At least I think it was a catastrophic failure. I had a wedding this past weekend out in the Appalachia's that did NOT go well. It was an American legion hall wedding with the ceremony in a separate room and the reception in a different one. The ceremony went great. The reception started off okay, but then something went horribly awry.
Take into account that the B & G (early 20's) wanted country, alternative rock, current/top 40, and hip-hop as their music selections. There were roughly 35-40 people at this wedding, and only the bride, groom, best man, and MoH were in there 20's. Everyone else was 50+. So I figure, play a little of everything starting from lighter genres and work up to the harder stuff that the B & G requested later. NOTHING WORKED and I mean NOTHING. The following genres I played with varying decade origins: Country, blue grass, big band, Elvis, easy listening, 80's, and then moved into the requested format.
There were toes tapping from about two people with the lighter stuff in the beginning, but once I started playing what the B & G wanted, I got looks of "You know where you are boy?" from the guests, and people started leaving early...WAY early. The ceremony started at 2pm and the reception wasn't supposed to end until 10pm. I was out of there by 7pm. I sensed a tension in the air between the two families from the get-go, and I don't know the story behind it, but these people just seemed to be pissed off about being there to begin with.
So with that out of the way, what do you do when you sense that people want you dead (lol), and nothing your doing is helping? I'm not one to boast or anything, but every other wedding that I've done I've nailed. This one was an eye-opener for sure that I can't please everyone every time, but what are some ways I could have mitigated the shi**y factor that developed here? Any advice is appreciated as always!
Take into account that the B & G (early 20's) wanted country, alternative rock, current/top 40, and hip-hop as their music selections. There were roughly 35-40 people at this wedding, and only the bride, groom, best man, and MoH were in there 20's. Everyone else was 50+. So I figure, play a little of everything starting from lighter genres and work up to the harder stuff that the B & G requested later. NOTHING WORKED and I mean NOTHING. The following genres I played with varying decade origins: Country, blue grass, big band, Elvis, easy listening, 80's, and then moved into the requested format.
There were toes tapping from about two people with the lighter stuff in the beginning, but once I started playing what the B & G wanted, I got looks of "You know where you are boy?" from the guests, and people started leaving early...WAY early. The ceremony started at 2pm and the reception wasn't supposed to end until 10pm. I was out of there by 7pm. I sensed a tension in the air between the two families from the get-go, and I don't know the story behind it, but these people just seemed to be pissed off about being there to begin with.
So with that out of the way, what do you do when you sense that people want you dead (lol), and nothing your doing is helping? I'm not one to boast or anything, but every other wedding that I've done I've nailed. This one was an eye-opener for sure that I can't please everyone every time, but what are some ways I could have mitigated the shi**y factor that developed here? Any advice is appreciated as always!