Your guests will remember the music more than almost anything else about your wedding. We make sure what they remember is extraordinary.
Tell us your favorite songs and artists and we handle everything else, from your ceremony processional to the last dance of the night.
Most couples do not realize how many musical moments a wedding actually has. Your ceremony needs live musicians. Your cocktail hour sets the tone for the whole reception. Dinner needs something warm and elegant in the background. And your dance floor needs a band that knows how to keep it packed all night.
DRS Music handles all of it. Ceremony, cocktails, dinner, and dancing. One experienced team, one conversation, zero gaps in your night.
The music side of wedding planning should be the easy part. Here is exactly how we work with you.
2. Send it back when you are ready. We hop on a call or Zoom to go through every detail together and make sure everything is exactly right.
3. On your wedding day, David handles every introduction, coordinates with your planner and every vendor, and manages the entire evening from start to finish. You just enjoy it.
Every part of your wedding calls for something different. Here is how our ensembles work together to cover your entire night.
Reception: 8 or 11 Piece Band
The jazz trio covers cocktails and dinner, then seamlessly becomes part of the full band when it is time to dance. The 8-Piece gives you everything you need for a powerful, unforgettable reception. The 11-Piece adds Trumpet, Trombone, and a third vocalist for a bigger, more immersive sound that fills any room. If you want dancing to start right after dinner, we do that too with our Dancing Between Courses schedule.
Cocktail Hour and Dinner: Jazz Trio
The jazz trio brings warmth and elegance to your cocktail hour. Your guests can have a real conversation right next to the musicians while the room fills with live music. It creates exactly the right atmosphere after your ceremony before the full band takes over for dancing.
DJ Ensembles
Between band sets our DJ keeps the energy going without any drop-off. The transition is completely invisible. We make sure your guests keep dancing.
Not sure which ensemble is right for your wedding? David walks you through every option on your first call with no pressure and straight answers.
Your ceremony is the most emotional moment of your entire wedding day. It deserves musicians who specialize in the wedding experience and not just the reception band warming up.
Our ceremony musicians are completely separate from the reception band. They are specialists in wedding ceremony music who play from the moment your guests are seated until the last person leaves the room. The moment your ceremony ends, the jazz trio has already started in your cocktail space so there is never a gap.
Our ceremony music director Alex is a conservatory-trained violinist who studied with members of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. He guides you through every ceremony music decision from your processional to your recessional and specializes in both Jewish ceremony music and traditional church ceremonies.
Here is something most couples don’t know about their wedding music company. Most wedding bands make the lead singer the emcee. That means the person managing your microphone and running your timeline is the same person on stage trying to perform. Something always suffers.
DRS Music does it differently. David is your dedicated wedding emcee, completely separate from the band. The musicians focus entirely on the music. David focuses entirely on you.
On your wedding night David handles:
Our musicians do not just run through a setlist. They read the room, watch your crowd, feel the energy, and adjust in real time to keep every guest on their feet. Vocalists step down onto the dance floor. The sax player moves through the crowd. The horns build to a peak that brings the whole room together. Your guests will not want to sit down.
No surprise fees. No add-on charges for the things you actually need. Everything is in your quote from day one. Here is what every booking includes.
✓ Talented, consistent musicians at every performance
✓ Powerful 8 or 11 piece wedding band
✓ Jewish and ethnic music specialists
✓ Custom ensembles for every part of your day
✓ Over 2,000 songs plus unlimited requests
✓ Full DJ musician ensembles
✓ Dedicated experienced wedding emcee
✓ State-of-the-art sound and stage lighting
✓ Separate wedding ceremony musicians
✓ Thoughtful personal touches throughout your evening
✓ Flower donation to local seniors after your wedding
✓ Complete peace of mind from first call to last song
We have performed Chicago wedding music from the Midwest to both coasts. Our team handles every travel detail and gives you a clear upfront estimate so there are no surprises.
Three steps. That is all it takes.
Step 1. Schedule a call or fill out the contact form. David personally answers your questions, learns about your wedding, and walks you through every option.
Step 2. Choose the ensembles and schedule that fits your vision. We send you a fully custom price quote within 24 hours.
Step 3. Sign your contract and return it with a 25% deposit. Your date is locked in and your wedding music is handled.
