A wedding involves many decisions, from food and venue, to your bridal party and guest list. Be sure to leave time to ponder your choice for a Master of Ceremonies (MC). This person will help tell your love story, introduce you and your loved ones and will be tasked with keeping your wedding reception on track. Give this role careful consideration and use these tips to help choose the right person for this special task.
It’s important to think about the tone of your event, and your own personality when you think about who you’d like to act as your wedding reception MC. Your favorite uncle, your childhood babysitter and your college roommate all have different stories to share – which ones do you want your new in-laws to hear?
Here are some things to consider when choosing your MC
Familiarity
Ideally, your MC will have a relationship with you and your partner. While his or her relationship likely started with one of you, hopefully they’ve spent enough time with you as a couple to be able to speak personally about you as individuals, and as a couple.
Personality
Choosing someone with personality is very important, after all, the MC will need to be comfortable in front of a crowd. But finding the right person can be trickier than you think. It’s always great when you attend an event and the MC is hilarious, but you want the perfect balance between tact and wit on your wedding day. This is not easily achieved if you choose the “class clown” to MC your wedding. A funny story or joke is a great way for the MC to break the ice with guests, but you don’t want your wedding reception to turn into a comedy act. You also want someone that is adaptable, because despite all your planning, the schedule of events may change at a moment’s notice and it will be up to the MC to roll with it and keep things moving.
Reliability
If we didn’t mention this earlier, asking someone to MC your wedding is a big job. The candidate of choice must be up to the task and you must be able to count on them to follow through with your wishes without hesitation. Is the person you’re considering always late for dinner parties? Are they the one at the hotel reception desk replacing a forgotten toothbrush on a road trip? If so, this person may not be the ideal choice for the role of MC. He or she will need to put considerable effort into preparing for your event and they’ll need to be of sound mind (translation: relatively sober through dinner) to execute effectively.
Here are some helpful hints to set your MC up for success:
- Schedule a few planning meetings with your MC prior to the wedding so you can share your event outline and speaking list, and discuss what announcements, introductions and remarks you’d like them to make.
- Include your MC in meetings with the DJ or live entertainer; these two will need to work together to coordinate introductions and kick-off special events such as the first dance.
- Introduce the MC to the catering team leader at your venue so that they can keep in contact about meal service and timing. This frees you up to enjoy the reception and identifies your MC as the point of contact for any issues or questions the venue or catering staff may have.
- Try to avoid selecting a member of your wedding party to be your MC. Your bridesmaids and groomsmen have done a lot to help you get to this day, it’s nice to let them sit back and enjoy the reception (or relax before they say their own speech!).
It’s important to think about the tone of your event, and your own personality when you think about who you’d like to act as your wedding reception MC. Give this role careful consideration and use these tips to help choose the right person for this special task.
