# MC-ing a wedding



## springhill (14 January 2010)

Howdy people!

I've been given the honour/poison chalice of MC-ing a friends wedding, while i'm at ease speaking in public, this is something i've never encountered before. Will be around 150 there but will only know around 30 of them.

Just seeking some advice/experiences/tips on how to go about the role, the format and connecting to the people i'm not familiar with there.
Possibly a corny joke as an ice breaker? How's this....

A mushroom walks into a bar & asks for a beer
The bartender replies 'I can't serve you, sir'
The mushroom replies 'Why not? I'm a fun guy (funghi)'

At least if it crashes and burns the only way is up!

I realise the wedding is not about me, but weddings with good MC's are usually more fun, and i suspect they have picked me as i'm the more flamboyant member of the group.

Any help would be greatly appreciated, thanks in advance!


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## spooly74 (14 January 2010)

springhill said:


> Howdy people!
> 
> I've been given the honour/poison chalice of MC-ing a friends wedding



I hear ya, it's like being asked to make love to the Queen, deeply honoured, but you'd wish someone else would do it! 

I was MC at a good mates wedding a couple of months ago and I used this gag that went down a treat.
Before the wedding guests took their seats I'd put some gold stars behind some random (my ar$e) name tags. 
At almost every wedding you have the usual clinking of glasses for the newlyweds to kiss. Well.
I brought the tackiest pair of fluffy dice with me and when the first glass 'clink' started, I got up and announced that at this wedding, things were goinig to be different.
Then, randomly select a table or two and pick some victims.
The game is, if they throw even, the bride and groom kiss, if it's odd .......

Don't let anyone in, it's a hoot when everyone's liquored up.
Good Luck!


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## Julia (14 January 2010)

Not sure why you feel the need to provide corny jokes?  When I've been to functions where the MC does this, most people laugh politely, but weakly, and as an aside roll their eyes in exasperation.

I'd probably rather listen to one of your religious diatribes than suffer through mushroom jokes, and that's saying something because I detest the religious stuff.


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## sam76 (14 January 2010)

my advice.

remember you are MC not the best man.

Keep it short and sweet as you are there to keep the night flowing.


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## saiter (14 January 2010)

springhill said:


> Howdy people!
> 
> A mushroom walks into a bar & asks for a beer
> The bartender replies 'I can't serve you, sir'
> The mushroom replies 'Why not? I'm a fun guy (funghi)'




LOL! That is such a "dad" joke... if you used that as an opener, people would be laughing _at_ you, not _with_ you 



spooly74 said:


> I hear ya, it's like being asked to make love to the Queen, deeply honoured, but you'd wish someone else would do it!




This is very disturbing...



spooly74 said:


> I was MC at a good mates wedding a couple of months ago and I used this gag that went down a treat.
> Before the wedding guests took their seats I'd put some gold stars behind some random (my ar$e) name tags.
> At almost every wedding you have the usual clinking of glasses for the newlyweds to kiss. Well.
> I brought the tackiest pair of fluffy dice with me and when the first glass 'clink' started, I got up and announced that at this wedding, things were goinig to be different.
> ...




This is very interesting!


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## springhill (14 January 2010)

Julia said:


> Not sure why you feel the need to provide corny jokes?  When I've been to functions where the MC does this, most people laugh politely, but weakly, and as an aside roll their eyes in exasperation.
> 
> I'd probably rather listen to one of your religious diatribes than suffer through mushroom jokes, and that's saying something because I detest the religious stuff.




I don't feel the NEED to do anything, just looking for help/opinions, yours is duly noted. Thanks for the feedback, that's in all sincerity BTW.

I'll save my 'religious diatribes' for the ceremony, ranting about the BS that is the Catholic church always goes down better in the house of God. You're not alone in your dislike of religious crap, i'll most likely skip the churchy part.


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## springhill (14 January 2010)

saiter said:


> LOL! That is such a "dad" joke... if you used that as an opener, people would be laughing _at_ you, not _with_ you.




That i can live with!


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## Julia (14 January 2010)

Springhill, my apologies:  for some reason I confused your nic with "Weatherbill", the bloke who makes the dire religious prophecies.
Hence my reference to the religious stuff.  So sorry.

Obviously I don't know you or your circle of friends, but if it were my wedding I'd be pretty happy if the MC simply made some pleasant remarks about how long he has known the couple, and maybe one or two anecdotes about specific occasions which go to the sort of people they are.