We match the music to you, not the other way around. Formal, relaxed, big, intimate, traditional, or unexpected. We have performed every kind of Chicago wedding and we know how to make each one feel exactly right. Unlimited song requests. Personal touches throughout the night. We celebrate you.
DRS Music has performed for couples from Italian, Irish, Polish, Jewish, Russian, Latin, Korean, and many other cultural backgrounds. We know the music that matters to your family. If you want traditional music played during the band break so everyone keeps dancing, we handle that too.
From your processional to your recessional, we help you choose every song. You work directly with our ceremony music director and get full access to our Ceremony Music guide covering everything from classical to contemporary.
Our sound and lighting team arrives before your guests and adjusts all night. Never too loud. Always comfortable. Stage lighting included. We handle every setup detail with the venue so you never have to think about it.
DRS Music is proudly LGBT friendly. We treat every couple as friends and celebrate exactly who you are and who you love.
These are real couples filmed right after their wedding reception ended. Want to feel this way after yours? We put our hearts into every performance and every couple we play for. You’ll get the music and schedule that fits you perfectly. Everything we do is about celebrating who you are!
This shows the consistency of our music company over many years. Being voted by Wedding Wire as the Most Charitable Wedding Vendor in the nation is the award we’re most proud of!
First Band Voted Into
The Knot Hall of Fame
Winner 19 Years Running
Best of The Knot
WeddingWire
We take time to learn your story: How you met, what you love, what makes your relationship uniquely yours. We create a one-of-a-kind, personalized gift for your guests to sign. It’s free, it’s meaningful, and it’s something your guests will talk about long after the last song. While other bands say they “customize”, we really get to know you and treat you like friends.
Please Wait ...
Tell us a little about your wedding and David will personally reach out within 24 hours. You’ll get a custom price quote tailored to your schedule, date, and what you need.
Through David’s Share Your Love program, we’ll donate your floral arrangements to a nursing home. It’s one more way we make your wedding day mean something beyond the dance floor. We’re The Amazing Band with a Big Heart. Your flowers will be enjoyed all week by those in need of an extra reason to smile.
We were voted by WeddingWire as “The Most Charitable Wedding Vendor” in the nation for donating flowers to those most in need.
Planning a wedding comes with a lot of questions, and you deserve specific answers quickly from a real person. Call, Text, or Zoom with David directly, anytime. You’ll get honest advice from someone who’s been doing this for 25+ years.
He’ll treat you like a friend instead of a client. David is always here to help!
Our Chicago wedding band pricing is organized by packages that can be adjusted to your event schedule. Discounts are available for Friday and Sunday weddings, off-season dates (January–April), and non-profit organizations. A 25% deposit is required to reserve your date, with the remaining balance due the week before your event. We accept Venmo, Zelle, personal checks, Mastercard, Visa, Amex, Discover, and cash. Learn more on our Pricing Page.
Yes, we will learn nearly any song you request. We have a full-time arranger on staff to accommodate all your specific needs. We encourage you to be as creative and personal as you like. Even if we never play your special request again, we’re happy to learn it for you free of charge. If it’s important to you, it’s important to us. We’re the Chicago Wedding Band with the largest Songlist.
Yes, if your venue does not provide a piano, we will bring a keyboard for your ceremony or reception free of charge.
Yes, we will co-ordinate of all announcements and introductions throughout your event. We also will help coordinate with your vendors so you can relax and concentrate on your guests. We’re the only music company that provides a separate emcee. The emcee will be available to work directly with your vendors and be free to answer any questions you have. The band will be able to concentrate purely on playing music. This is a huge advantage to the flow of your wedding. You will get better photos, video, food service, and you will have complete peace of mind all night.
Professional, experienced, world-class musicians including 7 different ceremony ensembles, a jazz trio and a 8 to 11-piece band. Both ensembles include a DJ. We also offer 3 DJ ensembles. Solo DJ, DJ with Sax and DJ, Sax and Drums.
Yes, we have two state-of-the-art sound systems to accommodate a variety of venues. The sound system include wireless mics. The entire will be set up and tested two hours prior to the start of your event. Sound for your ceremony is an additional $375.
Our professional sound staff will monitor the sound throughout your event to make sure it is perfect at all times.
Stage lighting is included for any size band. If you need up-lighting for the room, we can put together a price quote for that as well.
