This weekend I sang at a very good friends wedding. The wedding was held at a public park, and rain was in the forcast. I was worried that the rain would come while I was singing and really worried about my equipment getting wet. The plug in we would have to use was located across the street from the gardens where the wedding would be held. 

The first plan was for the music to be down the walkway inside the garden. Due to the threat of rain, we made the decision to put the equipment just outside the entry archway into the garden, so if it did start to rain, I could unplug and as quickly as possible, get my equipment under a pavillion.  Due also to this change, my mic cord was not long enough for me to stand in front of the speakers.

I practiced a few songs, having someone stand in the gardens to make sure the sound was okay and everything was heard. At the last minute, before people started arriving, I made another change.  I didn't really feel comfortable with the music in front of me where I couldn't hear it very well.  An after thought I had was that I should have brought earphones then there would have been no problem at all. But that was an after thought and didn't do me any good at the time.  I scooted the speakers back just enough where I could get in front of one of them.

At least I could hear the music, but the mic cord was still too short for me to face the crowd. They were a little to the side though and shouldn't have been facing me anyway so that wasn't too bad.  I ended up having to stand sideways and sing to the flowers that were in front of me.  If anyone was video taping, I can imagine what that looked like. Anyway, I was told it sounded great, which I was pleased about. It was the Bride and Grooms day, not mine and I did not want to be in the spot light at all.  The rain held off and Brenda Decker became Mrs Eric Welch on August 25th 2007.

When singing outside many things need to be taken into consideration. The weather, rain, snow, the heat, how the sound from the speakers sounds and travels differently than when inside. Where to place the equipment, where I was, the grass was still wet. Fortunately there were bricks that I sat my equipment on to keep it off the wet grass. The wedding was down in the garden, and I was just outside the garden. Therefore in a situation like this I could not hear my cues when it was time for me to sing. Arrangements had to be made ahead of time with a person in the garden to signal me when it was time for me to sing.

When singing outside take everything into consideration to make sure you sound your best. You never know who will be listening.