him to play. When people talk about my wedding at a farm upstate, they don't talk about the beautiful mountain views and the rustic chic. They rave about the music. When we booked Doug less than six months before the wedding, we knew we could trust him. it felt like an instant lovefest from the beginning. But still, we could never have expected what he and the band brought that night. The planner had this idea to have socks in a basket for the girls to dance in and since everyone danced their feet off all night, it turned out we really needed them. All we remember is that Jules and I NEVER left the dance floor. That's where we hugged our friends and families and laughed and partied -- the dance floor WAS the party. THANK YOU DOUG WINTERS MUSIC for making our wedding the best night of our lives!

My husband and I happen to come from families who love celebrating and especially, love to dance. We needed a band that would understand and deliver. And Doug Winters and his band, way more than delivered. Although Doug and his partner and wife, Sari, constantly begged us for song choices, we left everything up to him. I have a very demanding sales job and my husband is working on his dissertation, so we were really thrilled to have someone as expert and talented as Doug completely "take over." I know this is quite unusual! But we knew we could trust Doug -- he has such spectacular word-of-mouth awareness, we basically gave him suggestions and trusted him and he was brilliant. Having said that, we did speak and text each other extensively during the months before the wedding about the kinds of music my husband and I both loved and Doug made it happen! His singers are versatile and warm, and constantly engaging with the crowd. Doug is the ultimate emcee, he has a beautiful voice and he handles every announcement flawlessly. Most of all, they were the best band we've ever heard at a wedding -- and we've been to more than a dozen in the past few years. More than that he's just a great, funny, understanding, and person who is so easy to work with; he and his wife both felt like trusted members of the family by the time we met him on our wedding day. Don't hesitate; book him today! You'll love them as much as we did!

My wife and I just got married on November 27th and are heading off for our honeymoon but we had to write about how unbelievable Doug and his band were. Doug gave us non-stop dancing all night, the best song selection and all the hand-holding my then-fiancee need. Doug is so experienced and knowledgeable about weddings, he was not only a hugely talented bandleader and keyboard player but he also became the wedding planner we didn't hire! That, in itself speaks volumes about Doug's wide-ranging expertise; it was no surprise he also does a podcast about weddings. We're just so grateful for his commitment to us throughout the process and his and the band's performance at our wedding. Out of all the people we contracted for our wedding at my grandparents' beautiful home, Doug delivered the most, truly going way above and beyond anything we could have ever hoped. People danced all night, thanks to Doug's keen ability to read the crowd. THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, Doug Winters!

Doug and his band learned so much special music for my wedding. He and his band were unforgettable. They played at a friend's wedding that I was a bridesmaid in in 2016. Doug went above and beyond to make our wedding a real party. He gave us a celebration that was really exactly what we wanted...he really listened to everything we wanted, including the songs we specifically did not want to hear, which was a surprisingly long list! But they were totally fabulous and it was all thanks to Doug. We apologize that we are so late in responding. We were married last January! But we just got a holiday card from him!