Outdoor weddings
...Outdoor Weddings and Rain.
What can I say. I have to admit that although outdoor weddings can be stunning events, they're a bit of a nightmare for the musicians. For starters, wedding vendors generally desire having as few elements as possible that are completely out of their control, and weather is a pretty big one. Possibly second only to colossal waves rocking a cruise ship event. Nothing like mother nature to remind one of one's human frailty.
Last September I played a wedding at Alba Vineyards in New Jersey near the Delaware River. I knew ahead of time that this was an outdoor event. The ensemble booked was a classical guitar & cello duo, and we had a good two hour drive from New York City, during which time it thundered, lightninged and rained. Experiencing the meaning of irony first-hand, I realized that I never discussed with the bride her back-up plan in case of inclement weather. Surely they would move the wedding indoors. Right?
As we got closer to Milford, the rain stopped, but the sky still looked like the thunder god Thor might descend at any moment with a lightning bolt in one hand. The guitarist and I found the ceremony set up under the vines...it appeared they planned to go on with the ceremony outside. Despite the wetness and potential for more torrential downpours. Hmm. I informed the guitarist that at the first drop of rain, we would make a mad dash with our instruments to his car, which was parked a few vines back from the ceremony site. We managed to get through the ceremony without the need to leg it to the car--the rain threatened to return but, like the resurrection of the Spice Girls, the threat was idle.
I have since added a rider to our contract requiring a back-up plan for outdoor events in case of inclement weather. Professional musicians have rather expensive instruments which really shouldn't be outside even on a good day. Rain and excessive heat or cold is like kryptonite to us.
Wedding Tip #9: If you're planning to get married outdoors, discuss with your musicians ahead of time what will happen in the event of rain. The last thing you want is for your ceremony musicians to refuse to perform because there is not adequate cover for their instruments in the case of inclement weather.
Until the next wedding,
Alice Hamlet, Director
www.tenstringsmusicstudio.com
Monday, March 31, 2008
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1 comments:
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