On June 22, 2010 Charles attended the Appalachian Mobile DJ Symposium (ARMDJs) in Greeneville, Tennessee.  ARMDJs featured an impressive presenter lineup of wedding professionals from all across the United States.  ‘The Professional Process’ was conducted on the two days immediately following the conference and in the early evening of June 24, 2010; he was awarded a certificate of achievement by Peter Merry.

In addition to this, Charles is also currently the only entertainer in the Greater Harrisburg, PA region to complete the MarBecca Method MC Workshop.  This workshop was held in conjunction with the Mobile Beat Las Vegas convention in February 2009 and consisted of two days of intensive instruction and practical exercises.  An article about this accomplishment was published in February 2009 titled Certified Professional MC.

“I am often asked by many people including my clients and especially other DJs, why I go to such great lengths to obtain this kind of advanced training.  At first I used to go into this long explanation about honing my skills or learning new ones anywhere I could except at someone’s wedding; now I simply say ‘Because I care!’” – Charles E. Snyder III.

Charles is the owner of Extraordinary Weddings; a wedding entertainment company located in Lancaster County Pennsylvania, and is the author of the forthcoming book ‘Wed Without Regrets – Common Sense for an Extraordinary Wedding!’  He has been a member of the American Disc Jockey Association since 2006 and is an active member of Toastmasters International as well.

So I arrive to my wedding on Sept 19, 2009. As I’m introducing myself to the people in the room, the bride can hear me from the bathroom where she is getting her hair done. She calls me in (no worries, she’s decent!) to tell me that her caterer canceled on her last night. I was in shock. He left her a message that Friday evening claiming he had swine flu.

Well that’s horrible if that’s the truth. I hope the best for him and his family and that they get though it and are cured quickly.

But what burns me up is that ONE, he told her in his voice message that he found on Tuesday (4 days before the wedding) that he had swine flu. So why didn’t he call her right then? TWO, he didn’t have a back up plan. Who, in their right mind, has a business without a “PLAN B”? With 4 days from the wedding, there would have been plenty of time to find another caterer to cover for him, or at least give the bride a head start herself to find someone.

If you were to hire me for your wedding and something happened where I wasn’t able to be there, I have local and out of state DJs that I trust would to come in and do a fabulous job. I would literally fly one in if needed. Thankfully since I began my business in 1997, I’ve never missed a wedding. Been under the weather a bit at a few, but put on a smile and sucked it up!

Bottom line: If you are a business owner, have a back up plan, a “PLAN B”, someone you can call on to help you out when life throws you a curve ball. But don’t leave a bride hanging on the most important day of her life. I’m amazed at how calm and collected she was that bright and sunny Saturday afternoon.

THE POSITIVE:
The couple had a guest in from out of town that was a restaurant owner. When she got the word that the caterer canceled, she hustled to the store early in the morning, bought the food needed, and started preparing everything at 11am (4 hours before it was needed to be at the venue). Neighbors donated their ovens to bake all the food as it was being made, and everything turned out great!

We applauded the baker and the oven donators at the reception and it was a successful night.

Today’s lesson is…you never know what you’ll get until you DON’T get it.

Brian, excellent points and I could not agree more with you - there is only one chance of getting someone’s wedding right.  Why some think it’s OK to roll the dice with someone else’s special day and ultimately their hard-earned money too, I’ll probably never know.  But I will reiterate here what I tell my clients all of the time; make sure that you get everything in writing, make sure you know who will actually be there at your wedding and as this story perfectly illustrates, find out what their backup plan is – if any.

Members of the American Disc Jockey Association have a built-in backup plan complete with an emergency phone number to call.  There is absolutely no excuse for any DJ to ever do this to a customer, but far too often the story involves a DJ instead of a caterer.  Don’t wait until it is too late to find out what a professional DJ is really worth.

*Story reprinted with permission by Brian Harris
Brian Harris Entertainment.

Why? 

I feel that one of my newest couples that I am working with summed it up nicely, “I can tell that you are serious about your business because of how well prepared you are and that you actually care about our wedding; you don’t know how much of a relief that is for us!“

I care.  That is why I belong to the American Disc Jockey Association and I am working with others to develop a local chapter.  That is why I joined Toast Masters International, so that I can practice my public speaking skills.  That is why I became a certified Master of Ceremonies and a certified CPSDJ.  That is why I regularly attend conferences and trade shows to learn new skills.  That is why I developed DeeJayMasterMind.com and actively participate in it too.  That is why I work closely with my clients to plan their wedding, meeting with them more than once before their special day.

What has your DJ done to show you that they care?

Charles E. Snyder III,
Certified Master of Ceremonies
Extraordinary Weddings
717.718.5218