Years ago I was the MC at a wedding at a nice Auckland venue. The schedule started to run just slightly behind somewhere between the entrée’ and dinner. Turns out one of the ovens had completely died. Because this venue cared about their business and their clients, they had more “oven power” than absolutely necessary meaning that although a little slow, they were able to get the job done.
On the flip side, a different Auckland venue has it’s own sound system and has been “encouraging” DJs to use it, suggesting they can leave their gear at home.
During a recent event, this venue’s sound system failed. Luckily the DJ that was there that night was one of the best in town and had his own speaker system on stand by, just in case, as any professional would. I’m glad everything worked out, but I can’t help wondering what would have happened that DJ wasn’t there. What if the DJ had trusted that system, or the client just needed an iPod that night?
Just to be clear, there’s no need to name the venue – people will only think I have an axe to grind or something.
From time to time, a client thinks to ask me what sort of back up I have as a professional DJ. I have most things covered, I think, carrying a spare everything – CDs, hard drives, a spare computer, mouse and keyboard, plenty of spare cables, speakers, amps and so on.
Most videographers and photographers I’ve worked with carry spare cameras, lenses, batteries, and so on.
It’s important that you trust the professionals who are helping you on your wedding day. You probably don’t need to go into a lot of detail about exactly WHAT their back up is, but it’s something you should discuss with them when considering who to hire. And yes, if your venue offers a sound system as part of the package, see if they have a plan B too – especially if they are charging you for it on top of the venue hire itself.