A copy of the signed contract, a template of your wedding schedule, the current playlist for you to review and the “Tell Us More About You” form. We will also establish a folder to keep track of all your emails. We are as organized as it gets! We will even remind you when it’s time to set up a meeting to make sure we have all the details fine-tuned. We understand that you probably haven’t done this before and we will make sure you are in good shape the whole way through!
Meetings are usually scheduled on weekday afternoons, evenings, or weekend mornings or afternoons. We’ve found meetings with Zoom or over the phone to work best! You can schedule a meeting here: calendly.com/drsmusic
Yes we give you a separate Emcee who will take care of all your announcements and co-ordiante with you, your planner and all your vendors. This also allows the band to concentrate only on playing music. With DRM, if you have a question you can simply ask our nearby Emcee. With other bands you’ll need to walk across the room interrupting the band leader who is on stage and trying to perform. He takes care of everything so you can relax and enjoy your wedding. You’ll get the best photos, videos and food service since they will be in the right place at the right time. With DRM, The Emcee is the Emcee and the Band is the Band!
First let’s define what dancing between courses is. It is used for all weddings on the east coast and amazingly enough called East Coast style. It has become very popular for wedding throughout the country because of the many benefits to your wedding. The biggest difference is the dance orchestra starts at the beginning of dinner instead of after dinner.
Here’s what the overall schedules would look like.
Dancing after Dinner (Mid-West Style)
Schedule Overview:
5:45 – 6:30pm Ceremony Classical Duo (Violin and Piano)
6:30 – 7:30pm Cocktails Jazz Trio (Piano, Bass and Sax)
7:30 – 9:00pm Dinner Jazz Trio Continues
9:00 – 12:00am 10-Piece Orchestra
Ceremony:
___________________________________________
5:45-6:30pm Ceremony Classical Duo
Cocktails:
6:30-7:30pm Jazz Trio
Dinner:
7:30-9:00pm Jazz Trio Continues
7:30pm Doors open (Guests enter ballroom)
Bridal Party Introductions
Flower Girl: escorted by Ring Bearer:
Parents of the Bride:
Parents of the Groom:
Ushers:
Bridesmaids and Groomsmen:
escorted by
escorted by
Matron of Honor escorted by Best Man
Bride and Groom:
7:40 Toasts:
Toast 1:
Toast 2:
Toast 3:
Toast 4:
7:50 Blessing Over Meal:
8:00 Announce Cake Cutting
Meal is served
Dancing:
9:00-12:00am 10-Piece Orchestra
First Dance:
Father/Daughter:
Mother/Son Dance:
Everyone begins dancing
10:30pm Bouquet/Garter
Dancing Between courses (East Coast Style)
Schedule Overview:
5:45 – 6:30pm Ceremony Classical Duo (Violin and Piano)
6:30 – 7:30pm Cocktails Jazz Trio (Piano, Bass and Sax)
7:30 – 9:00pm Dinner 10-Piece Orchestra
9:00 – 12:00am Dancing 10-Piece Orchestra Continues
Ceremony:
5:45-6:30pm Ceremony Classical Duo
Cocktails:
6:30-7:30pm Jazz Trio
Dinner:
7:30-9:00pm Jazz Trio Continues
7:30pm Doors open (Guests enter ballroom)
Bridal Party Introductions
Flower Girl: escorted by Ring Bearer:
Parents of the Bride:
Parents of the Groom:
Ushers:
Bridesmaids and Groomsmen:
escorted by
escorted by
escorted by
Matron of Honor escorted by Best Man
Bride and Groom:
First Dance:
Father/Daughter:
Mother/Son Dance:
Everyone dances one song
“Ladies and Gentlemen we will have plenty of dancing throughout the evening. In the meantime please be seated”
7:40 Toasts:
Toast 1:
Toast 2:
Toast 3:
Toast 4:
7:50 Blessing Over Meal:
8:00 Announce Cake Cutting
Salad is served
After Salads is being cleared:
“Ladies and Gentlemen, while you are waiting for your main course we’d like to invite to join us for dancing.”
The Catering Director cues David once the main course is served.
“Ladies and Gentlemen we will have plenty of dancing throughout the evening. In the meantime please be seated as your main course is being served.”
Dancing:
9:00-12:00am 10-Piece Orchestra Continues
10:30pm Bouquet/Garter
Dancing Between Courses has several huge benefits to the flow of your wedding:
WHAT HAPPENS:
Dance Orchestra starts performing as the door to the ballroom open.
