What You Need In Your Master Of Ceremonies.
I’ve seen this question asked numerous times over the years so I t
hought I would share my thought on the matter. Based on the hundreds of weddings I’ve had the honour of acting as the couple’s Master of Ceremonies, I could write a novel on the importance of an MC, but I’ll try to keep it brief…
A great MC will:
- Be involved with you to create an order of events and timeline.
- Find out your comfort zone with any fun activities they may be planning.
- Will know who all of the key VIP’s are. They will be able to pronounce their names correctly and relationship to you and your partner.
- Be organized and prepared! I can’t stress this one enough. I’ve seen so many MCs that have had no idea what they were supposed to be doing and had nothing prepared.
- Use their discretion with humour and language. They will also realize this isn’t about them being in the spotlight and auditioning for Canada’s Got Talent.
- Add special touches wherever they can, to personalize it for you and your partner and make it entertaining for your guests.
- Keep things on track. They will coordinate everything behind the scenes with the banquet leader, photographer, videographer, DJ or band to make sure everything is going to plan.
- Make sure the VIPs and the photographers and videographers are in the room before a formality is taking place. They also ensure everything is in place BEFORE the formality is introduced. *This is a very key component to making the night flow smoothly.*
That is a tremendous amount of responsibility to place on a friend or family member at your wedding. Instead of being able to celebrate with you, they are now working and dealing with stress due to their inexperience as a Master of Ceremonies.
The notion that the MC has to be someone who knows you is understandable but incorrect. A professional MC will take the necessary steps to get to know you and your partner, your wedding party members and so on so that they can craft great introductions and ensure the evening flows smoothly.
If you still plan on using a friend or family member, chose wisely.
Photo courtesy of Creative Exposure Photography.