When Things Go Wrong: How Wedding Vendors Keep Your Day Running Smoothly

00:00 Welcome to we love that for you, a wedding podcast with personality, perspective and plenty of heart. We are Chris and Jackie from Lime Line Entertainment and we’re here to help you plan your best day ever without the stress.

00:30 vendor chemistry. The chemistry between our couples and their vendors. But also we mentioned the chemistry between the vendors themselves. So today we’ve got a story that proves exactly why vendor to vendor chemistry can make or break a wedding day with one of your stories.

00:52 So this is obviously a moment. I’m sure you’re never going to forget. And you know So I want to ask you, if you remember the story that you told me about that time, that a photographer you noticed in the middle of introductions, that a photographer felt something felt a little off about those introductions

01:16 . You were just tapped into that photographer’s energy, and you just knew something was going on. Tell us about it. Yeah, definitely.

01:25 So really quick, like a real quick recap, you know, vendor to vendor chemistry. It’s really just all about having a mutual respect for each other, working smoothly together.

01:32 And really understanding what the overall goal is here. The overall goal is to provide our clients with the best possible experience on their wedding day.

01:42 So, we all have to kind of be on that same page in order to deliver just a smooth, flawless day for them.

01:51 So just kind of like a quick recap on vendor chemistry. But anyway, I do remember that specific moment that you’re talking about really wild.

02:02 So basically what happened was, I was getting ready to do my welcoming in the beginning of the reception and the reception introductions.

02:12 So I go outside, I’m lining up the parents, the wedding party, getting the bride and groom. I’ll hyped up ready for their introductions.

02:20 and then I come in, walk out on the floor, give my welcoming, and I start introducing everyone. As I’m introducing everyone, I start to notice about halfway through the wedding party that the something’s off with the photographer, right?

02:41 They have this like kind of like look a panic and I’m like, I gotta go figure out what’s going on.

02:48 You know, and I’m trying to make this look smooth too, right? You were able to observe all this. I was, so all in the middle of your production.

02:55 Yeah, as I’m, as I’m introducing the wedding party, I’m literally also looking at the photographer at the same time and seeing that something is wrong, realizing that something’s wrong in saying to myself in my head, I, I need to fix this.

03:10 I need to find out what’s going on. But I also need to make this look smooth for, you know, the 200 people that are staring at you right now.

03:17 stop and have a conversation with the photographer. Yeah, I can’t just, I can’t just stop. So, so I, right before I introduced the bride and the groom, I hype up the crowd.

03:31 I’m like, all right, ladies and gentlemen, that does it for a wedding party. So who’s ready for the bride and groom out there?

03:35 That gives the crowd, you know, a chance to cheer, be excited as they’re cheering. I literally, you know, run up to the photographer really quick and say, hey, what’s going on?

03:47 Find out that her camera is malfunctioning. Her camera is malfunctioning. She has no backup camera, unfortunately, at this time. And she’s freaking out because she’s like, I don’t know what I’m going to do.

04:02 I don’t know what I’m going to do. I’m not going to be able to photograph their first dance. And then I was like, all right, you know, audible.

04:09 We’ve got to switch things up, you know. Yeah. And, you know, this all happened probably within less than 10 seconds, less than 10 seconds, you know?

04:19 You gotta make this decision. So I just told her, I didn’t necessarily have a play in my head at that exact moment, but I told her, I was like, don’t worry about it.

04:28 I got you. So then I introduced the bride and the groom, they came in and, you know, they were all excited.

04:37 everybody, you know, all the guests were excited. It was really, really fun. And then rather than going right into their first dance, I just completely switched things up.

04:47 I was like, all right, you know, you know, we introduced a bride and a groom and I was like, all right, we’re gonna kick things off.

04:55 We’re gonna get this party started. Everyone, come on out to the dance floor. It’s not just a fun tonight. And then I immediately, like, signal to my DJ assistant, like, hey, you know, play something they’re fun and exciting.

05:05 We’re not going into the first dance. They went right into, you know, a pop dance song. It was really, really fun.

05:12 And then all of a sudden, you know, we opened up the dance floor. And the bride and groom were like, kind of like a little, little thrown off.

