No!
You really DON’T need to hire a professional MC!
You can absolutely, 100% get a family member or a friend to do this for you instead of spending your hard earned money on a professional MC.
The same as how you don’t actually need to hire a professional dress maker. You can absolutely get a family member or friend to knock up a dress for you. You don’t actually need to hire a professional florist. You know there is someone in your family that could probably throw together a passable floral arrangement.
You probably have a cousin that could play music from a Spotify playlist though a Bluetooth boom box to save money on getting a DJ too.
You know, I also think someone in your family is probably more than capable of baking a cake also.
Okay … so … you can see that this is thick with sarcasm so far right?
I’m not trying to be sarcastic, but I find it really disappointing when I am hired as a DJ and/or live musician only and have to put up with the pain of watching yet another family member or friend completely destroy a wedding when they were supposed to be tasked with the absolute MOST important role of a wedding … the MC.
See, the MC is the host of the event. They are the person every guest, vendor and venue looks towards for guidance and trusts to keep things in control and on time.
Sadly, this is seldom the case.
Most couples pick a family member or friend to save a few hundred dollars only to find their chosen MC really has no idea what to do. They chose them because they were “good at speaking”. That’s only a small part of the responsibility of being an MC. What about their planning skills?
What about their people skills?
Improvisational skills?
There is a plethora of skills that a good MC will bring to an event.
What hurts the most is that I have invested thousands upon thousands of dollars to hone my skills as an MC. I have spent countless hours upon hours practising my craft.
I have even been named in the top 10 MC’s in all of Australia and even won the #1 award for best MC in Queensland.
Then I have to go and watch a wedding be destroyed by a family member or friend that really has no idea what they are doing as I am forced to stand idly by and watch on in horror as the couple chose to not invest just that little bit more to take their day to the next level.
Frequently, the couple will thank the stand in MC for the amazing job they did. Sadly, whilst it probably DID seem to them the person did a great job, they don’t realise just how much MORE amazing it COULD have been.
If I had never in my life been to a movie theatre and went to see even a terrible movie, I would probably walk out saying it was “amazing”, but … compared to what? After seeing a few movies, all of a sudden that first one that seemed amazing really wasn’t that great after all!
It’s like that with MCs. Your uncle Bob might seem like he did a great job, but … did he really?
Did you realise that for much of the night I was prompting and reminding uncle Bob that it’s time for the next part of the run sheet (that he seemed to have forgotten as he is 3 beers in deep and chatting to Kevin).
Did you realise that the kitchen staff are furious at Uncle Bob as they had meals planned to run at 7.00pm sharp, but uncle Bob didn’t keep good control of the timeline so speeches are still happening and it was 7.38pm when they finally got to run the meals (that are now ruined by trying to be kept warm instead of served on time at their best, tastiest time)?
Did you realise that uncle Bob grabbed the mic and said (without checking with the vendors) that it’s now time for the cake cutting? Meaning the vendors, who were FINALLY able to sit down and enjoy their first meal of the day had to leave it and rush back inside to get the photos and play the music for the cake cutting.
There are a ton of little things that often go unnoticed by even the appointed MC as they don’t realise the correct etiquette to running a wedding successfully to manage EVERYONE that is at the wedding.
A good MC is responsible for ensuring that the timeline is adhered to as closely as possible.
That the vendors get time to eat their meal (as it’s often the first of a long day).
That the meals prepared by the kitchen run on time.
That all guests are made aware of what is about to happen BEFORE it happens.
That the wedding couple are priority number 1 and must be catered for before anyone else when it comes to their comfort.
Sadly, far too many times I have seen “uncle Bob” more interested in chatting with long lost friends and family and drinking his share of the bar tab than actually doing what he should be doing as a true Master of Ceremonies.
I don’t even blame Uncle Bob for how poorly he handled the night.
He didn’t know any better!
He thought he was doing what he needed to do.
Even the couple, whilst they knew I offered MC services, didn’t realise just how much better things could have been.
Please… consider just how much better things could be for your wedding by hiring our professional MC services before hiring a family member or friend. Consider that we have invested many thousands of dollars honing MC skills to bring something that no friend or family member ever could.
It’s a small price to pay for memories that we create.
