It is called a "difference of opinion"
To me, going into a wedding on such short notice might be a difficult situation. It could go great but could go bad.
He has already committed to going to the bridal show. How would it look to the person who he committed his time to if he bails for something else? Possible lost referrals, possible lost shows he may have booked at the bridal show.
If he goes into this wedding and it goes bad, how many referrals is he going to get? Probably not many. It might be bride and groom from hell. That might be why the other DJ bailed. No one knows for sure.
Honoring commitments goes a long way when you are dealing with others who can send more business your way. They will remember when you bailed on them and probably not work as hard to help you.
Yes, it's obviously a difference of opinion. Buying a booth at a bridal show, in my book, is not a commitment, at least in terms of an obligation. It's a business decision that I made to purchase advertising, that's all. Given, I haven't bought any bridal show booths yet, so maybe that's the way it works in the wedding vendor world. If you're depending on referrals from this bridal show vendor, and taking another gig would cost you referrals from them then sure, you keep the show because the BUSINESS DECISION told you that it'll pay more money to go that route, in the long run. I guess I'm failing to see how me paying a bridal show company, then not using my booth costs them anything (other than an empty booth). They still got paid. If this were a large show, probably costing more than $300, then perhaps the business decision would dictate that the large show would bring more cash than the quick gig. Again, the decision is based (for me) solely on what profits the most.
The bit about "not being comfortable doing a wedding on short notice", no offense intended here, is weak and something I personally have a hard time relating to. It's seems, well, cowardly. As a musician, at least in my town, if you turned down a gig because you didn't feel you were prepared to do it on short notice, you'd be laughed out of town. As a DJ, I take pride in being flexible and able to adapt to the situation on a moment's notice. And as far as gig leads, I'd far rather be in front of a few hundred people, demonstrating my ability than in a booth, watching a few brides walk by.
Now do I personally enjoy walking into a wedding feeling un-prepared? Absolutely not. I prepare just as much as the next guy but in this situation, the client is going to be well aware that I was pinch-hitting. In other words, I'd judge that this gig is far more likely to gain me years of praise from someone that I saved their backside on one of the most important days of their life.
Again, no offense intended. YMMV
