How to choose a gospel choir for your wedding
We often hear from our clients, “It’s been my DREAM to have a gospel choir at my wedding for years now!”
The atmosphere that incredible gospel voices bring to the biggest occasion of your life is unrivalled. Done well, it makes the ceremony an unforgettable memory in yours and your guests’ minds - there’s nothing about a good gospel choir that would make your guests want to talk through their performance. Rather, it makes even the shyest, most conservative guests clap their hands and even sing along when invited to.
So, how do you choose the best gospel choir for you? Here are some things to think about as you look through your options!
Do they sing the songs you want?
You’ve probably got an idea of what you want to walk in and out to. Check out their repertoire lists. Will your choir charge you for singing new songs? Maybe you don’t have any ideas for songs yet… will your point of contact guide you through your options and give you lots of advice? Read their reviews online to see how previous clients have felt about the level of service. You can read our reviews here.
Do you want something original/quirky/different or are you interested in ‘simply voices’?
Some people love the sound that a gospel choir brings and are happy with the choir singing hymns and some easy well known songs like Oh Happy Day and Signed, Sealed, Delivered (two classics that will never run out of juice!). Others want creative, interesting arrangements of songs, a varied repertoire list, something that will make their guests go ‘wow’ for more than just the sound and look of a gospel choir. Check out their videos, social media pages, repertoire lists, spotify or soundcloud accounts to get a vibe of what each choir are about. Some choirs are all about the look! Others all about creating great music! Sometimes you get both :-)
Do they have videos and audio clips?
The more video you see, the more you can rely on the product you are booking. In today’s world of smart phones, video is so easy to make - if your choir haven’t got much for you to see or hear, you might want to think twice about booking them.
What is your budget and how many singers do you want?
Simply put, the bigger the choir, the more expensive it is. If you find booking a big choir obliterates your budget, take solace in the fact that some choirs charge less than others. So if size is what matters to you above all else, you will probably be able to find a choir the size you want for the money you have. You may have to compromise on other things, like repertoire, look/style, customer service and reliability. Or you may not!
How much does look matter to you?
Each choir has a style. Do you want robes? Do you want everyone in a particular colour, or at least the same colour? Do you want a relaxed vibe or black tie? Take a look at the photos you find on social media or their website to get a sense of the vibe and style. And don’t be afraid to ask if the choir can accommodate your wishes!
Trust your instinct!
You will get a feel for what your customer journey will be like starting from the website, how long it takes to get a reply to your email, the tone of the email or phone call, what helpful information is on the website. Trusting your gut is so important when choosing your suppliers for your wedding, it may save you a lot of stress in the long run.
What about Get Gospel?
How do we fare in these few pointers?
Our repertoire list grows every year. We take pride in our creative arrangements - that’s our unique selling point in a sea of gospel choirs. We charge £250 for new arrangements for full songs, and £175 for short versions i.e. entrances. It’s £40 for a soloist to learn a nw song for you. However, if it’s a song we already had our eye on, we sometimes arrange it for free or for a lower fee, so always ask!
We have loads of our performances videoed. Check out our repertoire list - click on the song titles to see videos of us performing them. You can subscribe to us on YouTube and follow us on social media @getgospel to see up-to-date footage.
If there’s a song you want to hear that isn’t yet available visually, we will send you an MP3 of it to make sure you are happy with your choice.
As a small to medium choir, most of the time we perform as a 4 or 6 piece, but sometimes 7, 10 and 12. We rarely perform in a larger group than that. We’re somewhere in the middle for pricing. Our minimum fee in London for a wedding is £1300 for 4 singers, and we provide our own PA system, cordless mics and other equipment. Corporate events can be more and funerals, less.
We like to bring our own style to weddings, going with an autumnal colour palette over black dress. However, we do have robes in different colours, and we can easily dress in black tie. We’re always happy to work with you if you have a particular look you want to create.
Finally, customer service is so important to us. Starting with our helpful and informative blogs, to quick reply times (we aim to get back to you within 24 hours), zoom calls and heaps of advice, we want your wedding planning process to be fun and enjoyable, and for you to feel confident in what we are doing.
It’s a total pleasure being part of someone’s incredibly special day, to get to share these moments is a gift we don’t take for granted!