Wedding Guides

Can’t figure out who to get as MC for your wedding reception? We help you decide!

HIRING A PRO TO HOST

1. He comes with a price.

Employing the services of a professional master of ceremonies may come with a hefty price tag! From as little as P4,000 to a whopping  P50,000, you can opt to hire a lesser known emcee or go for someone popular such as a radio DJ or a TV personality. (By the way, some of these hosts offer a lights and sounds system tucked into their fee, so make sure to clarify.) Choosing the right host is very important since he will help set the tone for the festivities.

2. You can get instant feedback on his skills.

Visit wedding forums to read up on couples’ experiences regarding their hired hosts. There, you will see a mix of positive and negative comments, and figure out which qualities you consider as musts (polite? Check!) or not acceptable (cracks too many green jokes? No thanks!). You can also ask your relatives and friends. They may have come across some amazing hosts in recent receptions they’ve attended.

3. He has experience.

A pro MC has come across a slew of scenarios, both good and bad. Because of this, you can rely on him to handle any kind of audience and think on his feet when something goes wrong. He is used to the pacing of a wedding program, so he will not get flustered in case a wedding planner makes him cut his spiel or give an adlib about the wedding cake tradition.

4. You don’t have an intimate relationship with him.

Since you only know him on a professional level, he won’t be able to crack any personal childhood or couple jokes during the reception. In this case, expect him to share more generic anecdotes which he has delivered in many other parties.

ASKING YOUR PAL TO HOST

1. You won’t need to pay him.

When you ask your friend to host and he agrees, the hosting gig is more often than not given as a wedding gift. Unless your friend is a professional host, you won’t need to spend a cent for his services.

2. He won’t be able to relax during your reception.

Expect sweaty palms from your friend before and during your festivities. Since you’re hiring an amateur host who doesn’t do this for a living, he will experience some fear and excitement (let’s hope it’s more of the latter!) from the prospect of talking to a big crowd—composed of people he mostly doesn’t know. Don’t expect him to be able to properly sit down and eat throughout the night. He will be too preoccupied thinking about the next segment and standing up repeatedly to talk on stage.

3. You can’t expect him to know the ins and outs of a wedding program.

Forgotten segments, wrong name pronunciations—these are two things that can happen with a non-professional MC. Sadly, you can’t really blame your friend if any of these scenarios occurs since it’s not something he’s trained for.

4. He knows the most intimate details about the couple.

Expect more personal jokes when you ask your pal to host. Sometimes, it can become too intimate though, so make sure to warn him which inside jokes you DON’T want being mentioned in front of family and guests. Also, as a side note, a funny friend doesn’t necessarily translate to a great MC. He may be entertaining to a smaller group but might freeze in front of a bigger congregation.

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