No shade to your Uncle Bob, but just because he’s a right laugh down the pub, doesn’t necessarily mean he’s going to be the right Master of Ceremonies, or MC for your wedding.
I think we’ve all been to a wedding where there’s an MC who thinks they are the star of the show and who maybe make a joke or two that is a bit off. I know I’ve seen it before and have seen the couple looked shocked/embarrassed/uncomfortable.
So, I’m going to convince you why you need a truly fabulous professional MC (ahem… hello!) for your wedding.
Isn’t MCing just introducing speeches?
There is so much more that a professional MC does than just introduce the speeches. Let me give you a little run down of some of the things I do when I’m the Master of Ceremonies.
- I discuss prior to your wedding day your reception and how you envisage it. Do you want it lively? Sophisticated? Raucous? Are your guests party-animals, or will they need an MC who can do a bit of ‘geeing’ up. Or are you happy with your guests to quietly mingle naturally without any extra encouragement.
- On the day I liaise with the venue and other vendors to keep things flowing. This is so important. I’ll have a run sheet, and I’ll be working with everyone to try to keep on time, but equally will be letting your venue and other vendors know if there are any delays.
- I’m the link between you and your vendors, especially if you don’t have a planner. I won’t be bothering you too much, but if there’s a decision to be made that only you can call, I’ll be there by your side to discuss it with you so it causes as little stress as possible.
- It will be a dry old do for me. Don’t get me wrong, I’ll have a champers if it’s offered, but whilst I’m working my focus will be on making sure your reception is going according to plan.
- I’m not going to hog the microphone. My role is to keep the flow going whilst being engaging.
- If there’s any problem solving required, I’ll be on it.
- I’ll lead any games that you might want included. I’ve done trivia, competitions, bingo. You let me know what you want, and we can do it.
- As I’m also the celebrant for the wedding, it provides some consistency through the day into evening part of the wedding which guests really like.
“We would highly recommend also booking Roxy in for the MC service. It was like having a family member MC-ing, without the pressure (or worry) of having a family member MC-ing! Roxy felt like part of the family anyway!
Our entire wedding from ceremony to reception was exactly how we wanted it. And it ran smoothly due to all the hard work behind the scenes (which we were completely unaware of at the time) that Roxy was doing. Throughout the night and now in the days after, friends and family have continued to comment on how wonderful Roxy was.”
Erica and Kathryn – Blackbird, Brisbane 2021
WHAT KIND OF GAMES CAN WE DO?
Shoe Game
Couple sit back to back to each other and take of their shoes. They swap one shoe with their partner, and I then ask a bunch of questions, such as ‘Who is the messiest’, ‘Who will fall asleep in front of the telly the quickest’ etc, and the couple hold up the corresponding shoe as to who they think is most likely.
Couple Trivia
Like a quiz at a pub, I will ask guests to get into teams and ask them a bunch of questions, with one round about marriages, and the next round about the couple specifically.
Wedding CLICHE Bingo
The total rockstar that is Eddie Lemos Couto came up with the idea of wedding cliche bingo. All guests are given a sheet of phrases which are often said during wedding speeches (eg: ‘I’m so honoured’, ‘I didn’t write a speech so I’m winging it’, ‘I remember when [name] was young’). The first to cross a line of the cliches shouts bingo and wins.
BINGO BUDDIES
A great way to get people talking is a bingo list with ‘Find Someone Who…’ then list things such as ‘who has a goldfish,’ ‘who lives on a farm,’ ‘who works for Government’ etc.
WHO’S BEEN MARRIED THE LONGEST?
This is a nice way of acknowledging whichever couple at the reception have been married the longest. I ‘borrowed’ this idea from another celebrant, Jeremy Bell at That Altar Guy who shared that he would ask all guests to be standing, then say ‘Who has been married in the past three hours’ (couple would sit down), ‘Who has been married for less than a year’, then ‘two years/five years/ten years/twenty’ etc, until you end up with the couple who have been married to longest. They are then asked for their piece of marriage advice.
MAD LIBS
Guests are all given a Mad Libs, which you can download from Etsy here or design your own if you prefer.
Each person fills one in during the early prat of the reception, then they share them with each other. The table votes whose is the funniest, and gives to MC to read out and share.
The one which gets the most laughs wins.
SCAVENGER HUNT
A nominated person from each table/group is asked to be the ‘scavenger’. MC then gives out directions of what they need to find and bring to the MC, eg: silver shoe, salt and pepper shaker, an Uncle of one of the couple etc. The last person to bring the chosen object is ‘out’, until all rounds have been played and there’s an eventual winner.
PHOTO FINDS
This one can be good for younger guests. Provide them with a mobile phone and a list of things they need to take photos of, eg: couple kissing, something blue, a selfie, relative laughing, etc. The first person to provide everything on the list to the MC wins.
How long do you stay for?
After the first kiss, I’ll take off my celebrant hat and replace it with my MC one. This continues until after I’ve made the final announcement of the evening, which in most cases is the first dance.
I have been known, however, to rip up the dance floor with a move or two.
Do you require food and drinks?
When I’m the celebrant and the MC, it would be wonderful it you could arrange a vendor meal (most venues offer a discounted meals for vendors working on your ceremony) for me. However, if this is not possible, just let me know and I will ensure I bring my own snacks and drinks with me.
Okay – you’ve convinced me. How much does it cost?
You can find my celebrant fees here. As well as this, my charges average approximately $800 for MCing services. Please note that there may be extra charges for travel or accommodation if required. Happy to give you an obligation free quote if this is something you’d like to consider. You can contact me via my contact form on with the details below.
0478041227
Photos Wildflower Weddings and Lovelenscapes
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