A lot of wedding couples choose a friend or family member to be the EMCEE at their wedding. While this can be a good option in some cases, it can also be a not so great decision in other cases. It's important to carefully select who will be the EMCEE for your wedding as they will be in control of the flow, making sure that the reception stays on time, set the tone for the evening and run all the introductions, speeches and any other activities that will be happening throughout the reception.
Here are a few things to consider before asking someone to be the EMCEE at your wedding:
- Do you want to give them the responsibility of being EMCEE which may take away from them enjoying themselves at the wedding reception?
- Are they going to be in the bridal party? If so this could interfere with the Grand Entrance and possibly other reception activities.
- Do they have experience as an professional emcee, using a microphone and speaking in front of large groups of people?
- Are they familiar with coordinating details between the vendors, venue and guests to insure timing of all activities and events that should happen during your reception?
Are they reliable and trustworthy?
Hiring a professional emcee will take this burden away from one of your wedding guests and relieve stress on you that everything will be taken care of. Depending on the involvement and duties of the EMCEE, most DJ companies can offer this service and most will charge additional fees for this service. In order for an EMCEE to properly do their job it is difficult for them to also be the DJ so they will need either an assistant or a DJ alongside to help them with the audio, music cues, volume levels, etc. If you are not having a grand entrance, limited speeches, no kissing games, centerpiece game and just having basic announcements or introductions, then most likely your DJ should be able to look after this themselves with no additional fees. Having a fun, upbeat grand entrance with a professional DJ & EMCEE will really help set the mood and atmosphere of the reception.
Here are just a few things that a Professional EMCEE has experience with and will do to make sure your wedding reception runs smoothly
Ability to politely get people's attention over the microphone.
Knowledge of checking to make sure the bridal party, parents and other important guests are in the room and ready for the speeches before introducing them (you would be surprised how often we see this happen when the EMCEE introduces the parents of the bride and both the parents and the bride are not in the room!)
Experience with public speaking and using a microphone.
Coordinate details of everything that is happening during the reception with the DJ, Venue, Caterer, Photographer, Videographer, Performers and anyone else that is speaking or taking part in the events that are happening.
Experience and knowledge of the best timing of when to fit announcements and activities into the reception schedule.