Unless you're a natural born comic (and few people are), you might be best keeping it fairly simple and just regarding yourself as more of a continuity announcer than someone on whom there is much focus.

Good luck.


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## Fleeta (14 January 2010)

Start with this one...

Weddings, as everyone knows, are a three-ring circus. Engagement ring, wedding ring, suffer-ring!


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## Stan 101 (15 January 2010)

You have been invited to MC a wedding so it's apparent you are held in high esteem by the couple. Start with a short, timely opening to a story of happiness.

Praise the bride sincerely and then congratulate the groom. Thank the parents and compliment the bridal party, particularly the bridesmaids. 
Speak from the heart for two minutes about the couple. Maybe discuss a funny interlude from the first time you saw them together as a couple. Keep it clean and proper.

Tie in the opening comments as the close. Take a bow and kiss the bride, then offer a toast.

Good form is the only way to go at a wedding. An MC should never be remembered. It's not your day.


cheers,


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## BradK (15 January 2010)

Corny joke: 

There was an inflatable boy, who had an inflatable mum and dad, and lived in an inflatable house. He went to an inflatable school, and one day he landed in his inflatable principal's office in BIG trouble for taking a pin to school. 

The principal said, "You've let me down, yourself down and the school down." 

Cha-ching!


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## skc (15 January 2010)

Definitely no corny jokes... just imagine how you feel if you are at someone else's wedding and they had an MC who keeps cracking weak jokes all night.

Like others say, keep it short and personal.

And if you are single being MC is the best way to meet the other single bachelorettes in the crowd. You want to appear as a sweet guy, not a guy who's trying too hard to be funny.


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## matty77 (15 January 2010)

I agree with what most others are saying, no corny jokes, and if you are going to make some jokes keep the short, sharp and shiny. 

You will need to introduce the couple as they come in and probably introduce the bridal party as well, make sure you get to know who they are. Also dont forget to tell people where the toilets are, also tell people what is happening tonite (eg dinner, cutting cake, first dance later etc) maybe a quick story about the couple if you have time. Then rap it up pretty quickly so people can get on with it.

good luck!


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## Sir Osisofliver (15 January 2010)

springhill said:


> Howdy people!
> 
> I've been given the honour/poison chalice of MC-ing a friends wedding, while i'm at ease speaking in public, this is something i've never encountered before. Will be around 150 there but will only know around 30 of them.
> 
> ...




Your primary role as a Master of Ceremony is to introduce others who will speak to the party and keep the night flowing...do you know who will be speaking and at what times?

Do you know what events will be happening and when? Eg cutting of the cake, first dance etc.

Get the bride and groom to work out what they want to occur, you need to help it keep on track.

Corny jokes are a no-no but comedy (if you can do it well) is your friend.

Cheers

Sir O


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## Mr J (15 January 2010)

Regarding jokes, depends on your sense of humour. If jokes come naturally then I think that's fine, but if they don't (which may be the case if you're considering corny jokes!), try to find a few funny stories about the bride and groom (you may want to run them past us first, some stories are best left untold ).


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## DocK (15 January 2010)

I think it's important to remember there are older family and friends of the bride and groom in the room - their wedding reception is definitely not the time for dirty jokes or innuendo.  What may be funny to your immediate cirlce may make the b&g very uncomfortable when the audience consists of their parents, grandparents etc....  

My MC was brilliant.  Introduced everyone, outlined the procedure for the night, spoke for 1 min on his relationship to myself & spouse and said something nice about our future together and then shut up and got on with it.  He kept the night flowing and was able to nicely "prompt" any longwinded speechmaker to wrap it up.  Everyone knows how boring the speeches can be at weddings for most in the "audience".  A good MC can quickly get everyone to quiet down when it's time to announce the first waltz, cutting of the cake etc and gets it done with as little delay as possible.  Go over the procedure for the night and the timing of events with the b&g beforehand (or maybe just the bridezilla) and take your cues from them on the night.  Most importantly, stay sober until the last of your duties has been performed - remember your job is to make their night perfect.


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## Mofra (15 January 2010)

I've been an MC and a best man at weddings - the better MCs always remember that the stars of the wedding are the bridal party, not themself. Sometimes, less is more. The only jokes that will really work are the spontaneous one liners that you can't plan for anyway.


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## JTLP (15 January 2010)

Only 1 corny joke is allowed:

"Webster's dictionary defines a wedding as the process of removing weeds from one's garden"


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