05:22 Yeah, they were like, what’s going on right now? But I walked over to them immediately. I was like, guys, listen, we had to switch things up.

05:28 We’re opening up your dance floor right now. We had a little malfunction with the camera. I wanna make sure that your first dance is photographed.

05:39 We can’t miss that moment for you, you know. I’m sure they were really thankful. I don’t want you looking back on your day and your photos and saying, oh my God, we don’t have any pictures of our first dance.

05:54 I’m sure they were really thankful. So thankful, you know, they were like, oh my God, That was amazing. I can’t believe you you pulled that off in the matter of like seconds, you know, and I was again no problem, you know, we got you and then it gave time for the photographer to troubleshoot what was

06:13 going on and I think we danced them for like 10 minutes photographer fixed her camera got everything up and running and then after that we sat everyone down and then we went into their first dance and they’re in their parent dances and their speeches and then the a couple came up to me again later on

06:32 and thanked me and they were like, I don’t know what we would have done without you in that moment. And, you know, that made me feel really good.

06:41 And I felt great that I was able to, you know, assist in that in that moment. Save the day. Yeah.

06:49 Like literally save the day. Yeah. So in that moment, what was going through your mind? Like was it instinct, instinct experience?

06:57 or do you think it was a little bit of both? All of the above, absolutely. Because if you’re, um, I mean.

07:05 Or was it like because your wife is a photographer? Yes, yes. It absolutely has to do with you being a photographer.

07:12 For sure, but I was like, You better pay attention to those photographers out there. You better take care of them.

07:18 You’re always in the back of my head, absolutely. But, no, seriously, yeah. It definitely comes down to, um, experience, It’s a big thing, right, because if you have an unexperienced DJ out there, they may panic, right?

07:35 They may say, oh my God, I don’t know what to do because I’m introducing the bride and a groom. It’s going to be weird if I don’t go into their first dance.

07:45 How do I make this look good? How do I make this look good? I’m going to look funny. I don’t know what to do.

07:50 If you have that, I don’t know what to do, like, nervousness, then it’s not gonna look smooth. It’s, you know, and yeah, then everyone’s gonna be looking at you, like, what is this guy doing?

08:07 What’s up with the flow of this event? Like, what’s happening right now? Things are falling apart. You have to, you know, true professionals, you have to be able to go with the flow.

08:16 You have to realize in a live event and that, okay, things may go smoothly. Awesome, love that. But then there’s a lot of times in a live event where you just need to be able to react and you need to be able to go with the flow.

08:33 Because if you don’t, you know, people, the guests are gonna feel that, you know? So yeah, experience definitely has a lot to do with it.

08:45 Natural instinct as well, just having that ability just to kind of like stand top of your toes and be able to kind of pivot when needed.

08:58 Yeah, yeah, it’s almost like like our kids in theater where they’re like the show must go on. The show must go on.

09:06 Exactly. And any true professional, any true professional wedding DJ is going to understand that. The show must go on. Yeah, oh yeah.

09:16 You have to do what I have to do in order to make this smooth and work. Yeah. Well, question, how common do you feel it is for vendors to step in like that?

09:28 And is this the kind of teamwork a couple should expect when they hire a strong vendor team? When you hire a strong vendor team, you should absolutely expect, you know, a seamless this, what’s the word, a seamless production amongst the entire crew.

09:54 That’s why hiring a group of vendors that either have worked together a lot or are a team is really, really important because, I mean, listen, I can work with anyone, I can work smoothly with anybody.

10:15 One, but that’s not the case with other vendors. I’ve definitely been in situations before where other vendors kind of hold me back and don’t really have that mutual respect.

10:26 Their ego gets in the way. Yeah, they just don’t have that mutual respect. It’s like all about them and not about the team.

10:33 It’s about their service, their product, their end result, and forget everyone else. I have two. I have worked with vendors like that as well.

10:42 Yeah, I mean, I’ve worked with a photographer. Thankfully, not as, you know, very little, but. Yeah, I mean, I’ve worked with a photographer before who I was trying to, I was trying to start reception introductions and no, I was trying to start the first dance.

