Time To Pull The Plug

In August of 2022, I was the part-time wedding planner for a bride and groom that got married at a beautiful resort in Bend. Rather than use a DJ, they decided to hire a well-known artist + 7-piece band. Leading up to the big day, the bride, groom, and myself, had a detailed zoom meeting with said artist, making sure we were all on the same page with song choices and the timeline for the day. I always make sure to create vendor-specific timelines, and in this case, I even printed a copy for the artist and his band.

My first clue that the artist was not as professional as I had originally thought was when he pulled me aside and aggressively voiced his disappointment with the lack of a green room. I explained that the resort does not have a traditional green room, but rather, makes accommodations accessible for artists in meeting rooms, as is standard. 

As the day turned into night, the banquet team and myself were making various last minute accommodations for the band. I was doing everything in my power to keep the main artist happy and to make sure none of his comments got back to the bride and groom. It was extremely hard to keep my cool (and at one point, not break down), when this grown man began shouting, cussing, and again, aggressively talking down to me for not being MORE accommodating. Meanwhile, a few other band members approached me to say thank-you for being flexible and providing them with what was more than enough.

There were several other instances in which this artist proved to be unprofessional and hard to work with. But the rest of the day was going smoothly and I was happy to take the brunt of his complaints, as long as my B&G were happy. 

As 9:55 PM approached, I realized the last song was not being played yet. I approached the artist and told him to please play the last song ASAP, as being done at 10:00 PM is a resort rule and something we had discussed more than once. He threw an absolute fit, except this time, it was on the mic in front of the entire wedding party. 

The last song played and ended at 10:03 PM. As soon as that last note hit and the guests applauded, I literally pulled the plug. I unhooked all speakers and mics and made sure this guy could not continue.

At the end of the day, the wedding truly was beautiful. I really enjoyed working at the beautiful venue and with the incredible banquet staff (shoutout to the banquet captain, who was my hero of the night after saving myself, the MOB, and the MOH from the artist's final rant). 

The lesson here? There are a few… For one, I was so glad to have a good relationship with the banquet team at the resort, as they supported me and encouraged me to continue handling the situation with grace. As a planner, I WANT to be the go-to for all decisions and issues on the big day. However, dealing with a grown man’s aggression was a first for me. But now, I am even more confident I can handle anything and everything that comes my way on the next big day ;)

Photographer: Allison Nicole Photography