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 rider.   

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 the band play continuously with for the full 4-hour reception? 
We don't offer a four hour continuous play. There are moments of the night when your guests will be ready for a break from the band. Between sets, we have our DJ host your toasts and play a short dinner set of your favorite mellow tunes early in the night, and later in the evening it's the cake cutting, bouquet toss, and a high energy dance mix of current dance hits from our DJ before the band's last set. Your guests will not miss the band during these moments. 

Q:  Can you learn our First Dance song ? 
A: Our Deejay will gladly handle all special requests that do not already appear on the band's song list.  

Q: Can you provide a microphone for our ceremony? 
A: We're are unable to provide an additional sound system for the ceremony, but please check our LINKS page for Central Florida's best ceremony musicians; many of whom can also fulfill your sound needs for the ceremony. 

 Q: What do you bring 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. Click here to view our CONTRACT RIDER for our requirements.  None of our requirements are extraordinary for the hotels or country clubs. The hotels and venues will charge you upwards to $500 for a power drop, but unfortunately there is no way around it for us or for any 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 you 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, hip, 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. 

Q: If we need to extend our party, can we?
A: Yes. The band's maximum is 4 hours, but our Deejay can stay as late as needed to keep your party going. Additional fees apply.

Q: What forms of payment do you accept? 
A: We accept a personal check or direct deposit only. 

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 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: 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.
   
• 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 through the years, and for us it's like a reunion with friends. We see each other regularly throughout the wedding season! Trust your team of vendors to make everything come together perfectly on your big day!