The band that performs at your wedding is there to entertain your guests and keep the dance floor full as possible for the duration of the evening. Some couples, when talking to us, talk a lot about their own musical tastes, and while it's important in many ways to reflect that in what we play, remember the idea is to appeal to the widest possible audience.

If you absolutely HATE a song, please let us know, and we'll make sure it's left out, but before you do, remember it'll be only about 3 minutes long and if it's one that STUFFS the dance floor, maybe you can put up with it?

Either way, it's your call.

Many bands would like to receive your booking. It is at the early stages that you should start to feel you're in good hands. If a band is difficult to contact, or awkward to negotiate with BEFORE they get your deposit, the evidence we've heard suggests they'll be even less responsive afterwards.

And you need that in the last few weeks running up to your wedding like a hole in the head!

If they don't reply or you're not happy with the attitude, move on.

Like any trade or profession, experience definitely counts. Some experienced musicians become more relaxed about gigs as years pass - perhaps even TOO relaxed. Is your wedding just another night's work for some guitarist?

Or is it the unique "big day" of a lady who hopes to be wed only ONCE in her life and has been planning this day in some way or other since she was 7 years old?

You'll know when you speak on the phone with the various bands on your list if they love what they do, if they have a passion for weddings in general and a genuine interest in yours in particular.

GoodFellas were all session musicians and hired guns before we met and decided to go out on our own. The list of who we've played with - and where - is on our website, and there are some impressive names dropped there, but that's not the important part.

The important part is what happens when we play TOGETHER. Some bands are just musicians playing their own instruments well. They start and finish the songs at the same time, but they don't...gel along the way. It doesn't sound special or cohesive somehow.

For us, something extra happens when we play together. It's a chemistry that comes off the stage, and the fact we were friends before we were a band also shines through. It's hard to explain it, but you can tell we WANT to be there, in THAT band, not with anyone else. With you - at YOUR wedding!

We're lucky enough to be doing the thing we love, with our good friends! If we weren't already us, we'd envy us!

The rule-of-thumb for a full dance floor is "something for everyone". That's the only thing we have found works, and we've played most types of music with many different bands before we went out on out own. It's a tough motto to live up to! However we really try our best…check out our repertoire list and decide for yourself.

We know people like the idea of 80's bands, trad and swing bands, and that's fine, but what if it doesn't work on the night, even though you know your crowd and are sure, now, at the planning stage, it will? What if it doesn't?

The thing is when people go to a weddng, they expect to spend the day out of their normal character a little, to go with the flow, dress up, dance (even if they normally wouldn't!) and socialise.

If your favourite food is Indian, Chinese or pizza, you might not serve that to your guests because you want the food to be enjoyed by EVERYONE, so you appeal to the broadest palate you can. The same applies to the music. Try to appease the widest possible audience and you won't have grumpy older relatives sitting in the lobby giving out about the music.

If you want a certain type of specific music, let us know and we'll lean as far that way as we can for you, while all the time watching the floor for when it's starting to affect the dance floor.

When it does, it's time to move away from it for a while and maybe reintroduce it later.

Some couples like the idea of using a well-known celebrity act at their wedding. It does sometimes have impact, but they can be more expensive than their impact actually merits.

These artists can often forget that the bride and groom are the centre of attention, not them. They're used to being centre-stage.

Also, if they have slow songs which are well-known, they'll play them, even if your wedding is one where fewer slow songs would be required because the crowd want to dance.

Sometimes they like to tell stories about the origins of a song or the story behind it - great. Unless you want to dance, because a second or two between songs can be enough to empty the floor.

People driven by stardom or fame can often let couples down if a more glamorous "gig" comes along.

There is an unrivalled energy and presence created by a 100% live act.

It's a bit like going to a nice restaurant to eat and the waiter serving you pre-cooked take-away from Marks & Spencer. It's technically eating-out food but it's not what you paid for.

If there's no drummer (but you can hear drums) - it ain't live! If you hear piano, brass, organs etc…but there's no keyboard player - it ain't live! If there are four people in a band but two of them only sing and yet there are full arrangements of your favourite songs - sorry, it ain't live.

If that doesn't bother you, fair enough. The number for Marks & Spencer is 01-679-7855. Order the grub from there while you're at it!!

We know of acts that pay "dummies" a reduced rate to stand behind keyboards and mime to the backing track - really!

Suppose you have a family member who you'd like to sing during the evening? Unless you have a live band…forget it.

Acts that are not COMPLETELY live cannot quickly adapt to fill the floor because the machines are programmed to play the songs in a certain order, and need time between songs to locate the next backing track. It only takes seconds to clear a dance floor. That's not the name of the game. Non-live bands also find it difficult to fine-tune the speed of each song to YOUR audience. No two audiences are ever the same. So why should a pre-programmed song list, at pre-programmed tempos work on every audience? The answer is that it won't.

We work with a compact, yet powerful PA system, designed to fill the dance floor yet leaving your non-dancing guests to chat over an appropriate overall volume level.

But remember, if you're not happy with the volume, just tell us and we'll adjust it. We can organise to put in enough wattage to rival "The Who" if that's what you want but unless you're getting married to Roger Daltrey, the high quality Public Address amplification we invested in (after much expense and research) puts across the GoodFellas sound without sending your guests to the Eye And Ear Hospital (Adelaide Road, Dublin 2 Tel: 00 353 1 6644600 - just in case you book someone less worried about your listening comfort!!!) the following morning. As always though, it's your call but we'd hope you let our experience guide you here.

Unfortunately, the best way to see your band handle a wedding is by going to see them play at a wedding. People refer to this as "crashing", but as the couple are always asked for permission, you wouldn't be crashing. You'd be invited, and the couple in question saw us play at someone else's wedding, so they know it's a necessary thing.

Check out the viewings page on our site for ways to be invisible at a viewing here.

It's not really ok to sit through the entire performance at another couple's wedding so what you see us play will vary in content depending on what time you show up at. We have a repertoire we can send you to give you a better idea of the range of material we cover. If you come at the start of the evening, generally speaking, we look after the older and general crowd then. Later on, we do the younger stuff, simply because the oldies will be knackered by then!

We usually get the equipment set up very quickly, usually in 30 - 40 minutes after the speeches have been completed. Some venues have a more awkward "carry" or access route than others and that can slow it up a little. Be sure to tell the band you're dealing with the name of the hotel and if possible the room you've booked to help them figure out what time to arrive at.

The wedding business is FULL of them. People who will say whatever it takes to get your deposit. What use is that to you? You're only doing it once, and you can't be expected to automatically know everything about weddings - no-one does!

We believe it's of more use to you if we say "Look, we'll do that if you want, but here's why it might not be the best idea..."

To do that takes courage, but we want you to have the best possible evening, the best possible run-up to the wedding, the best possible results.

Whichever band you book we hope you have a great night and of course, wish you the very best for the future!