There are a number of key moments during your wedding day when having a designated Master of Ceremonies (MC) can be absolutely invaluable – whether it’s organising family and friends for group photographs, calling people through for dinner, announcing speeches or making sure everyone’s around for your first dance.
The more detail you choose to incorporate into your day, the more useful a wedding MC or toastmaster will become!
When planning your wedding day, it can also provide huge peace of mind to to know that you’ve designated someone you trust to oversee, organise and cajole your guests.
So do we really need an MC?
Whether or not you need or choose to include an MC in your day will depend on a variety of factors.
These include:
The tone or atmosphere you are looking to create for your day
Are you opting for a formal or informal celebration? Will it be traditional or contemporary in feel?
The number of announcements you’re likely to need
Is it just one or two key moments that will need announcing or do you have a detailed schedule for the day?
The size and layout of your venue
Will your guests all be in one place or will they be free to roam over a larger area?
The number of guests you’re going to have
Are you going to need to ask people to move from place to place during the day? And, with that in mind, how easy will it be to get everyone together in one place when you need to?
Who could we ask to be our wedding MC?
A professional toastmaster or MC
An experienced toastmaster adds a special touch of formality to a wedding and they can be invaluable when you have larger groups to manage and need someone with a confident and outgoing personality to take charge.
Toastmasters are easily distinguishable in their traditional red attire so really stand out in a crowd – and as they often come from a military or service background they know how to command people’s attention!
The wedding or event coordinator at your venue
Your wedding coordinator is probably the one most familiar with the order of your day (after you, of course!) and they have the added advantage of knowing the venue, the staff and the behind-the-scenes logistics like the back of their hand.
Being an excellent organiser, however, doesn’t necessarily equal being a confident public speaker so do check they are willing (and comfortable) to take on this front-line role.
Your best man/woman
Your best man – or woman – is your right-hand person on your day so he or she could well be a natural choice to take care of any key announcements as well.
One or more of your suppliers
If you prefer not to have a formal MC then you might consider asking your suppliers to help share the load. So, for example, your registrar or vicar could manage the announcements prior to and immediately after your ceremony, your photographer and/or videographer could coordinate the parts of the day that directly involve photography or film and your band or DJ could help with any formal announcements through the evening.