In most cases, no, and I say that as somebody who makes a living playing dueling pianos. This might be the most difficult post I have written, because turning down work is not the usual move. But a dueling piano show at a typical wedding reception rarely becomes the thing couples are picturing.
Now that I have that out of the way, let me go through why it might not be a great option, the situations where it works really well, and a different take on dueling piano style entertainment that has never once failed at a wedding.
Why It Usually Is Not the Ideal Wedding Entertainment
The first question I ask people considering dueling pianos is: are you comfortable without having a big dance floor, or any dance floor at all?
Usually the answer is that they want a dance floor. And if you have read any of my past posts, you might have picked up that I think the success of a dueling piano show is heavily influenced by the setup of the room. What makes dueling pianos so much fun and unique is the intense crowd participation we lean on. That is very hard to accomplish with the separation a dance floor creates between us and the audience.
What actually happens
I have performed dueling pianos at many weddings with a dance floor, and here is how it usually goes. We start out trying to do our normal show, attempting to get the crowd involved, and that fails pretty quickly. Then for the most part we switch over to playing dance songs, and people get on the dance floor.
Wedding guests are often not familiar with dueling pianos and are so used to traditional receptions that they are not as interested in buying into what we are trying to accomplish. The dancing is all fun and good, but at that point we are just playing dance music, which a good DJ or a band could do.
We are missing the magic that makes a dueling piano show special. I am not saying these are not still a good time, because people do seem to enjoy it. I just think that in those situations a really good wedding DJ is a better fit for what the couple actually wanted.
Piano placement is its own problem
Sometimes the positioning of the pianos is an issue too. We really need to be front and center, and that can be tough at a wedding. The wedding day is about the couple, but putting the pianos in a bad spot has a real negative effect. It is the same principle as where the DJ sets up.
The Weddings Where Dueling Pianos Are Tons of Fun
If you are open to not having a dance floor, and to putting the pianos centered in front of your guests, we can absolutely provide a fun and different form of entertainment that your guests have probably never seen at a wedding.
I would also highly recommend keeping this portion of the night to two hours.
Maybe the reason you want dueling pianos is that you saw it at a bar or a fundraiser. I would bet there was not a dance floor at that bar or event, and our best chance to recreate that sing-along, entertaining vibe is to set the room up in that specific way. We can still work out a way for the first dance and the parent dances to happen if that is something you want to include.
Reception parties and destination weddings
I have done a few wedding parties where the couple already got married at a destination and are now having a party to celebrate at home with friends and family. At those events formalities are not emphasized as much, and we are able to give it a true dueling piano feel.
The Option That Always Works: The Sunflower
Dueling pianos is so much fun, and such a one of a kind form of entertainment, that I really wanted to find a way to include it that fits all weddings. After a while of tinkering and adjusting, I landed on something I have stuck with and that has never failed.
It is called the Sunflower, and it includes one piano and a drummer.
Right after your formal dances, and right before we open the dance floor, I do a 30 minute greatest hits of dueling pianos. We set the piano and drums up right in front of the DJ booth, and I invite the wedding party and as many guests as possible to pull their chairs up close to us. We put on a highly interactive, non-stop show that gets everybody involved.
As soon as it is done, I use a little trick to get everybody on the dance floor and we go straight into open dancing for the rest of the night. It has always been a huge success, and it will keep your guests raving about how much fun they had.
Why Your Wedding Deserves More Than Just a Yes
I know almost every other dueling piano company out there will likely just say yes to providing pianos at your wedding. They will not be concerned with setup details or timeline restrictions. They will show up, set up where you tell them, and the night will most likely go the way I described earlier.
That is totally fine and can still be a hit. It is just not the show HiFi Productions is interested in putting on.
If you are open to going a bit non-traditional with your reception and want a true dueling piano feel, please talk to me and I would love to be part of your day. If you still want that dance floor but want to change things up, I would love to provide the Sunflower for you. In the end, I care about how your wedding day goes and I want it to be the best it can be.
Let’s Talk About Your Wedding
If you are weighing dueling pianos against a wedding DJ, or want to hear more about the Sunflower, check availability and I will get back to you personally. I would rather talk you into the right option than sell you the wrong one.