No! Not weddings. (Shame on you!)
Wedding fairs.
Listen. They're a necessary evil. Planning a wedding, very likely, is an exercise in extreme imagination for you because, chances are, you've never done it before. That's what makes wedding fairs so great. You can see, hear, and taste the things you're considering spending boo-koo bucks for - from catered goodies and photography, to harp players and yes, wedding bands.
But they're annoying.
Though, probably not for you. You're so excited about your event, you probably can't see straight. Heck, I'd played a ton of weddings by the time I was planning my own, and I still went to a wedding fair with a friend. Of course, she was a little more excited than me, but dude: FREE CAKE.
So, why are they so annoying for me? Because it's annoying to watch wedding vendors who take themselves too seriously vie for optimum viewing positions and eyeballing each others' displays like, "Hmmm... I see she's decided to go with a display of physical albums as opposed to my brilliant video presentation...." It's like any business convention you've ever been to, at which multiple vendors work hard to be seen. The health of these businesses depend greatly on whether people stop, pop an hors d'oeuvre in their mouths or pick up a pretzel and wave it through the cascade o' chocolate and then decide, I must have these guys in my fairy tale.
I guess it's not even fair for me to call wedding fairs "annoying," as much as they are comical. Only, just as I'm about to point and laugh, I realize: I'm a vendor. Or, to be more correct, I work for a vendor. Either way, it'd definitely smack of hypocrisy for me to point and laugh. So, back I go to "annoying."
But you must go. You simply must go to these things. Probably only one will fill you up just fine. And do not take your fiancé if he's already skittish about the "circus" factor - there are plenty of clowns at these things. If your fiancé's ever said anything like, "Honey, why do we need to take so many days off for our wedding?" or "What do you mean SIX bridesmaids?" or "Can't I just wear a suit?" or "Why get a DJ when I can just burn a comp cd?" LEAVE HIM AT HOME. Take a girlfriend or a mom. (If you have fun with your mom.)
A NOTE ABOUT FOOD:
When choosing your caterer, consider what it'll cost to feed the band, should you choose to be saintly and do so. I am on a high. Two gigs in a row, we have been fed so beautifully, I almost felt like a guest at the party. This doesn't always happen, and I'm not saying you HAVE to. But for points that really count toward good karma, feeding musicians is high on the list. Musicians, for the most part, are really good people. They do what they do, not because it makes money (SNORT!), but because they love to be loved and love even more to put beautiful sounds out in the world (even if you force us to perform "Milkshake" at your wedding, which is NOT beautiful.) So feeding the band is very kind. The boxed lunch option is certainly one way to go. But when we get to eat the exact food we've been smelling and watching you eat... oh, mama. That's noice.
Here's an example of a recent lovely meal:
Notice the headphones and iPod for last-minute studying of the requested first dance song, as we were eating during the toasts and soon I'd have to sing an obsucre song that meant a lot to the couple but that I'd never heard of until three days before. No pressure. Oh, by the way - good food greatly improves your band's performance! The couple at this wedding, as it turned out, were very pleased with their first dance.
