I've done it twice. I would say just make sure to not make it about you. The jokes and stories should be about the bride and groom. Try not to tell too many stories where you are in them. The guests have to look and listen to the MC enough without having to picture him in all the stories.
....I know he picked me because he thinks Im hilarious, so I bet thats what he's shootin for.
YOu might be the funniest guy in the world in small groups, but that doesn't make you a public speaker. I've MC'd weddings and have done tonnes of public speaking in my public life and, believe me, this is wayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy different. If you rely on your wit, IMO you're dead and the event will be a dud.
That doesn't mean you can't be good. Go to Chapters and buy the book, The Wedding MC by tom Haibeck. It's a small book and pretty inexpensive (less than 20 bucks, I think). It 's a very handy guide. It'll help you a lot, even with some samples toasts and some lines/quotes on marriage and such that you can use.
You need to be very well prepared. You're not the show - the bride and groom are. Last wedding I went to the MC thought he was the show and I saw people leaving after 30 minutes of a 50-minute videotape of this guy (with random appearances by the bride, who is his sister).
YOur biggest challenges, I think, will likely be overcoming nervousness and looking comfy up there, and then having a really good script that works for the B&G and the crowd. There has been lots of good advice given here and if you get the book it will help you a lot.
Now, my next MC assignment is this summer and I'm still looking for fresh ideas, so anyone who has attended a wedding lately and has good ideas that they saw, please post. It'll help all of us who have to do this job.
YOu might be the funniest guy in the world in small groups, but that doesn't make you a public speaker. I've MC'd weddings and have done tonnes of public speaking in my public life and, believe me, this is wayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy different. If you rely on your wit, IMO you're dead and the event will be a dud.
That doesn't mean you can't be good. Go to Chapters and buy the book, The Wedding MC by tom Haibeck. It's a small book and pretty inexpensive (less than 20 bucks, I think). It 's a very handy guide. It'll help you a lot, even with some samples toasts and some lines/quotes on marriage and such that you can use.
You need to be very well prepared. You're not the show - the bride and groom are. Last wedding I went to the MC thought he was the show and I saw people leaving after 30 minutes of a 50-minute videotape of this guy (with random appearances by the bride, who is his sister).
YOur biggest challenges, I think, will likely be overcoming nervousness and looking comfy up there, and then having a really good script that works for the B&G and the crowd. There has been lots of good advice given here and if you get the book it will help you a lot.
Now, my next MC assignment is this summer and I'm still looking for fresh ideas, so anyone who has attended a wedding lately and has good ideas that they saw, please post. It'll help all of us who have to do this job.
Alright cool, thanks for the advice, Ill look for that book. I still dont know why he chose me, Im awful in front of big crowds. I freeze up like you wouldnt believe. I sat down with him a couple months ago and tried to explain that I think he should choose someone else for MC, but he seemed incredibly offended by it. So I buckled and said Id do it. Ah well, as long as Im prepared, and have a couple drinks in me(but not too many. Dont wanna be droppin f-bombs in front of my older relatives), Im sure it'll be fine...I hope
I've emceed two weddings, and I'm a rather witty, funny, dry, sarcastic person in small groups. People like tend to like my quirky sense of humour. Hence being asked to be the MC at the last two weddings I was at.
That said I started this thread two years ago as I knew that I needed a plan going in.
I actually do a lot of prep before hand. I ask for a rundown of how the bride and groom want their wedding reception to go, then think of segways between each. I have notes, a loose script, and run everything by the bride and groom, as well as in my head several times before I actually direct the evening.
Essentially that's what you're doing, you're directing the reception. The stars of the show are the happy couple, and you're basically saying "in this scene the best man gives a speech, and action" then let the other take the spotlight.
The only time I ever involved myself in a story was introducing the father of the groom for a speech at the last wedding I was at. And only did it to show how well I knew the groom's father.
Keep things G rated, and as the night goes on *maybe* advance to PG depending on the crowd.
If you can entertain while keeping the focus on others, and behave while doing so, you'll have done your job well.
Good luck
__________________ "Calgary Flames is the best team in all the land" - My Brainwashed Son
I've emceed two weddings, and I'm a rather witty, funny, dry, sarcastic person in small groups. People like tend to like my quirky sense of humour. Hence being asked to be the MC at the last two weddings I was at.
The wedding I'm doing in a few weeks is a union between a Canadian and a Spanish person. We thought we'd do little thing comparing the two cultures. For example, in his country socce3r is the national sport, so we could compare the two sports in a humourous way, terms like loonie and poutine (compared with similar things from El Salvador), etc. etc.