10:58 So this is, yeah, this was an outdoor wedding. It was transitioning from cocktail hour straight into just first dance. There was no like formal introductions.

11:09 So it was on a private property and the cocktail hour was on one end of the property, the reception was on another end of the property, and it was a really big property.

11:19 So we were getting ready to, the guests had already transitioned from the cocktail hour space to the reception space. We were getting ready to start the first dance, and we’re just waiting for the photographer, the photographer is just chilling in the cocktail hour space, and I’m like, I said to my assistant

11:38 , can you please go get them? like we got to get things going, you know, guests are getting restless. The couple’s asking me, hey, when are we going to get started?

11:46 I was like, listen, I’m just waiting for your photographer because I don’t want them to be able to, you know, I don’t want them to miss this.

11:53 It came to a point where the couple was like, we don’t even care. We just want to get this started.

11:59 Let’s get this started. But anyway, it just all gets back to like, listen, you know, vendors should really have a mutual respect for each other.

12:06 Communicate well. Communicate well and really understand that the main goal here is to create an amazing day, an amazing experience for the client.

12:16 Yeah, yeah. I agree. I’ve heard stories. I wasn’t a participant of this story, but a Matrede just told me a story about a DJ who, like, it was time to get the dancefloor started, and they took, like, a 45-minute dinner.

12:31 Like, they sat down and they’re like, I’ll get there when I feel like it. And you’re like, are you worried about you?

12:38 Or are you worried about this couple and their day? Yeah. So, you know, and that’s hard. It’s a matriety to a DJ, the vendor to vendor.

12:48 They’re trying to keep the flow of the night. They’re trying to make sure that everyone has a good time. Everyone walks away saying like this was an epic dance party and this was so much fun.

12:58 And meanwhile, this guy’s downstairs eating dinner And his pace and his pace, like he’s never even dinner before, you know, like, I don’t know, I eat and I move on, you know, like, and I know you do too.

13:12 Sometimes you don’t even eat, so. I’ve definitely experienced that as well. Yeah, we’re just like, I’m eating dinner. Okay. Yeah, yeah, exactly.

13:24 Are you here to work or are you here to eat dinner? I pack my dinner and I eat it throughout the day.

13:29 I might pack two and I eat it throughout the day. If I sit down at the vendor meal, it’s a good day, you know?

13:36 Oh, great, you know? Otherwise, like, I’ve packed myself stuff. I will eat when I get home. I will stop at Taco Bell, whatever.

13:46 But yeah, so it is important to have good communication and to have good vendor chemistry. Exactly, and respect mutual respect for each other.

13:55 Yeah, and that will all come naturally when you have a team that, you know, works together on a regular basis.

14:03 Yeah. You know, like when you have a team of entertainers, photographers, videographers who all work together on a regular basis, you’re probably gonna end up getting the most smooth, you know.

14:14 Experience. Experience possible. So with that said, do you think couples realize how much vendor support each other behind the scenes?

14:22 Do you think they know how much we are there for each other? I don’t think so, and it’s not their fault because, you know, it’s not their job either.

14:33 It’s not their job. Exactly. They’re just expecting, you know, they’re just expecting, hey, I’m hiring wedding vendors. I expect them to be professionals, you know, and they’re not out there, you know, behind the scenes doing this every single weekend, so they don’t really know what goes on amongst vendor

14:52 teams. Yeah. Yeah. But it goes back to something we said in a previous episode where, you know, if you hire a team that you trust, it shouldn’t even cross your mind.

15:05 Yeah, exactly. It shouldn’t even cross their mind. You know, how much is being coordinated behind the scenes and, you know, vendor to vendor?

15:12 Yeah, exactly. Because there’s a lot of pieces at the puzzle on a wedding day. Oh, yeah. And, you know, it takes teamwork to put that together to make sure everything runs smoothly.

15:23 Yeah. I think we already answered this question earlier in this conversation, but in your experience, what separates a vendor who works well with others from one who doesn’t?

15:33 Honestly, just mutual respect for each other. Yeah. Really good communication. Great communication. And just really understanding the overall, the end goal, and the end goal, again, I hate to repeat myself, But it’s just to create a flawless experience for the client that day.

