Bridal Club Magazine

Mastering the Master of Ceremonies

The prospective MC may be a colleague, family member or friend. The best place to start? Construct a list of hopefuls and consider how they stack up against the ideal attributes listed below;

• Confident public speaker - Loud and clear voice
• Timekeeping - Manage order of toasts, speeches etc
• Sense of humour & winning personality - ability to keep the crowd entertained
• Knowledge of the Bride & the Groom (too many MC's are one sided)
• Ability to direct guests where they should be - Transition from one event to the next with style
• Proactive & forward thinking

Whether chosen MC be a 'Master' or a 'Mistress', from here you should be able to weed out the worms and select your winner. However, keep in mind your top pick may not necessarily accept. In case of this, select a runner up too! Another consideration is having two MC's. You don't have to settle for one if you feel two will do the day more justice! Dual MC's can band together and take the nerves and pressure off the role. This can work wonderfully. Especially as they will bring to the table different ideas and views of the Bride & Groom, providing more material.
Hiring a professional MC or celebrity is another route. Although this is considered less personal and will endure additional cost. Friends and family should do it for free, or a bottle of nice wine! It all depends on your preference and budget. The options are plentiful. Be sure to pick someone you think will do a great job. Once the man or lady, for the job accepts, invite them over for dinner. Articulate your style of wedding and how you would like to set the mood for the day. This is hugely important and more favourably done in advance so the MC has time to prepare. Feed them good stories they may use as material or any 'off the record' topics. How much do you expect your MC to help with? Will their duties start at the ceremony or not until the reception? Your MC needs to know exactly what you expect from them. Lay out all the events for the day. Work together till you are happy and on the same page, confident of a successful outcome.
Suggested Duties: Running the events, assist photographer by gathering people, help guests find seats, introduce bridal party, explain the serving process for dinner, advise order of proceedings - ensure guests know what's coming next, introduce each speaker, acknowledge any special guests, facilitate transitions for cutting the cake/ bridal waltz/ garter & bouquet toss. Finally, the MC may announce the departure of the bride and groom if they wish to be waved off.
A few tips: Practice jokes/punchlines to a live audience prior to the wedding day. Contact MC to forewarn of Bride's arrival at the ceremony. Contact MC again for the Bridal Party's arrival at reception. Create a run sheet for your MC. Walk them through it, pointing out any difficult name pronunciations. It is an excellent way to ensure a seamless delivery. Distribute to the Maitre D. Include: times, locations, names of people speaking/ celebrant/ Maitre D/ DJ/ bridal party etc, all in ascending order. MC to introduce themselves to guests at the ceremony. They can stand up and say 'HI' or the priest or celebrant could introduce them. Once at the reception, have your MC make them self known to the Maitre D. Seat your MC close to the bridal table and in a good spot to address your guests. If you have two MC's seat them at the same table, preferably together. This all helps with continuity and passing of the microphone, if one is required. As an ice-breaker your MC may like to lead your guests in a group song. Great way to set the mood of the evening and lots of fun. Make sure it is an easy song that young and old will know. They could even hand out a little song sheet, bells or mini instruments. The Bride & Groom could be given a tambourine and maracas!
Get inventive! Develop a theme for the MC role. For example; coordinate the reception like a flight. Flight to Marriedville!!! Bride and Groom - Co Captains, Staff - Flight attendants, Best Man - First Officer... etc. The MC can use the humorous cabin crew arm signals to depict the exits, toilet and most importantly the bar and dance floor!
Open floor session post speeches. This can invite many delightful stories. But be wary it needs to have a cap! After a few drinks some people may think the most boring story they have on you is actually quite entertaining. Guests will become bored and tired quickly! Any good assertive MC will keep a handle on the open floor section. We are so lucky these days to have the internet as a research tool. At your fingertips are many more thoughts and suggestions. Cast your mind back and think of how arduous copious trips to the library would be, trawling through books and magazines! Instead we can sit at our computer and enjoy a lovely glass of vino, whilst we read away searching the web! So hop to it!

♥ This article was kindly supplied by My Wedding New Zealand's Premier Wedding Magazine