THIS week, we look at the role of master of ceremonies (MC) in the wake of comedians that have taken the lead for years now.
It is believed by some brides and grooms that invited guests want to laugh throughout the reception celebration.
Contrary to that thought, a wedding is not a place for jokes, it is different from a comedy show and many people who attend weddings are rarely moved by jokes made by some comedians.
Master of Ceremonies is not a role that should be performed by comedians only, anyone can, especially those who are mature enough, good public speakers, believe in themselves and are properly dressed.
MCs must be properly dressed otherwise guests would feel like wanting to walk up to him and dress him properly and not listen to the jokes.
A Christian MC who would discharge his duties in like manner could be most preferred at Christian wedding.
Yes, jokes could be part of the ceremony but something that is added just to lighten the mood and not that they take up the entire show.
Regular wedding reception guests would agree that a number of comedians believe in giving the public ‘fresh jokes’, and not the same old stuff that has been said over and over again.
It must be noted that jokes that made people laugh at a comedy show might not make the wedding guests laugh because of a different environment.
In fact, at a wedding, they will laugh out of sympathy because they want you to improve your jokes and not to tell them exactly the same just like singing the national anthem, spice them up a little bit.
MCs must avoid telling stories about their children or spouse, there are many good stories about youngsters or spouses that can best be shared to suit the situation.
MCs must do their best to avoid jokes where they put God, Jesus as characters otherwise they end up offending the Christians.
Dry jokes must be avoided, there is only one man on earth who is allowed to include something irritating in the way they speak and does this at the end of the year because everyone is looking forward to the New Year.
It is only Father Christmas whose major target audiences are children, who are not bored, all they look forward to, are presents as he boringly speaks to the children Hoh! Hoh! Hoh!
It is a pity that many MC’s have had Father Christmas as their role model so they begin their jokes with Hah! Hah! Hah!
They start laughing at their own jokes with a few seconds of commencing to tell it and from there on it is punctuated with their own hearty laughs.
It is a good thing that laughter is the best medicine and may be contagious but not under those circumstances.
It is not wise to laugh at your own jokes while you are telling them, you can laugh after telling them at the end.
I attended a wedding where the MC recorded his own laughter. His jokes were good but everything was ruined by the recorded laughter, every after each joke he gave the DJ a sign to play the recorded laughter, it was so irritating as guests had to compete with the recorded one, it took up all the time because he knew well when the joke would end, so this made him the most boring MC ever.
Invited MCs must get to wedding early, help out and stay late to attend the wedding party also, they must get there early enough to make any last minute preparation with the organizers.
MCs must practice using the microphone before the reception begins rather than standing in front of everyone and testing it.
Practice holding the microphone at the correct distance in order to be loud enough for everyone to hear.
MCs must avoid rapping when talking, they must take their time, it is always encouraging to choose someone known to bride or groom or a close friend for the role of MC.
When standing in front, MCs must avoid looking in one direction for a very long time because doing that consistently at a singles table, would make all the guests look in that direction and wonder why.
MCs must have all the necessary information to be announced at the beginning of the reception, their biggest job start immediately the reception starts.
As soon as guests begin to arrive, direct them to their tables, place their presents and other information that is necessary to them, it is customary for the MCs to introduce themselves, sets the tone of the weddings, the order of events what is coming up, what will be said, by who and when.
After speeches are made, MCs are not supposed to give preliminary speeches for each presented talk.
MCs don’t need to tell long winded jokes about each person, they are not the entertainment! Saying it as simple as; “let us all welcome the knife bearer”.
Try and stick to time as close as possible, but do not rush people who are still waiting to be served so you can jump to the other things on the programme, let things move in a calm and orderly fashion.
The wedding day is not time to shake things up and decide at the last minute that you are going to launch into the best man’s speech while the groom’s father is outside talking to friends complaining that they had little food served.
Make sure everyone is ready, on- point with the plan and stick to it. Even if the speech givers have surprises find out what is in them. That is why as MC, you need a clear head as you perform your duties.
Be familiar with the schedule of the events, you are in-charge of making it a success.
As the MC, it is your job to keep the wedding event moving forward in a timely manner, keeping to the schedule and helping as best as you can.
It is because of this you need to be involved in the planning process not to make a decision but to make sure that you are aware of how the order of events needs to occur.
They belong to the couple but your job is to help it happen without any problems.
Try and keep an eye on the big picture and focus on making things simpler, rather than more complicated, be the master of ceremonies and not the master of confusion.
I am gathering information on the Zambian weddings from 1964 to 2014, from the stories told, the 1960’s, 70s, 80s wedding sound as if they were stress free wedding celebrations and I believe many lessons can be learnt, how they managed to put up such weddings and how the preparations were done from the bridal dress preparation, the walk down the aisle to the couple’s final moments dancing at the reception venue, the budget and how long it took to plan.
From the 1964 – 2014 wedding stories, we will learn to plan and have memorable weddings and they will also learn how to write their wedding stories which they will pass on to their children, it will be their legacy.
Wedding memories are important and should be remembered just like a woman does not forget her jewelry or to apply make-up and a bride does not forget to wear her wedding dress.               We Write your wedding story, then send it to me, it will be a great way to celebrate Zambia @50, you will be glad you did.
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