Last year when Hurricane Irene brought her force and might to New Jersey and surrounding states, I remember that panicked phone call from the Bride of the wedding for the approaching Saturday that Irene was supposed to wreak havoc. The venue in Hoboken had cancelled due to closing to prepare for the storm. She and her family are from London. She moved here a few years ago and met the man she was marrying soon after. Her family and friends from England all had already flown in and paid for the travels to be here with her. She wanted to somehow still get married on Saturday, even if that meant a smaller, simpler version with just those who were able to be there and celebrate with them and their Wedding DJ.
She wanted to still get married on Saturday, even if smaller, simpler version & DJ
Her mother took over the situation and spent over four hours on the phone calling venues throughout the New Jersey and New York City area. She finally found one that would do a simple, shortened Ceremony and Reception! It was the Hyatt in Newark New Jersey near the Newark International Airport. Next was the call to me to see if I would be willing to still be their Wedding DJ on Saturday in the storm. “Of course”, I said, Yes I would still DJ your wedding!” We immediately started planning her Wedding again with new twists and turns.
It was a littlie rough getting to the hotel on Saturday afternoon, I won’t lie. It wasn’t treacherous by any sense, but not gentle either. The staff at the hotel were very nervous and anxious about putting a Wedding together in two days complete with Officiant, Cake, Food, service staff and rooms. I had the Wedding DJ part covered, which they were very happy to know. They did a very solid job and if you didn’t know any better, might not have even noticed the flurry of activity happening all at once to prepare for their Wedding, while the Wedding DJ was setting up his BOSE DJ equipment.
Last night, a little more than a year later from Irene, Hurricane Sandy was even more devastating. We lost power around 1:20am last night and they say it will be 7-10 days before it is returned. I took a deep breath and acknowledged how grateful I am that I do not have any Weddings schedule for this weekend, because not sure how I would be able to make it work.
Then I thought about it a little longer and deeper and realized I could find a way to charge up my MacBook so it will run for several hours. I can also figure out how to charge up my mini portable PA system that lasts for 4-5 hours. I have an iPhone with djay software to play music as a back up of excellent music and fun at the Wedding if my MacBook battery doesn’t last long enough. It might not be the same as my outstanding BOSE L1 system but it would work and The Bride and Groom would have exceptional music and fun at their Wedding. As much as technology can make things more complicated, it can also help us meet needs in an emergency. As a music purist, it would drive me crazy playing through my small portable Pyle Pro system and not the BOSE but it would be fine and the Wedding would go on!
DJs and Dancers Weathering The Storm
