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You’ve been asked to be the Master of Ceremonies (MC) at a wedding?  Perhaps you’re the Bride or the Groom and you want to offer your chosen MC some guidelines and assistance.  Either way, this article is written to give you an insight into the substantial, yet pivotal role of the wedding MC.

Sometimes the choice of MC can be difficult as you may be concerned that the uncle whom they were originally considering might not have everything sufficiently organised, or that your fiancé’s brother (or sister) might get a little tipsy and say inappropriate things.  More and more upmarket wedding DJs are beginning to offer professional MC services and many celebrities are also able to be hired to serve in this role.

The MC’s role starts with preparation and consultation.  The MC needs to know everything about your reception, your wedding vendors and your timeline and have it clearly scheduled in a runsheet.  At the reception, the MC starts by welcoming guests to the venue and giving them the 'housekeeping rules such as where to smoke, when to turn cell phones onto silent, the emergency evacuation instructions, safety messages (such as ‘mind the step by the restrooms’) and importantly, what time the bar closes and they all need to leave.

The Master of Ceremonies not only introduces the people making speeches, but coordinates and liaises with the videographer, caterer, waiting staff and serving staff.  They introduce the person offering grace/blessing and then sometimes direct the guests to the buffet table by table.  They should make sure that the guests and other wedding professionals know what is coming up next and help everyone relax and enjoy the celebration.  The challenge is to not give out too much instruction and information at any given time - just the next few elements to the reception is sufficient.

The Bride and Groom, the wedding party and the parents shouldn’t have to worry about timelines, order of proceedings or delegation of jobs on the day.  They should feel relaxed knowing that their MC has things well under control.  Some of the things which follow may be taken care of by your venue, but if the venue is a dry-hire where you supply everything, consider the following items, which are a few examples of important things for your MC to do.

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