BENEFITS:
You will make a big impression of having a full orchestra as your guests come in.
WHAT HAPPENS:
When you are introduced with a standing ovation you walk right to the dance floor for your First Dance, Father/Daughter and Mother/Son.
BENEFITS:
All the formal dances are completed. After dinner you will have 3 hours of uninterrupted
Dancing.
WHAT HAPPENS:
Your guests are invite to dance once song.
BENEFITS:
The dancing will jump start your party and put your guests in the mood for a great night.
WHAT HAPPENS:
Guests are invited to dance after the salad course.
BENEFITS:
Instead of sitting with a dirty plate with waiting reaching around them, they can dance to
their favorite songs.
WHAT HAPPENS:
The dance orchestra performs for 4 ½ hours instead of 3.
BENEFITS:
You can choose more of your favorite songs.
If toasts are long or the food is running behind you’re covered.
Ask how many years they’ve been in business. Ask about their versatility with songs and their willingness to learn new songs. Have them tell you stories about recent weddings they’ve done. Tell them some of your favorite songs and your ideas for your wedding. See how well they listen to your ideas. Ask what makes their band better and different than their competition.
Having separate ceremony musicians will help with the flow of transitioning from the end of your ceremony to the beginning of cocktails. It will also make sure that you have musicians who are specifically trained for ceremony music. We actually offer you a ceremony music planning guide, which helps you pick out all of the music for each of aspect of your entire ceremony.
PRELUDE: Begins 15 minutes prior to the start of your ceremony.
PROCESSIONAL: Divided into 2 parts: one song for the bridal party and one song for the bride.
SERVICE: This is optional. It could include Unity Candle, Presentation of flowers, Hymns or a concert piece.
As you are pronounced as officially married you both come down the aisle and exit the room. The musicians will continue to play until all your guests have left the ceremony room. In the meantime, the jazz trio will start playing as soon as the guests enter the cocktail hour room.
Yes, we adjust the sound throughout the evening. Our sound system includes the ability to use an iPad Mini to stand behind your guests on the dance floor and adjust the sound based on what your guests are hearing. During announcements and introductions, the speakers are pointed out toward the tables. Then when it is time for dancing, they are pointed toward the center of the dance floor. The sound is always full and comfortable without ever being too loud. If any of your guests feel that it is too loud, we will quickly adjust it to ensure everyone feels comfortable.
The men musicians wear black suits with white shirts and a long black dress tie. Women will wear a black or colorful cocktail dress.
Once we have your preferences of styles, songs, and artists to play or not play, we will put together a setlist. If a guest comes up and requests a song that is within your preferences, we’re happy to play it. If you do not want any guests to request songs and we will stick to your specific requests only.
We have full liability insurance. We are happy to provide that to your venue for your wedding date. It is the most complete insurance available and covers any situation. Luckily, we’ve never had to use it for any of the events, but it is certainly great peace of mind to know that everything is completely covered.
All of our videos are from live performances at actual weddings. So, you can see not only the quality and talent of the actual musicians, but the reaction of the crowd as well. Be sure to watch videos of all the ensembles for your ceremony, cocktails, dinner, and dancing. The gallery page also includes a great deal of photos of packed dance floors and our talented musicians.
We follow all COVID -19 State of Illinois guidelines for all events. We’ve been able to move nearly all of our weddings since March of 2020 to 2021 or 2022. If people want to reschedule their wedding dates, even 2 or 3 times, we’re happy to do that free of charge. The deposit is non-refundable, as it secures the date for you and for us. We would turn away other weddings to make sure our band stays reserved for you. If you decide to do a smaller wedding with all the music for your ceremony, cocktails, and dinner followed by a DJ instead of a band, we would simply void the current contract and create a new contract. Instead of having the remaining balance due at that time, we would only require the amount to cover costs of the updated ensembles. As I’ve said, we’ve been able to work with each and every couple to make sure it is as fair as possible. We know we’ll be able to do the same for you as well.
Popular wedding dates book 12–18 months in advance, especially Saturdays from May through October. We recommend reaching out as soon as your venue and date are confirmed. Use the form below to check your date — we’ll let you know right away if we’re available.
Yes! We serve couples throughout the greater Chicagoland area, including Evanston, Naperville, Oak Park, the North Shore, Schaumburg, and surrounding suburbs. Contact us to confirm availability for your specific venue.
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