Yep. We’re going to get uncomfortable here, but ask this with a curious smile and then stay silent.
This question works on 2 levels. As well as giving information on the celebrant’s experience (and how they evolve and learn in their profession), the question is inherently uncomfortable and will abruptly shake them out of their comfort zone.
Several years ago, my PA system crackled then died during a ceremony. I was mortified for the couple who received an unreserved apology and a full refund. The following day, I had researched the best PA on the market….and bought 2 of them. Now at every ceremony, even though I’ve never needed it since that incident, I have a backup PA and mic set up and ready to go within seconds if ever there was a problem. It gives me peace of mind and that in turn means I can perform at my confident best for my couples. Which brings me to the next question…
3. What PA do you use?
There’s nothing worse than a ceremony you can’t hear. Whether that’s because the PA isn’t loud enough, has poor sound, or worse still, is unreliable, it amounts to the same thing – the quality of the PA impacts the quality of your ceremony.
Grandma needs to be able to hear your vows. The sound of the spoken words at your ceremony needs to be warm and rich – no one should settle for thin and tinny.
The PA is still important for small, intimate ceremonies and it’s vitally important for 25 guests upwards.
The more people you have the more the sound is absorbed, and if you’re outdoors the sound is easily dispersed, so if you’re having a big wedding or an outdoor wedding, you want to be sure that your celebrant has a high-end PA.
I use BOSE S1 Pro speakers and Sennheiser AVX digital wireless Mics. They’re high-end, trusted brands and consistently feature in ‘best of’ comparison articles. A number of celebrants will use similar setups. Others will use more budget options from brands like Mipro and Behringer… These don’t tend to feature so much in ‘best-rated’ articles.
This content was originally published here.