15:52 Yeah, you know, so let’s all work together to make sure that that happens. Yeah Let’s all work together to make sure each vendor shines and You know gives the couple the best dad.

16:04 Yeah, exactly like Good communication. I mean, it could be as simple as just introducing yourself in the beginning of the day Oh, yeah, so when when I’m on a job when I’m when I’m working a wedding.

16:15 I will Well, walk up to the photographer, the videographer, whoever it may be. I will introduce myself. Hey, I’m Chris, I’m the DJ tonight.

16:25 I’m gonna make sure that I notify you guys of everything that’s happening, this way you’re ready and in place, this way you can do your jobs at a best of your ability.

16:36 And everyone always says to me, that’s amazing. Wow, you’re one of the best DJs I’ve ever worked with because I’m keeping them informed.

16:44 You know, I’m not just going from one formality to the next and just hoping that they’re there. They’re ready. Exactly.

16:51 I know, but that’s training from me too. I mean, it’s on you, but I’ve also been there to help guide you into what a photography or a videography or other vendor team needs, but that also is something I see when I don’t work with our teams.

17:08 I either have DJs walk up to me and prep me for the entire day. and I love that, and I think when we come home at night and we talk about our wedding nights, it helps us grow as a team too, you know, or as a vendor.

17:24 It helps us grow when we go out, you know, and work. But like, I love when a DJ walks up and introduces himself, let’s us know what’s going on.

17:34 Let’s us know, you know, what formalities are happening. How many speeches are occurring, you know, And that speaks volumes to us as a team.

17:43 And it means that they’re there to work with me. Because I’ve had other situations where the DJ did not do that, where the band did not do that.

17:52 And they were very, very distant, very, very uncommunicative. And then I was literally photographing the cake with my light stands on the cake and they’re starting introductions.

18:04 Now my light stands are not anywhere near where they’re supposed to be for introductions. and this DJ is announcing the first couple to walk through the room and my lightstands are not prepared for it.

18:15 I’m in a room where I could make it work. It’s not going to be my preference of level of photography, but now I’m scrambling to get my assistant to move my lightstands to where they need to be for that introduction and it’s all happening so rapidly and it’s just a mutual respect.

18:32 It’s a communication thing, you know, where it’s just like you just left me hanging and I had no idea that we were starting.

18:40 I’m like, I’m zoned in on this cake right now. Yeah, absolutely, it’s just, it’s so simple. Just introduce yourself, say hello and talk about the event and talk about, ask the other vendors, what can I do to help you out?

18:57 What can I do to make your job easier, you know? And then I will communicate with them, like, you know, if I need anything, I typically don’t, but we’ll have that conversation.

19:11 There’s so many times where other vendors will walk into a room and they’re just distant. They don’t say hello. It’s just weird.

19:21 It’s awkward. It’s like, hey, we’re all here together. Hi. Excited for today. Whatever. It’s all good. So I think we’ve really touched on this, but I don’t know if you have anything else to add, but from your point of view, how does a DJ and photographer working together make the day smoother for the

19:43 couple? Everything we just talked about, really. Yeah, the high level of communication, making sure that the photographer is there when you start your formalities.

19:53 Yeah. Your little check-in before each toast is so helpful, the little check-ins before introductions, all those check-ins, are you guys ready?

20:05 100% is important. Otherwise what we don’t catch or we might not be prepared for those moments. Yeah, exactly. So examples of communication, things that I always do are after I line up the wedding party.

20:22 So you’re at the beginning of the reception. I line up the wedding party for introductions. And before I walk out on the floor and give my walk-o-make speech, I will go up to the photographer, um, and the videographer and say, all right, you guys ready?

20:39 Yeah. They give me a thumbs up. Boom. I go. Uh, then that ensures that that team’s ready. They’re ready. They’re ready to capture it.

20:47 You know, everything’s going to be nice. And then, um, we usually run right through the first dance, the parent dances, because they’re obviously clearly ready at that point.

