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! The bandleader 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! - but we don't call them "breaks", we say "between sets". We offer either a pre-mixed iPod playlist of your requests between sets or our LIVE DJ option. We always have a host at the stage at all times to make any announcements and keep the party going.  

Q: Can the band play continuously with for the full 4-hour reception? 
We don't offer a four hour continuous play, but  we do offer a continuous play for 2.5 hours, followed by 1.5 hours of our DJ as one of our wedding packages.  

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:  If our First Dance song is not on your list, will you learn it? 
A: We are happy to learn your first dance song, unless it's something that just wouldn't fit our vocalists style or our band's sound. We will know when to recommend sticking to the original recording. If you choose a swing tune that is not found on our list (Sinatra, Michael Buble, etc), those tunes require a horn chart to be written, and there is an additional fee for the horn chart. Please inquire with Ricky about that. 

We also do a custom edit or quick fade for your pre-recorded dances. This way you don't have to be out there for a 4.5 minute song, which can seem like an eternity when you are the only couple on the floor; especially for parents dances. We recommend 3 minutes maximum for the First Dance, and 2 minutes maximum for the parents. 

Q: Can you provide a microphone for our ceremony? 
A: Yes! Our sound system for ceremonies includes two speakers on stands, a mixing board with inputs for musicians, a lapel lavalier mic for your officiant, and two handheld mics for anyone speaking. Our sound man sets, runs playback, mixes sound, and strikes the system. This is an often overlooked detail, and we get this request frequently at the last minute. See our package upgrades for pricing details.

Q: What do you bring in a way of a stage, power, etc?
A: You provide the stage, the power, and any tenting needed. Your wedding planner will help you with all of those rental needs. Our contract rider calls for a 24 x 12 stage, a power drop from the venue (talk to your venue, they will know what we need when we say "power drop") a dressing room, and meals for the band. None of our requirements are extraordinary for the hotels or country clubs. If your venue is a private home or older structure, chances are good that you will need generators for proper power to the band. 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 romantic classics and smash hit party tunes from the past 60 years. It's a cool repertoire of horn-heavy Jazz, Blues, Swing, Soul, R&B, Funk, Classic Rock, Disco, Motown, 80's, and party classics - the stuff that your guests grew up on. Our DJ covers the more current music and any other requests that you may have.

Q: Is your pricing based hourly and do you charge more for some venues?
A: Our pricing is based on an industry standard four hour reception (5 hours including the cocktail hour). We don't charge more for certain venues, but we might charge less if you can give us a clear picture of what your reception will be like. We offer different packages to fit every size party. 

Q: We only need the band for TWO hours after dinner, what is your rate for just 2 hours? 
A: We do offer a two-hour continuous play package along with a DJ, and special pricing consideration is given. Email Ricky for our wedding package details. 

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, 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. Our Saturday nights book well in advance, so if you are waiting to see us play live prior to booking, your date may no longer be available by the time you make your decision. If you'd like some references, just ask any wedding pro in town about us.

Ricky is available any time via phone or email and always happy to help with any of your questions or if you need assistance in any way. Contact Ricky: 321-277-5522 or email: thebuzzcatz@gmail.com 

A FEW TIPS FROM RICKY ABOUT HIRING 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.
   
• Don't forget to add the sound system for the ceremony
  If no one can hear your officiant, your ceremony will be lost on your guests. Our sound system for the ceremony includes a lavalier (lapel) mic for your officiant, hand held mic for any readers, and inputs on our mixer for instrumentalists. Our soundman sets, runs, and strikes the system. See our package upgrades for pricing on system rental for your ceremony.  
   
• 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. In truth, the idea of an outdoor wedding in FL between the months of May-late October is insane. Floridians already know this, but many of our clients are from out of state and don't know about oppressive heat and humidity. Florida weather can also be very unpredictable during the Winter months, when it can go from 85 to 35 degrees overnight. This isn't California, so bring your umbrella! 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 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 rarely see a reception that needs to extend. We also recommend last call at the bar at least 20 minutes prior to saying "goodnight". As the hosts, you are responsible to see that your guests arrive home safely, and you don't want to serve them drinks and then push them out the door 5 minutes later. 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 wait to make the call for overtime 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 if you want the evening to continue. 
   
• Have FUN!
  If you're hiring The Buzzcatz, chances are good that you've also hired all the best vendors in town. Now you can let go of any stress and trust in your "A" team of wedding vendors, and you can enjoy your time with your guests!