Everyone wishes for great weather for their perfect day. But what happens when it’s NOT ideal? What happens when it ends up raining or storming? Weather risks are real, but this doesn’t have to be a dampener for your special day. (To be honest, it can be even better with your photos – I have seen some of the most impressive photos taken in the rain!)
Recently, I had an experience at a wedding where the couple chose not to change locations and hoped that the predicted storm didn’t hit. It did – 3 times! Not just one cell, but three storm cells hit over the duration of the reception!
The venue, whilst having a roof, didn’t have any sides, so when the storms came in the rain absolutely drenched the venue. I saw the weather warnings and prepared by bringing a large tarp. When the first cell hit, I used the tarp to cover my gear but left the music playing, as I wanted to do everything I could to keep the event going because the couple were so lovely.
Sadly, the storm got so bad that no matter how far I moved my speaker in, it was still getting wet. This now posed not only potential damage to my ($4500) speaker system but also a real health and safety hazard – because water and electricity do not mix well!
I had to completely stop, pack up the speaker system, put it back in the bags and rush back to my gear covered in a tarp to try to secure it from the wind. Water was pooling on top of the tarp and I was starting to get concerned about how to get the tarp off without it pouring directly into my DJ equipment. I got some staff to help and we managed to get through it.
I then reset everything, including the speaker system, only to have the second storm cell move in just 20 minutes later. It was an exact repeat of the first time. Then later in the night the third cell arrived, and again I had to stop.
The couple still had a great night and understood that I had to stop for safety reasons. However, compared to moving to the indoor option, it wasn’t ideal. An indoor venue would have meant no stopping and restarting of the music. To make it worse, water got into some of my equipment and shut the music off at the worst possible time – right in the middle of the bridal dance!
It took me 15 minutes to work around the water damage and get the music going again.
I didn’t want to let weather risks impact the event, however my contract clearly stipulates that if I deem the weather could cause damage or safety concerns, I have the right to pack up and cease the event entirely. I didn’t do that for this wedding, but if this scenario happened again, I very well could, as I took a risk that could have ended with more damage or someone getting electrocuted.
In conclusion, it might be disappointing to have weather impact your event, but if you have the option to move to an indoor space – do it! The weather risks at this event affected the music, the equipment, and the comfort of the guests who were getting wet.
Warmly,
