How Much Do Singing Waiters Cost?
Our singing chef and waitress were booked by the bride’s brother, and emotions ran high at this personal surprise!
In putting together our Tailors Singing Waiter team in 2018, we realised just how difficult it is to get an idea of how much these types of surprises cost. So we decided to do some research and put together a little guide for you, not just on Club Mob's singing waiter team the Tailors, but on the many teams available out there - to give you an idea of what to expect to pay, how services differ from group to group, and the right questions to ask when deciding who to choose.
1. What are you paying for?
Any great entertainment doesn't come cheap - remember, you are not only paying for the time that the artists are at your venue on the day! You have to consider all the rehearsals, equipment, marketing, insurance and other factors that go on behind the scenes. In our case, a bespoke, personalised set all about you and your guests! This takes a lot of time and skill to prepare.
That being said, it's still good to ask your singing waiters what they include in their quotes to make sure there are no hidden extras. Various companies include the following in various degrees;
Make sure they take your full order for your special day!
Bespoke elements, including your favourite song/s for example
Time acting as waiters to ensure the guests are really surprised
Equipment (often PAT tested)
Sound engineers
The surprise set, and any extra sets after the surprise
VAT
Public Liability insurance
Travel to your venue
Make sure that your chosen company knows what restrictions your venue may have and what your exact requirements are so that they can quote you accordingly - and if you're not sure, it's best to have a 10 minute consultation over the phone so that they can use their expertise to ask the right questions, and possibly make suggestions that you'd never even have thought of!
2. What type of show are you looking for?
Whilst all Singing Waiters have two things in common - they wait on you, then they sing - the type of singing show varies from one company to the other. This can also be affected by how many singing waiters are supplied - many companies supply one or two man shows, whereas others provide a trio or more.
If you're looking to hire just one singing waiter, make sure you check out videos of your exact performer, so you know who you're getting - a lot hinges on the personality, showmanship and talent of that one individual! We provide a minimum team of 2 singers as we think the chemistry and fun had between the group makes for a much more fun and engaging performance.
Some companies bring along a guitar and play the music acoustically (these types of acts are normally a little more comedic, like us!) and others will perform to backing tracks, which is good if you're after a very specific genre, theme, or singing Opera for example.
One thing is for certain: no other company puts together bespoke lyrics to be all about your guests, which is what our Tailors team specialise in. We use guitar accompaniment so that the singers can change the music up and make it unique to your day! We also don’t really ever sing one song the whole way through, but work to a medley of well-known songs to keep the performance really interesting, funny, and dynamic.
But let's get to the nitty gritty - how much should you be thinking of budgeting? Here's an overview from our research...
3. How Much Are Singing Waiters?
At the more affordable end, 1 standard singing waiter with equipment is likely to cost you between £500 - £900. Most companies charge between £900 to £1400 for 2 singing waiters, and at the higher end of the spectrum, a very established opera singing group is about £2300 for 3 waiters including equipment hire.
More info abut Club Mob & The Tailors is below - and you won't find better rates than ours for the bespoke service we offer!
4. How Can I Stand Out from The Crowd?
The bride and groom's reaction
The singing waiter phenomenon has been around for years now - so when Club Mob decided to set up our own team, we didn't want to just copy everybody else. We wanted a challenge, and to play to our strengths, which was our creativity and humour! When we perform our 2 or 3 singer sets with guitar, we change all of the lyrics to be about the happy couple / birthday person / event guests, which always has everyone in stitches - and sometimes happy tears!
Song wise, we keep most of our surprise set modern and fresh, and then throw in a few oldies for good measure as you've NEVER heard them before - we've even been known to throw in a rap about the people we're surprising. If it’s suitable, we can also include your favourite song, arranged intricately just for you, into your performance.
Give your guests a show they've never seen before!
Prices for our personalised singing waiter act start at £1200 for events that require sound equipment - so let us know exactly what you're looking for an we'll happily provide a bespoke quote with advice about what will work best in your venue! We can also put together amazing acapella sets for bigger events, Pitch Perfect style - this requires 5+ singers so a bigger budget is required.