A Backup Plan if Your Wedding Entertainment Fails
Nobody likes to think of disaster on their wedding day.
But the unexpected does occur.
What can you do if your wedding entertainment or DJ can’t make it? Something could happen like…
• Sickness or Accident
• Equipment Failure
• Total inexperience-he shows up but has no idea how to create a party, and he’s nothing like you expected?
Hey… It happens and it could happen at your wedding. When you hire your DJ, ask him if he has backup gear in the event of equipment breakdown.
Does he bring it with him?
If not, how far away is it?
If he becomes dreadfully ill on your wedding day, does he have an associate who is willing and available to fill the void?
These are vital questions to ask when you book your entertainment because…
No Music = No Fun.
What if you and your friends have to figure out an entertainment solution?
Wedding Music Backup Plan
One of the simplest options is have an iPod with at least three to four hours of Easy Listening music and three to four hours of solid dancing songs, already loaded and ready to go.
Prepare for this contingency ahead of your wedding. The two of you can do this alone, or make a party of it with your attendants.
Create your playlists on your iPods or MAC / Notebook Computer.
Assign one group to create a playlist for Easy Listening music, and the other group can put together a playlist for dance songs.
From these lists you can burn as many CDs as you need to cover your reception.
There are some tips for mixing genres and beats that will help you create a more interesting mix for the guests.
The first is to play two or three songs from one genre before switching to another.
From my experience as a DJ attending many, many weddings, believe me when I tell you: The same genre played for a long time can get a little repetitive for your diverse generation of guests.
Besides the genre, it’s also a good idea to change the tempo about every three or four songs. Different genres typically play at different beats per minute.
Start with some slower standards or even Rhythm & Blues, which plays at around 90 beats per minute. Most Pop songs play at 125-140 beats per minute, which just happens to be the same as the average human heart rate during exercise such as -guess what- dancing!
Your guests will move onto and off of the dance floor every three or four songs, to take a breather or get a drink. The tempo of the music serves as a subconscious signal to people. The trick is to start with the slower music and then boost the tempo every three or four songs.
Eventually you’ll reach a pounding, fast beat-double the speed of RnB then you drop it back down again.
This is something a professional DJ knows how to do.
And only a professional knows how to work the crowd, when to interject comments and how to introduce segments of your wedding.
But if you’re preparing for emergencies, then pay attention to this as you put your own playlist together.
These playlist/s won’t do you any good if you don’t have a first-rate way to play them.
So the second thing you need is a sound system.
You could get away with a decent home sound system, but I very strongly recommend hiring some professional equipment.
You should choose something like a couple of Mackie Powered SRM450’s or JBL EON G2 Speakers with a small mixer also.
You don’t need to worry about extraneous equipment such as speaker stands and so forth. You’ll only be using this as a backup plan if worst comes to worst.
You can place these speakers on the floor.
You will need a few cables and an RCA to 3.5mm jack to hook your ipod/music player to the mixer.
A sound equipment hire store will be able to provide all of this for you. If your venue does not have an in-house microphone, we suggest renting a Microphone also.
The cost of this depends on how resourceful you are, but you may be able to “borrow” an iPod and sound system from one of your guests to save even more dollars.
It’s important to test the backup system at your home a few days before or at least have one of your guests test it.
If you’ve hired a solid and reliable DJ or band that you have 100% faith in, then use your best judgment.
If you’re not so sure…implement the “No Worries Backup Plan”
In case you’re wondering, it is possible to iPod a Wedding in Full, but we generally do not recommend it over using a “real human” entertainer.
A good DJ or band will be able to pick up on your guests’ vibe and turn that into a great celebration.
It takes a professional to know the right songs to match the vibe. An iPod, jukebox or computer will never be able to do that.