Music for cocktail hour

Cocktail barn from reception barn.

I've been to weddings with and without music at cocktail hours and I like when there's music playing more. I think it adds to the atmosphere and ambiance.

My vote would be for music during the cocktail hour.

Most of our musicians that we recommend do a minimum amount of hours that include ceremony and cocktail hour.

Our DJ made the point that people will notice the absence of music. Does the barn have a system you can tie into with an iPhone? You can make a Spotify playlist or something. Or see if the DJ has a much simpler system that can be used for the cocktail area, maybe?

I prefer cocktail hour music. Can you do something a little different? We have a harpist, for example, that isn't too expensive for cocktail hour.

If it is in the budget, then I vote cocktail music. I think it helps create a good vibe.

I hired musicians for my cocktail hour. I feel that during a cocktail hour without music people are just going to feel like they're standing around waiting for the next thing to happen. They are... but you don't want them to feel that way and get bored. Haha

Yes, there usually is so yes it's worth it!

I would say yes. We are having a guitarist.

Yes, definitely have music for cocktail hour. The guitarist would be great to have. I like live music for cocktail hour.

I went to a wedding this past weekend that I do not think had music during cocktail hour, but everyone was buzzing over the cheesesteak egg rolls that you wouldn't have been able to hear it anyway. However, my cocktail hour will have music because the DJ provides it as part of his package.

We decided not to do music for cocktail hour. This will be time that out guest will use to socialize. Given the size of the party, they would probably drown out the music lol

We are having the DJ play for the whole ceremony/reception. I would say have music.

I definitely prefer music during cocktail hour. Having the guitarist play would be nice, but the DJ works as well.

Ask your DJ - ours did ceremony, cocktail hour, and reception. Don't just assume.

We came across a similar issue. We are having everyone go into the banquet hall during cocktail hour while the ceremony space gets switched into the reception area. We decided that we are taking our bluetooth Bose speaker and have a playlist on my Ipod and have it play in the banquet hall during cocktail hour. We tested it, and it was loud enough. Granted, FH is a DJ and can make the playlist stream as one long song so there isn't dead air between songs.

Ours is set up the same way with 3 different areas. We're having live music for the ceremony and cocktail hour, and the dj will be set up in the larger barn for the reception.

I am also having an outdoor ceremony, cocktail hour in another location, and reception in a barn. I hired a solo violinist for the ceremony and cocktail hour and DJ for the reception. I would definitely have some sort of music for cocktail hour, either add the hour on to your guitarist or see if your DJ can work something out, either one should be able to accommodate depending on what you decide.

I agree with asking the DJ. Most I've talked to already have an option of what to do for remote setup for either ceremony or cocktail hour that is in a separate location from the reception.