20:56 And then after the parent dances, we break, right? We break for about five minutes and get ready for speeches. So then when I’m ready to give speeches, I will go up to the photographer and videographer and check in with them again to make sure that they’re ready to capture that because sometimes they’re

21:16 not. Sometimes they get a put a lighting stand in place or whatever it may be. But I’m constantly checking in with other vendors before I move forward with any formality just to ensure that they’re ready and they can do their job at the best of their ability, their ability, and you know, everything runs

21:35 smooth for the client. And on the flip side, what I like to do also is I like to make sure that if we need to take the couple for any photos during reception, like a night shot, I always will check in and make sure it’s a good time for not only the DJ, but the matraday, just to make sure that I’m not

21:52 taking a couple off the dance floor, you know, you take the couple off the dance floor, you’re taking the party out of the room.

21:58 Yeah, exactly. That’s happened to me so many times. You know, and then you go to announce something for the couple you don’t know they’re not in the room and they’re completely outside across the street.

22:07 You know, again, like I said, I don’t like to take them out of the room at all. They’re the party.

22:12 The party is them. Yeah. You know, even if they’re not the partying type, the party is them and I want to make sure that it’s going to work for everyone before I take them out of the room and, you know.

22:23 Yeah, absolutely. If a photographer. I’m all about photographers getting night shots, right? Yeah, because they’re fun shots. They end up coming out really, really nice.

22:31 Yeah, they are. But I would love if every photographer could communicate that with me. Yeah, I’m going to take them.

22:37 Hey, Chris, I’m going to take the couple out for night shots. We’ll be out for about 10 minutes. Yeah. Great.

22:43 Thank you so much. Yeah. Now I know. Now I know. Don’t play any of their favorite songs Exactly. Exactly. Now I know, oh, I’m not going to play like they’re their specific request, like favorite songs that they want to hear, you know?

22:56 Yeah. I mean, because obviously I have eyes on the dance for it all night, but you never know when a couple was like off to the side or something, you know, deep in conversation or whatever.

23:09 Yeah. So it’s important. That’s for sure. Exactly. So So after seeing something like your introduction story, first hand, what advice would you give a couple who’s trying to pick a photographer?

23:27 I have, I have advice, but go ahead. Based on your introduction story, what advice do you have for a couple choosing a photographer?

23:39 Higher photographer, an entry professional that has backup equipment. book a second photographer book a second photographer. Yeah, I mean there there’s a lot of book a second photographer and make sure that your lead photographer is shooting with two cameras that that would never happen to me.

23:55 Yeah, literally never happen to me. Well, I mean, you know, listen, if you’re hiring a true professional wedding photographer, it’s typically a two-person team, right?

24:04 It should be. And that’s a perfect example of why it should be a two-person team because If there’s an equipment failure number one your lead photographer should have more than one camera on them And then number two you’re you know, it should always be a two-person team this way if something happens 

24:22 You know with for the lead photographer and at least your second photographer is they are capturing that moment Yeah, and there’s never a moment of panic everything will run smoothly.

24:33 Everything will be captured And it’ll all work out. Yeah, you know because again You know live events as much as we want them to go smooth for anyone there there’s always the chance of Some sort of you know, have it always have backups always have a backup plan always have and you need to be ready for

24:55 that. Yeah. Yeah I agree. I a 100% agree Do you think that moments like this show the difference between hobby level vendors and seasoned pros clearly?

25:09 I think we already answered that question with the question before this question. Yeah, 100% I agree. I agree Yeah, so I mean the moral of the story is higher true professionals that work well with other vendors as well as have that chemistry with you and And make sure that you hire professionals with

25:30 backup equipment But yeah, this is exactly why choosing the right photographer matters in the next episode we’re going to break down the questions you have to ask to make sure your photographers prepared, skilled, and most importantly the right fit for your day.

25:47 And remember wherever you’re planning and whatever you are dreaming, we love that for you. Thank you so much for hanging out with us today.

25:55 If this episode was helpful, make sure you follow or subscribe so you don’t miss what’s coming next. We love hearing from you, so if you have a question, a planning struggle, or an episode an idea, email me at Jackie at LimelightEntretainment and J dot com.

26:09 There’s a really good chance for question becomes a future episode. And if you’re planning a New Jersey wedding and want vendors who truly care, you can find us at LimelightWetting.com.

26:19 And remember wherever you’re planning and whatever you’re dreaming, we love that for you.