How To Choose Your Master of Ceremonies
5th October 2011
A lot of couples choose a close family member or friend, who is good at public speaking, to be their Master of Ceremonies (MC). Their job includes:
- Announcing the arrival of the new married couple
- Welcoming guests and giving a rundown of the order of proceedings
- Coordinating with the DJ/Band on the order of proceedings and working out clear music cues
- Introducing speech givers
- Reading any “telegrams” (well-wishing emails, letters, texts etc. from friends and family unable to make the wedding)
- Perhaps providing a story or two, and keeping people entertained between speeches
- Announcing the First Dance
- Inviting the bridal party to the dance floor
- Inviting the other guests to the dance floor
- Announcing the cutting of the cake
- Announcing the tossing of the bouquet and garter
- Not waffling on too much
- Not getting too drunk!
If you do not have a person on your guest list who you could rely upon to perform all of the above tasks successfully (especially the last one!), you have a couple of options. Firstly, you could ask your DJ or band leader to act as MC on top of their jobs. Alternatively, you could hire a professional, which you can find in our Supplier Directory.
QUESTIONS TO ASK
The MC can make or break a wedding reception. You need someone who is on the ball and entertaining for your guests. So get on the telephone and ask your potential MCs the following questions:
Are you available on our wedding date?
How long have you been a wedding MC?
How many weddings have you performed at?
Can we contact some of your previous clients for references?
Can we see you perform at another event before we book you?
Do you have a demo video we can see?
Will you be the MC at our wedding?
How would you describe your performance style e.g funny, respectful, conservative?
Do you perform for more than one wedding in a day?
Have you performed at our reception venue before?
What will you wear on our wedding day?
What kind of equipment do you use?
Will you bring a wireless microphone?
What are your fees?
What do your fees include?
How much do you charge if our wedding goes overtime?
Will you take any breaks during our event?
Do you require a meal?
What time will you arrive at our venue to set up your equipment?
How long before our wedding is our wedding day timeline required?
If for any unforeseeable reason you are unable to perform at our wedding, are you able to provide us with an alternative MC and can we meet this person prior to our wedding?
Are we expected to pay upfront or put down a deposit to secure our booking?
These questions are conveniently laid out for you with space to record your answers and any additional comments in our Planning Tools section here.
