“Wedding Season” 2022 is coming to a close with just a handful of special days left on the calendar to entertain full dance floors of enthusiastic guests.
As the season draws to a close, I always look back on how things have gone and this year there’s been a worrying trend! More worrying, it’s something that could cost thousands to put right and see me off the road for several months!
You see that black lump of glowing buttons behind me in the photo? That’s “mission control”. It’s several thousand pounds worth of electronic wizardry which runs the sound AND the lighting for the party.
Add in the cost of the music stored on the hard drive and you’re looking at nearer to £100k….it’s one HELL of an investment. The headphones alone cost nearly £300 and the mics are nearly £500 (drop one of those during a speech and you’ll be paying for a replacement…trust me!)
That piece of equipment is how I make my living. I don’t have another job….I don’t do anything else other than make parties happen.
It’s my livelihood!
And yet….at many of the weddings and parties I’ve worked at this year I’ve taken the opportunity for a quick “comfort break” (I’m only human despite some of the rumours!) and whilst answering the call of nature have heard the music suddenly change or a “scratching” attempt happening.
Yes folks….somebody has gone behind the booth and started to play!
And it’s really NOT funny despite how amusing it may seem to them at the time. As already mentioned, these are the tools that I use to pay my wages, to pay the rent, to put food on the table!
They’re NOT TOYS!
The equipment I use is very sensitive, professional grade stuff. You NEED to know how to work it to avoid things like blowing speaker cones (my PA system alone cost nearly £5,000).
Any damage to the equipment can be VERY costly and involve a VERY long time off the road…and as a professional business, time is sadly money (and no, there IS no insurance policy which will cover damage of this type – trust me…I’ve checked!)
Put it this way…a lot of the equipment is made in China.
They’re still going through various Covid lockdowns so stuff isn’t getting manufactured in the quantities it used to be – the wait times for some of the kit is 3-6 months at the moment – that’s an entire “wedding season”!
Add to this the global shortage of microchips and dare I mention the additional red tape of Brexit in getting stuff into the UK at the moment….and if something goes wrong because a drunken guest has decided in a moment of madness that they’re a superstar DJ….it can be both costly and a long wait for even replacement parts.
Although I have backup kit, there’s a limit as to what I can take out and use without being completely exposed to failures and letting clients down. Trust me….there’s a clause in my contract (and I’m NOT afraid to use it) which says that such behaviour means I’m able to turn off and go home with absolutely no second chances or refunds….it’s that simple!
Now I’m not a miserable old bugger by any means, but….
Would you dream of picking up the photographer’s camera and running off a few shots?
Would you even think of jumping behind the wheel of the wedding cars to “have a go”?
And don’t even think about jumping behind the bar to play at being a bartender!
In everyday life away from weddings and parties…would you jump behind an empty checkout in the supermarket to pretend to be a cashier?
No – I didn’t think so!
So WHY do you think you can jump into MY work area and “have a go” with my tools?
Sorry – rant over but it’s something that’s affecting the industry like you wouldn’t believe at the moment and it costs us money and time to put things right. Ultimately, those costs have to be passed on.
And on the subject of damage…..
This year alone:
Both of my “Rustic” booths have been damaged by drunken guests (and one very drunken bride who actually fell THROUGH one of them!)
A local photo-booth supplier has had her business taken off the road because the frame of the photo-booth has been wrecked by poor behaviour
My all-white PA system is currently off the road due to a guest deciding it’d be a good idea to use it for pole dancing!
I’ve lost a MacBook due to a guest deciding to pour a bottle of beer over it!
My LOVE letters have massive cracks in them because guests decided it’d be a good idea to sit on them!
All of this is going to take time and money to repair. It’s money that could have been feeding my family which is now being spent on repairing/replacing equipment which shouldn’t have been broken in the first place!
So please…
When you hire a DJ or for that fact, any other supplier to make your wedding or party work, PLEASE respect the costs involved in repairing and replacing equipment and bear in mind that this is our 9 ’til 5!
Rant over (I promise!)
