Hi splinter.

I think to hire or not to hire a wedding band, it all depends on the venue. Most suited if the dinner is held in a nice hotel ball room with just your group of people rather than a traditional restaurant that combines other guest and yours. Very often your guest will not appreciate it. Not all but I guess most of them except for those who are really bored. But is still better than auntie uncle karaoke session which sometimes can be very noisy.

Most importantly is whether will you enjoy the live band yourself. If you do, then by all means hire one. But if yourself is not interested, then maybe you can just save some money and will be better spend on hiring Photo Booth with instant printing instead.

A 3 piece wedding band can be from hundreds to thousands. So you might need to survey a bit.

Just my 2 cents worth. In the end, is really up to you to do what you think is best.

Cheers........