Does anyone have any ideas for this kind of wedding gimmic? I'd do the canadian part and one of the groom's El Salvadoran Spanish friends would do that part.
I forgot about this thread, thanks to you all for remembering it, lots of good ideas here.
I've MC'd 3 weddings, and asked for a lot of advice before each. For something like this, which you hope the happy couple will cherish for all eternity, remember these 3 things (these points have been made in this thread but can not be emphasized enough):
1. This is about them, not you. Its their time to shine, and yours to hold the light;
2. You will have known one of them for a good part of your life, the other, for only a small part. Give them equal air time in your material;
3. Do not wing it. There are times to risk your off-the-cuff wit. This is not one of them. If there becomes an opportunity to ad-lib, do it but cut your other material.... keep it short, smart, funny, and ultimately touching.
Some of my best memories are MCing those weddings. Be honoured that you've been asked, but enjoy it rather than fret it, and you'll also have a great memory to take with you.
I have another wedding MC job at the end of july. Should be fun.
Here is what I am thinking....Going up to the mic and saying 'Really, I haven't prepared anything. Are there any questions in the audience?' and having some planted questions that I can turn into personal stories....I am going to have one of the groom's BF ask 'Where are the couple going for thier honeymoon?' and having a terrible trip to see The Washington Capitals play.
I need to write up some bang up material to make this work good....
I was MC at a wedding last September. It was a really fun movie themed wedding, a red carpet entrance, costumes, movie posters, etc. I was dressed as Clint Eastwood (grooms fav actor) from The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. It was a rented costume and looked awesome!
Along with the standard jokes and stories I had a digital projector hooked up to my laptop, I set it up for a long looping slideshow of pics of the couple. It played continuously for cocktails and the meal. During dessert I went to my laptop and proceeded to flip through 12 pictures I photoshopped of the couple. Each was from a different movie, but I told a story along with the pics like it was their life. This was a complete surprise to the couple and was the hit of the night.
3 strangers asked me later that night if I do many weddings, as I was one of the best emcees they ever saw. It was my first time I had a blast but was super nervous, I thought I bombed. Just have fun, if you enjoy yourself then you probably did a good job.
You might be able to fit this in. I was at an event a while back(not a wedding) where the emcee told everybody that they had been sitting for quite a while and should stand up for a bit. He told them to jiggle their extremeties to get the blood flowing. He then instructed the crowd to clap their hands together a few times to help with the circulation. After everyone complied he told them to take a seat and thanked everyone for helping him win a $20 bet he had with a friend that he would get a standing ovation.
Does anyone have any jokes for introducing speakers like
Brides parents- welcoming groom to family
Grooms parents- welcoming bride to family
brides sister- toast to the bride
Grooms Sister- toast to the groom
Thanks for anything people can help me out with
Just giving this bump and a thank you. I've been defaulted to Emcee my future sister in-laws wedding in a little over a week. These guys are pretty taupe (i.e. lame) and haven't really given me anything to work with. These suggestions are great and I just wanted to thank you guys.
I'm definilty pulling out the Weeding definition and might test my luck with the Queen Mum at the end of the night.
I MC'd another wedding this summer, and gave the Queen Mum joke a try... it went over fantastic. People were laughing even after the first part, so I had to take a long pause.
I have another friend MC'ing this weekend, and I suggested that joke to him, and he thought it was funny but is chickening out because she's dead. I suggested he could insert somebody like Elizabeth Taylor or other famous person in there but he declined.
Alright, so I just wanted to a give a big thanks to everyone who posted in this forum. I just finished Emcee'ing my sister in-law's wedding. I used a bunch of jokes in this forum at the wedding and they went over extremely well. The cake in tiers one and the Queen Mum joke were killer. The only one that didn't go over well was the 'weeding' joke. Not that it wasn't funny, but it took far too long for people to figure out it was a joke. It wasn't till after the ceremony that people mentioned how funny it was. In the end I was 4/5 on jokes.
So a big thanks goes to all the people who added to this forum, you guys saved my hide this weekend.
Any tips for a rookie emcee that haven't already been said? Going to buy the book at Chapters tomorrow and give it a read through.
I'm sure everything I've learned has come up in the thread already. Have fun, relax, have notes written in BIG FONT that way you don't lose your place (especially if you've had a drink or two to loosen up).
Watch Just for Laughs, or any comedy special (or even listen to a comedy CD) regardless of wedding topics or not. It'll help get your pace and timing down.
__________________ "Calgary Flames is the best team in all the land" - My Brainwashed Son
