What Does a Wedding MC Do? Behind the Scenes of a Seamless Reception

I recently was a guest at a wedding reception. It was beautiful and fun and the MC was great! Funny, natural, relaxed….and a relative of the bride. 

Although this MC did a great job, as a professional MC, I noticed so many things that could have been avoided.

Let me start off by saying when you’re thinking about who is going to MC your wedding, the role is not just about announcing the bridal party in and introducing the speakers for the night. It’s not just about making sure everyone is having a good time and is informed. It’s not just about entertainment. There are so many moving parts to execute a reception that what happens behind the scenes needs to be incorporated as well.

I’ll elaborate:

Before introducing the guests in and then the bridal party, your MC should check in with the house, meaning the venue. Is the kitchen on time and will they be ready for service once the opening speech has been made? Has the champagne tower been either set up or put away? Is the photographer and/or videographer ready to capture the entrance? Maybe they need to switch batteries etc. Who is playing the music? Is the DJ/musician set up and ready to go?

Later on in the night when the schedule says it's time for the next round of speakers, sometimes the crew, meaning any of the vendors you’ve hired (photographers, videographers, content creators etc) are still having their dinner break. (Remember they’ve all been going for as long as you so they also need to eat!). Have the waitstaff finished taking plates away or finished serving? The last thing you want is someone doing a speech while dishes are being collected.

Going back to the reception I mentioned at the beginning, a few of these things happened. When the marrying party said to the MC they were ready to cut the cake, the MC jumped straight on the mic and asked the guests to circle around for the cutting of the cake. Although most people were mingling by this stage, the wait staff were still collecting the plates and had trays of dishes in their arms. I saw the panic in their eyes as everyone moved to the dancefloor in a hurry. Luckily no one knocked any of the waitstaff. At the same time, the photographers had been outside finishing their meals and immediately picked up their cameras and ran into the crowd. They got the shot but my point here is that they weren’t notified it was about to happen and didn’t get to finish their break.

This is where I pitch the idea that keeping your celebrant on as your MC (cough* like me) is a good idea. We’re at weddings ALL THE TIME so we know what goes on behind the scenes like the back of our hands. Not only are we managing the timeline but we also ensure that everything and everyone moves smoothly. 

Now that’s just on the night. There’s also the actual schedule of the whole reception that professional MCs contribute too. We know from experience how long the entrance is going to take, how long speeches will take and where to place these speeches depending on the number. The other CRUCIAL detail is informing the venue prior to the event if there has been a change to the schedule. If you’ve moved the entree time or the main meal service time, this MUST go back to the kitchen.

There are so many behind the scene elements that go into creating a seamless reception. So when you’re considering who is going to MC your reception consider keeping your celebrant on to ensure a seamless event.

Get in touch if this is something you’d be interested in using Married by Leah for!