In the middle of the seating of the parents, James darted up from his chair, tossed his violin in the case, and ran for the cover of a large oak tree directly behind the ceremonial area. Tiny water droplets were beginning to hit the top of my $60,000 violin, so I suggested that we all move under the tree and continue the ceremony as best as we could acoustically. Just 30 mins ago under grey cloud cover, I asked the wedding coordinator if the couple had a rain plan.. “No, they refused to even consider it,” she said with a humorous smile.
Relocating the string quartet under the tree seemed like the best solution at the time, but I’ll paint the picture a little more for you. This was an elaborately expensive Texas Hill Country wedding with no expense spared. Guests from locations all over the globe were shuttled in to enjoy cocktails before the ceremony, while our classical music was piped through an expensive, hi-resolution Bose speaker system. Four mikes on stands, and an elaborate labyrinth of audio cables weaved around us and the guest seating area. This electrical sound reinforcement maze was designed by a high end sound company all the way from Houston, and monitored remotely on an ipad, by Biff, the sound guy. This couple wanted it to sound good, and every guest from the front row to their 80 year old great aunt in the back was going to understand every word.
It wasn’t immediately clear to Biff, that the decision to save our priceless instruments from rainfall was a completely necessary one. Biff angrily scrambled to find five workers to quickly reposition all of the sound equipment, while I continued to play, and take cues from the coordinator. Then, the wedding party processed and landed directly in front of the quartet cutting off my line of sight to the coordinator cues. I had to stop playing, run 15 feet to relay the cues to the 3 remaining musicians to avoid missing the cue for the bride. What a workout!
We pulled it off and very few even noticed what was going on but it was a close one!
A couple of points you must consider:
1) Have some kind of rain (inclement) weather plan, even if your part of the woods has been in a drought for years. Here’s a nice article on how to have a wedding in the rain.
2) If you decide to have an outdoor wedding, be aware that most musicians will flat out refuse to play in the rain, direct sunlight, or cold/icy situations. Consider a venue that has both indoor and outdoor options and make sure its available on the day of your wedding.
3) If you’re planning to have friends or amateurs play at your wedding, ask yourself:
Do you think they would know what to do when things go wrong?
If you’re ok with cues being missed, ackward silences or pauses, and your friends being under a little stress, rather than getting to enjoy the wedding,...then consider your friends...and save a little $ as well.
Otherwise, hire professionals that know what to do when Murphy’s law visits your special day.
If you are even remotely obsessed with making sure your wedding day goes off perfectly, then go to the pros.
Its ok to have a little worry, just remember to have a sense of humor if something does go wrong.
That’s all for today,
Will Taylor - 512-775-2371
P.S. If you’re interested in professionals handling your wedding music, put “Austin Wedding Band” in your cell phone now: 512-775-2371 or visit here and we’ll give you a free price quote over coffee, tea, skype or in person.. Ask about our Attached at the Hip package.
Relocating the string quartet under the tree seemed like the best solution at the time, but I’ll paint the picture a little more for you. This was an elaborately expensive Texas Hill Country wedding with no expense spared. Guests from locations all over the globe were shuttled in to enjoy cocktails before the ceremony, while our classical music was piped through an expensive, hi-resolution Bose speaker system. Four mikes on stands, and an elaborate labyrinth of audio cables weaved around us and the guest seating area. This electrical sound reinforcement maze was designed by a high end sound company all the way from Houston, and monitored remotely on an ipad, by Biff, the sound guy. This couple wanted it to sound good, and every guest from the front row to their 80 year old great aunt in the back was going to understand every word.
It wasn’t immediately clear to Biff, that the decision to save our priceless instruments from rainfall was a completely necessary one. Biff angrily scrambled to find five workers to quickly reposition all of the sound equipment, while I continued to play, and take cues from the coordinator. Then, the wedding party processed and landed directly in front of the quartet cutting off my line of sight to the coordinator cues. I had to stop playing, run 15 feet to relay the cues to the 3 remaining musicians to avoid missing the cue for the bride. What a workout!
We pulled it off and very few even noticed what was going on but it was a close one!
A couple of points you must consider:
1) Have some kind of rain (inclement) weather plan, even if your part of the woods has been in a drought for years. Here’s a nice article on how to have a wedding in the rain.
2) If you decide to have an outdoor wedding, be aware that most musicians will flat out refuse to play in the rain, direct sunlight, or cold/icy situations. Consider a venue that has both indoor and outdoor options and make sure its available on the day of your wedding.
3) If you’re planning to have friends or amateurs play at your wedding, ask yourself:
Do you think they would know what to do when things go wrong?
If you’re ok with cues being missed, ackward silences or pauses, and your friends being under a little stress, rather than getting to enjoy the wedding,...then consider your friends...and save a little $ as well.
Otherwise, hire professionals that know what to do when Murphy’s law visits your special day.
If you are even remotely obsessed with making sure your wedding day goes off perfectly, then go to the pros.
Its ok to have a little worry, just remember to have a sense of humor if something does go wrong.
That’s all for today,
Will Taylor - 512-775-2371
P.S. If you’re interested in professionals handling your wedding music, put “Austin Wedding Band” in your cell phone now: 512-775-2371 or visit here and we’ll give you a free price quote over coffee, tea, skype or in person.. Ask about our Attached at the Hip package.
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