I think Jeff may have hit the nail on the head when he mentioned he keeps in contact with home and if he stops then there's an issue. Sadly, you may think I am exaggerating, but a lot of wedding days this month, I have had difficulty even finding the time to send a text.
Here's a typical day for me when I have one wedding running assuming the wedding is an hour away (as many of them are) and the ceremony start time is around 3-4p:
7am - Wake up; shower; grab clothes, laptop and anything I may have on a charger
8am - Check truck- scan contents to make sure everything is present, back it out of garage - do a quick inspection of tires and fluids
9am - Review itinerary, timeline and forms one last time - do a dry run of announcements and verify all "special songs" are in the computer and saved off in a list or crate. Do one last final sweep to make sure nothing has been left behind at house.
10am - If I have three services contracted where I will be working (Dj+Uplighting+Photobooth) this is when I would need to leave
11am - If I have two services contracted where I will be working (DJ + Uplighting OR Photobooth) this is when I would need to leave
Noon - this is the absolute latest time I would want to leave to put me at a hall at one unless they have a basic package with small speakers and no lights
1pm - Arrive at hall
2pm - Sound equipment and dancefloor lighting should be mostly setup by this point
3pm - If applicable, ceremony system will be up at this point with playlists built out for ceremony and cocktail/dinner music
5pm - Ceremony complete - start time of reception
6pm - Grand entrance, formalities, dinner etc.
11pm or midnight - Reception end
At face value this looks like I have plenty of time and it should be a leisurely setup. The problem is, it seems like the more time I leave myself inevitably the more rushed I will be. Before I leave the house, chances are I'll be asked to take care of some chore real quick since I won't be around all weekend. I almost always hit traffic (which is figured into my numbers), and when I get to the hall, pesky guests that arrive early want to idly chit chat about what I am using, what I will be playing, where the bathrooms are etc. and normally the hall coordinator wants to compare timelines followed by whatever other vendors are lurking around. Without fail, people almost always seem to approach me when I am carrying things, running back and forth to my truck or lifting/hoisting things.
Now, this October - working with a skeleton crew, this has been my schedule (assuming 2 weddings + 1 festival on a Saturday):
All week: Prep, meet with brides, go through forms, build out playlists, load truck
Friday Night:
6p - Get off day job, drive to location of one of the weddings
7p - Set up equipment at wedding (if there is a rehearsal dinner there I normally get cornered by guests)
8p - Wrap up setup and drive to next location or storage
9p - Re-load truck, grab anything needed for next day from storage
10p - Review all work orders for next day, take care of any communication needed for weekend, Review itinerary, timeline and forms one last time - do a dry run of announcements and verify all "special songs" are in the computer
Midnight - Stick anything needed on a charger - laptops, cameras, wireless systems, ceremony system
1a - Attempt to go to sleep
Saturday:
7am - Wake up; shower; grab clothes, laptop and anything I may have on a charger
8am - Check truck- scan contents to make sure everything is present, back it out of garage - do a quick inspection of tires and fluids
9am - Leave for festival (travel time one hour)
11am - Festival equipment is set up
1p - Leave for wedding when my staff arrives at festival (travel time on average is one hour) - since I have done as much prep work as possible, most everything should be set up
2p - Arrive at hall, open rack or coffin, put the speakers up on poles, put scrim/facade around equipment and plug everything in (it is mostly in place and prewired)
3pm - If applicable, ceremony system will be up at this point
5pm - Ceremony complete - start time of reception
6pm - Grand entrance, formalities, dinner etc.
11pm or midnight - Reception end
Midnight-1a - Wait for guests to clear, pack out, drive home (travel time one hour)
2a - Stick everything on chargers, change out clothes and attempt to get some sleep
Normally, having two others out in the field I will have to answer my phone frequently. For example, there was a question at the festival as to whether or not we were doing trivia that day. One of my Djs at a wedding said the hall was all changed around from the layout we agreed on at the meeting and sent a picture (I attend the meetings WITH my Djs and it was in fact all messed up). Another Dj couldn't get into a hall and called me panicked because they had an early afternoon wedding that went until 3pm and our wedding starts at 4 (in clear violation of the setup clause in our contract - but the officiant was only scheduled until a certain time). As I am managing this, I am fighting off the pesky guests and vendors and battle early-comers in my way trying to get the ceremony system up or get things started for a reception.
This months' pace has been pretty grueling being down a Dj and attempting to expand into a small multiop over these pasty couple of years has been extremely challenging. It's sometimes impossible not to burn the candle at both ends which kind of makes me question what would happen if something happened to me (such as an accident "en route") or something. I'm sure there's a lot that I am doing wrong - but sadly it is the best way I know how given my current constraints, time, resources and goals...