|
When I arrived , the car thermometer showed 49 degrees , yes FORTY-NINE degrees Celsius.The wind was howling in from the north at about 40 knots plus.It was very difficult to even stand up, and so extremely hot I was very uncomfortable.Then a bush fire started in the trees at Sandringham (about 5 km away), and the wind blew smoke all over the site.We almost choked. Someone produced some iced water bottles which was very welcome.
I set up the speakers, one on a one metre stand, the other at ground level. The wind was so strong that I had to make a temporary guy rope for the stand using a spare battery. That worked ok.Time for testing the speakers, I put on the head set microphone and switched on the microphone.All I could hear from the amps was a horrible wind noise, no matter what direction I turned, the wind in the mic was so overpowering it was totally useless.
I went to the standby mic, a standard clip-on dynamic, ha !! Same result. So the mics were rendered in-operable. I reasoned that if the bridal party could be shifted slightly upwind, (Remember we were literally on the rocks at this point), and if I spoke loudly, the wind would carry my voice. That was OK in theory.
There was selected music to be played, as the bride arrived, and at the signing of the register. My assistant was to be my wife, but because of the heat she could not do it, so my son-in- law "volunteered" and performed the task of "button pusher and DJ" at the appropriate times. The wind did not affect the CD player, as it was directly connected to the wireless console that I had constructed, so all was ok in that area.
Then I remembered that I had included my emergency backup PA system, which is a you-bute $300 cheapie from Brian Davies in Queensland. I brought that into service, and although it is only 15 watts or so, it is fully portable, also has a wireless hand mic, a belt pack with button mic, and a head set as well. I tried the hand mic, and because it was less sensitive, IT WORKED. No wind noise, so I placed the little receiver / speaker slightly up wind from the ceremony site, and I had to speak closely into the hand mic, everyone was
able to hear the entire service, including the couples vows. I was amazed. Thi little PA system shone above the high level 50 watts system, that all it turned out good for was playing the music from the CD.
So I had the microphone and music problem solved, next was the service itself.The wind and temperature had dropped slightly, but it was still very oppressive. I had my folder with the service neatly inserted into its plastic pages, luckily I had an extra "bulldog" paper clip (at my wife's suggestion), so that held one of the pages in place OK. But the service was three pages long.
The bride arrived only five minutes late, with the wind blowing her and the two bridesmaids about something terrible, their hair-dos were all over the place, a short flowing skirt was blown over one bridesmaid's head and everyone cheered (well the guys did !), but no- one really cared and it was all very light-hearted. The same thing happened to one of the photographers after the service, so she just stood there, showing all of her underwear and glory, ignored everyone's comments, and continued taking photos to the cheers of the guests.Juggling the folder in one hand and pressing it against my stomach so the wind did not rip it out if my hand, and holding the wireless mic in the other hand was quite a challenge. When I had to turn the page, I asked one of the groomsmen to help me, which he did. So we finally got through the whole service, which was really great. I got a real kick out of reading the Monitum, the Asking, and finally the Declaration and bridal presentation itself.
When we got to the vows, previously I had trouble with the couple completing them, in fact even up to the day prior, the vows had not been completed, so I made up the standard minimum legal set as a standby.
When I asked the groom before the start of the ceremony about the vows, he said yes, they had been done, but he apologised that he did not have the time to email them to me. I said OK.
At the point in the service for the vows, the groom pulled out a bit of paper from his pocket, hand written and about twice the size of a tram ticket (!), and read his vows. They were beautiful and full of love, promises, and commitment. Then I asked the bride for her vows, she said she did not have a pocket, and then commenced reciting her vows from memory. Although she was softly spoken, most people heard what she said, as I poked the microphone almost right up against her cheek, and told her to ignore the mic. She did, and she said her vows faultlessly from memory. So all my previous pushing and worry actually paid off !
Signing the register (2 x F16), previously fully laser printed on heavy 140 gram paper) and marriage certificate (F15) was a dream, we had a small silver table, white cloth, and a chair (produced by the grooms parents, although I had one in the car as well if need be), everyone realised that the wind was so strong that we had lots of assistants to hold the paper work in place. So that little chore went off well. I introduced the couple to wild acclamation from the 80 or so guests there, also there were several other "onlookers" as
well.
Several people came up to me and said how wonderful the service was, they knew it was a struggle with the strong wind, but they could hear everything that was said, even the vows, and although the bride spoke in a whisper, one lady said she could lip-read what she was saying.
I was invited to the reception by the couple, which was held in their parents home on a 5 acre farmlet. It was fully catered for, and although I felt a little awkward being there, I was made most welcome, and also received further good reports as to how the day
went.
So after an hour I went home feeling really chuffed, and that it was all worth the effort I had put into it.
www.bbcelebrant.com.au
Bruce Bathols
Bangholme Victoria
www.bbcelebrant.com.au |
