Planning a wedding ceremony or reception with a piano player and/or singer

If you would like to have a piano player at your wedding or your client's wedding in the Los Angeles or Orange County vicinity and:

• the venue does not have a piano AND
• the piano player will not be bringing their own piano

You should probably consider renting a digital piano for the portability (vs a real piano which is logically more complicated and expensive). However, you will need to connect a digital piano to a combo amp (amp and speaker in one box) or PA (public address) system for the guests to hear it. Our digital piano does not have built in speakers and if it did it would not be sufficient (loud enough) for most ceremonies or receptions. Our digital piano and PA system require 120 volts AC power.

Questions you WILL NEED answered if you want a piano player during the ceremony

1. At the venue of the ceremony, will there be a PA system that the officiant will use? You or your wedding planner will need to find out if there is a way to connect to that PA system.
2. How far away you will want the piano player from the PA system? You may need a direct box for long cable runs. You will also need a power cable to run to where the digital piano will be set up.
3. Does the PA have 1/4 inch audio inputs?
4. Will there be someone on staff at the venue that can control the mix between the microphone and piano?
5. If the ceremony is outdoors is there a way to run a very long power cable to the site? The long cable must have multiple power outlets or a power strip (one for the piano, one for the PA system or combo amp). We do not provide this cable.

If there is no PA system at the venue of the ceremony you will need one for the guests to hear the piano. A combo amp (an amp with a speaker in a single box) is another option. We have both available.

If there is a singer they can use a mic connected to the same PA system. Or the singer can sing without the aid of a mic if the venue is a church with a natural reverb. But if the ceremony is outdoors and there are more than 20 people in attendance not all guests will be able to hear the singer unless they are singing with a microphone connected to a PA system.

Questions you WILL NEED answered if you want a piano player during the reception

There are a few options with questions that need to be answered in either scenario:

A. Connect to the DJ system

1. At the venue of the reception, will there be a PA system that will be used for speeches or MCs? In many cases this will be the DJ system with a microphone, which is a a DJ/PA combo system the DJ will bring. You or your wedding planner will need to ask the DJ if their mixer has a pair of 1/4 inch or RCA inputs that the DJ will allow the piano to be connect to. We need to know which type (RCA or 1/4 inch) so we may provide the correct cables to you. Please note the piano player will need to be in the vicinity of the DJ to make this work. The audio cables we provide are about 8 feet long. Longer cable runs will need a direct box system with XLR cables, all of which we have available.
2. How far away do you want the piano from the DJ setup? You will also need a power cable to run to where the digital piano will be set up.

B. Connecting to a separate PA system

The piano will need to connect to a PA system or combo amp. This requires less coordination since it does not involve the DJ. And it will be necessary if there is no DJ system or system you can connect to in the venue. The only question is: if there will be no DJ, will there be a singer or do you want to allow people to make speeches, toasts, ect so all guests can be hear them in a large venue? If there are no singers or speeches, you can use a combo amp. If there will be a singer or speeches, you will need a PA system since only a PA system can accommodate microphones. We have a PA system for rent.

Combo Amp vs PA System

A PA system can also accommodate microphones. A combo amp (an amp with a speaker in a single box) cannot accommodate a singer’s microphone. A PA system also usually consists of 2 speakers, which are usually set on each side of the venue.

We hope this guide has helped you figure out if you need just a digital piano, a digital piano and a combo amp, or a digital piano and a PA system. If it has not, please connect us with the answers to the questions above.