One of my main tasks as your Master of Ceremonies is to allow you to relax and to enjoy your day, knowing that you have someone on-board who will help everything to run as smoothly as possible. In addition to giving you that peace of mind I aim to help your day be unique, fun and memorable – quite simply The Best Wedding Ever, and will discuss and suggest some fabulous ways to involve your guests and ‘invest’ them in your day. Weddings are about People so taking care of those people is key to providing the best memories!
Many
Brides and Grooms simply don’t realise what a huge difference a good Master of Ceremonies can make to your Wedding Day.
The main reason for this is that venues have ‘stolen’ the phrase ‘Master of Ceremonies’ and reduced it to the most basic of it’s roles, then offer that service for free. Of course it is not the same service at all. At most venues of course you don’t actually get a free Master of Ceremonies, what you get is a member of staff (usually the Duty Manager) who is tasked with making your announcements – also whilst ensuring food service is on time, the bar is running properly and several other jobs. This means that at best your announcements are basic and at worst can be positively detrimental to your day. Of course some venues do provide an actual Master of Ceremonies and it can be worth asking to meet them, seeing if they have the time to prepare announcements in a style which suits you and your guests. A few venues stand out as having a really good in-house style and are certainly more effective than those who don’t. Of course it is still their style though – not yours!
One of my pet hates and something which I regularly witness is the Bride and Groom’s first official entrance being announced as ‘Ladies and Gentleman – The Bride and Groom’! Honestly, I am amazed at how many times I hear this – not even the most basic use of the couples’ names! For the guests and certainly in any videos that could have been any wedding, anywhere, on any day!
Another alternative is the professional Toastmaster – The chap in the Red Jacket. If you want this extremely formal style of announcement and the pomp which comes with it I can certainly pass on some recommendations to you. There are some amazing Toastmasters out there, many of whom are also Town Criers. They have larger than life personalities and their performance brings this across very well. If you want that level of formality this can be a great way to add something different to your day and they certainly do help with the ‘organising’. Toastmasters generally cost from £300-£500. For your speeches etc you may also need use of a microphone and sound system.
However these days I am finding that most couples want something just a little different for their wedding. They want it to be special, to be memorable but also to suit their own style, tastes and levels of formality. Many want their announcements to be made properly but not in a stuffy or formal format. The difficulty of course is that doing this well means getting to know your supplier, talking about the things you want done, how you want them done and to trust that this is what will happen.
Fortunately there is now an amazing alternative currently becoming known as Wedding Presenters or Party Hosts. I use the term Wedding Presenter simply because I only perform at Weddings so it is most relevant to me. I am proud to have been providing this service for many years now and along with some of my peers in other parts of the country (and across the world) have worked together to raise the bar to a whole new level.
Wedding Presenters have undertaken training, attended seminars and workshops and otherwise invested in their own skill set. Most of these are DJs from the highest level of the industry and well known for their professionalism and the quality of their work.
Think about it – your Wedding DJ already has all the equipment. He already has the skill set and he already has a relationship with you – who is better placed to offer this service? Professional Wedding Hosts will have invested in sleek, high quality and discreet equipment which will fit into your venue unobtrusively. They can play an awesome set of background music during your Wedding Breakfast. They can play music during your Drinks Reception. They can provide a microphone for your speeches. And with their training they are perfectly placed to act as your Master of Ceremonies. They have the time prior to your wedding to meet with you and as well as discussing music can discuss the style and atmosphere you would like for your wedding. Whether you want things light-hearted, romantic, formal or whatever suits you!
I had not appreciated how much Colin was going to help ‘glue’ the different parts of our day together in his Master of Ceremonies role
Even better, as a professional Wedding Presenter I am able to discuss with you some very special secrets – ways to make things which you will be doing anyway on the day happen in a way which will be magical, which your guests will appreciate and will remember for a long time to come. Simply using music, my knowledge of you from our meetings and my own skills can turn an OK wedding into an AMAZING Wedding! Some of the services I offer during this time of the day can have your guests in tears of emotion and make for the most amazing Bride and Groom entrances ever!
Having a Master of Ceremonies who works for you and not for the venue means the proceedings will have your personality stamped across them. Your guests have a point of contact who knows you better than the Duty Manager who you probably only meet a few days before your actual wedding.
If this sounds of interest please get in touch to discuss exactly how I can make your day amazing!
Before you click of
f this page it is also worth mentioning expense:
Venue Option is normally free for a reason. They may have an in house system but you will need to prepare all the music in advance or listen to their music. They may have a microphone but it will likely be a poor quality one and they will probably not have a sound technician constantly providing the best settings. Your announcements will usually be made in the ‘House Style’ and will generally be brief and basic. The venue option works for the venue and their brief is to keep things simple for the venue.
Separate Suppliers Option: This is basically you choosing musicians for your wedding breakfast. There are some amazing musicians out there although most will have a ‘style’ which will go right through your meal. For example a pianist is always going to sound like a pianist. Costs vary but for a good solo musician expect to pay £250-£400 for 2-3 hours. You still need your Toastmaster (or go back to the Venue Option) so add another £300 apprx. Then you need a sound system (back to the venue option?) and preferably someone controlling it. If you do want to have a musician or band for any part of your wedding day that is fantastic, I work regularly with many great performers and will happily pass on some names to you.
Wedding Presenter Option – The price will vary depending on timings and of course exactly what you want but not only is this option likely to be the very best option, it will also generally be cheaper than option 2. Speaking for myself, I build a massive amount of value into my all day packages simply because spending that extra time with your guests during the day has a knock-on effect of getting a much better party on the evening. Also there is less time pressure in setting up during the room turnaround and means that your timeline is fare more fluid and effective – you make the very most of the time available. However I also regularly work with musicians and other professionals so if you would prefer a combination of different styles that is no problem. I’m happy to work with your chosen artists or can even recommend and help you to source them!
In fact – I am so convinced that this service will transform your wedding that I offer a money back guarantee to those who book me for their whole day. If you genuinely don’t believe that what I brought to your day provided great value and exceeded your expectations then I will refund you that charge, in full and without question!
Having your own Master of Ceremonies or Toastmaster also gives you access to other possibilities. For example if I am booked to provide music for the Ceremony and as Master of Ceremonies then I am on site for the entire day. As such I am happy to extend the scope of what I do in order to help you. For this I will greet your guests, help with seating them and help your ushers to do their job. Following the ceremony if necessary I will inform people of where to go and escort them if necessary. I can deal with coats, arrange the gift table and take gifts from guests to place there. I can be on hand to help direct guests for photographs, to call them back into the room at which point my normal Master of Ceremonies duties would commence. For a more comprehensive list of what a Master of Ceremonies actually does just click here.