The Time It Takes...

A bride recently wrote in a local wedding forum about her experiences with a particular dj/emcee and how disappointed she was with this vendor. While many of her other vendors did well, this vendor will stick out in her memories and the memories of her guests. This is what she wrote:

xxxxxxxx got pretty good reviews from the knot so I was more than excited to work with him. He was always quick to respond to my emails. I really like his set up online where you can go through his music and pick out which songs to play. That was helpful. But come day of, everything changed. I am reluctant to give him a B-, but only because he was helpful beforehand. For starters, I was able to look back at the videotape and oohhh and ahhh over things but I was soooooo sad that our bridesmaids didn’t get to walk down to the song I had picked for them. I had 8 bridesmaids and only the last 3 were able to. They let the mom’s processional song play on and on…and didn’t even know the processional for the bridesmaids had begun. They started the song so late! Then when my father and I walked (keep in mind, the walk was VERY far), they didn’t get that music cued on time. We arrived to the reception and it was complete chaos. We hired him to be the MC as well. I assumed he would have order and get things in order for us to all be announced. He didn’t do this. My maid of honor had to do his job. Instead of going over some of the last names and making sure he was able to pronounce them correctly, he just read them and really messed them up. During the dinner music, after every song was over, there would be a long pause. It sounded terrible. People would look around with an uncomfortable stare. There was NOT a good flow! Lastly, many of our guests would request songs to be played and he would turn them down. OMG, I had had it! I sent my DH over there to handle it. Never ever turn down suggestions. He told them things like “we’re only playing hip hop right now”, “we have to go in this order, sorry.” NOT HAPPY AT ALL!!

I know this vendor well. He is a good DJ and very affordable. His emcee service costs only $100. So aside from the price, what is the difference between a budget emcee and a Certified Professional Master of Ceremonies?

For one, the time invested into each wedding is very different. Because he only charges $100 for his emcee services, a budget emcee has to work a full-time day job, which prevents him from having the time to practice the names of the people he must introduce, program & edit the music so that there are no awkward silences, and rehearse the entire presentation. Overall, he probably puts in less than two hours of prep time into a wedding. The result is a disappointed and unhappy couple who now have some unfortunately sad memories of their wedding day.



What would a Certified Professional Master of Ceremonies have done differently?

For one, he would have sat down with the couple, by phone or in person, long before the event to go over all of the details. All of the names would have been rehearsed in front of them to make sure he was pronouncing them correctly. The Certified Professional Master of Ceremonies would have helped them organize the timeline to make sure that it will flow very well, with no awkward pauses.

The Certified Professional Master of Ceremonies would have attended the wedding rehearsal to understand the music cues and timing of the presentation. After the rehearsal, he would have had an understanding of how long each song would be, and then make the time to edit the songs so that they properly fit.

The Certified Professional Master of Ceremonies generally invests 40-60 hours of preparation & rehearsal BEFORE the wedding in order to ensure a FUN, UNIQUE, STRESS-FREE, and MEMORABLE experience for his clients.

A budget emcee sees the wedding as another gig.

The Certified Professional Master of Ceremonies see a wedding as the most important day in a woman's life, and it is his job to direct the presentation, inform the guests as to what is going on, and guide the festivities to a predetermined outcome. And like the great Masters of Ceremonies like Billy Crystal, he will have prepared and rehearsed his role to make sure the presentation turns out right.

Of course, there is a greater investment in a Certified Professional Master of Ceremonies, but the overall return on investment makes him a better value.

On the positive side, the bride did save a lot of money by hiring a budget emcee. But is it worth the stress and bad memories? When it is your turn to make a decision as to who will represent you, will it be about saving money or getting the best value on the quality of memories for your special day?

Stuff to think about...