I had the honor of being the Master of Ceremony at my brothers wedding. This was the first time I ever took on a task like this so I wanted to share some things I did that made it easier and some mistakes I made so hopefully others won’t make the same mistakes. Some of the things I talk about were probably complicated by the fact that it was my brother’s wedding but I still think the advice is valuable.
Show up early to get your bearings and make sure all the props (if there are any) are easily accessible. Also a great time to do a mic check… Took us 3 microphones before we got one that worked.
Watch the schedule and ensure you have time to sneak a few bites to eat. The night before the wedding I was getting all the times into Google Calendar so my smart watch would help keep us on track and I realized I would have maybe 5 minutes to eat a Steak Dinner… I knew that would not go too smoothly I grabbed a footlong sub from Subway for lunch, 6” for lunch and the other 6” went into my purse for later. Got to enjoy it while we were bussed off site to take photos during the cocktail hour. (The photographer was nice enough not to take my photo while eating haha)
If you find the schedule has you very busy around dinner time- bring a Tupperware dish. I still got to enjoy my steak this way! Just the next day. I hate being rushed when eating a good meal though so I was very happy I chose to do this.
Be flexible with the schedule. There was a few times the bride was really enjoying mingling with friends and family when I had to sneak over and reminder her what was next on the schedule. Give them a few minutes if you can- you’re there to keep everyone on track but you also don’t want to be a drill sergeant about it. When they’re making the schedule weeks ahead of time I don’t think they realize how quickly it all goes. My brother thanked me for being so flexible the next morning (which was too cute) it was their schedule after all.
Make sure you have everyone’s attention before starting to speak. This was something I was bad at and I know people missed some context because of it (oh well). So take a second, clear your throat and wait for the crowd to be ready to listen.
SPARE SHOES. If you are going to be wearing heels, having a pair of flats to step into when you are not speaking is a life saver. I know this was worse because this was the first event since COVID hit that I wore heels for an extensive amount of time but boy was I happy to have the spare shoes waiting under my chair!
Get pronunciations for everyone’s names. I am so happy I took the time to go over the names of the groomsmen and bridesmaids before the day of the wedding. I could introduce them all with confidence.
Request a copy of everyone’s speeches as a backup. This was something I wish I had did. My brother and his wife had their speech saves on her phone.. Which was forgotten in the hotel room haha. They did a great job winging it don’t get me wrong, but it would have been nice if I’d had a copy they could have used.
Have your script ready! I used queue cards to keep me on track. Did I follow them perfectly? No. Was I happy I had them? Oh yes. Obviously you don’t have to go as extreme as binding them into a book but the queue cards were so handy to have.
My last tip is an easy one. Have fun with it! You were probably chosen for a reason so put your personality into it!
Below are a few shots of me and my mic, my steak dinner reheated at home aha and the queue card book I made.
