Why you shouldn't get Uncle Bob to be your wedding MC
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
What kind of games can we play at our wedding reception?
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.
Heads or Tails
I’ll ask all guests to stand, and if they think the answer is partner a, put their hands on their head, or partner b, hands on their tails. I then ask a bunch of questions, until we only have a handful of guests still standing. Those guests come stand up the front until we have one lucky winner – the person who evidently knows the couples the best!
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.
Who's Been Married the Longest?
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.
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 we need to provide a meal for you?
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 us that we need you as our wedding MC!
Fabulous!
You can find my celebrant and wedding MCing fees here.
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.
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