The event is at the Opera House, and it's the first time I'm filming a wedding there, though I've been there for premieres and stage shows. But this time I'm coming with a carload of gear. So, there's a QR-code check-in procedure, a loading dock deep in the belly of the beast, and then I'm escorted up to the function room, through a maze-like behind-the-scenes area, and the rooms back there are cavernous -- I'm assuming the space is needed to quickly bump-in and bump-out scenery.
The function is at the back of the Opera House, looking towards Kirribilli. It comes with a wedding planner scrutinising every detail (very few weddings in Australia have planners, though the trend is shifting), and the event goes fine -- nothing out of the ordinary.
When the party is over, I'm in an elevator with the planner and her assistant, carting my crap back down again to my car, and I'm making small talk, although she seems a little distracted, and I compliment her, and mostly I'm sincere. It really was an eye-opener to me how the room was transformed. When I arrived, it was a fairly bland space, except for the view; and we Sydneysiders are pretty blase about that view. But add an ornate dance floor, gold trimmings for the columns, a chandelier, and all the table settings, and suddenly the place is unrecognisable.
By and large, the wedding planner is accepting the compliments. And then I ask, "So how did things look from your perspective?"
She pauses.
"The father of the bride said everything was good, but he'd like to have a quick chat on Monday."
And it wasn't much of a mic drop at all, but I guess it was a tiny insight into her world. The fact that the client wanted any sort of meeting was probably the worst realistic outcome.
All weddings are high pressure, and all the vendors feel it; and maybe you've even got to be part adrenaline junkie to subject yourself to that, week after week. But if you're a wedding planner handling only luxury events, then perhaps the stress, the workload, the competitiveness, the stakes are a different animal from what most of us other suppliers are used to.
I'm not sure what I said to that. Probably something completely uncomforting along the lines of, "Well, it was an amazing event. He can't have much to complain about," and maybe she smiled wryly, I can't remember. And then I wearily loaded my car up with my hundred cases of kit, and eased up the exit ramp, out of the belly of the beast, out into the night air, out into familiar Sydney traffic, and headed home to offload footage.
