Remember back in junior high, what did we do when we had a substitute teacher? We knew they didn’t know what they were doing, so we didn’t really listen to them or take them seriously, right? Why did this happen? There wasn’t a strong leader.
The same applies to your Chicago wedding. Things don’t just happen on their own without the help of an experienced professional Emcee. The larger the number of guests, the more important the role of the Emcee is. Your Emcee is almost always your bandleader. Not all bandleaders are equal in their Emcee skills.
Clients ask me “Can we just have our friend be the Emcee?”
Could you imagine if out of nowhere your father just started giving his toast without any introduction or announcement? People would continue talking loudly, some guests would be walking around while your poor dad is up there begging your guests to be quiet and be seated.
Here’s another example: It’s time for your first dance. Since you don’t have a professional Emcee, the band starts playing the introduction to your song. You start dancing. Your photographer is in the bathroom. Your guests are at the bar, talking at their tables and not paying attention to one of the most important moments of your Chicago wedding. How would that feel?
How about one more example? It’s time to introduce your bridal party. The bridal party members are all over the venue. After you, your groom and your guests run around for 20 minutes to find everyone in the bridal party, you’ll still need to have each person introduced with the correct title and pronunciation. You’ll also need to somehow get your guests attention as well as making sure the other vendors are ready to go.
Here’s what a professional Emcee/Bandleader will do for your Chicago Wedding:
1. Invite your guests to move from the ceremony room into the cocktail area.
2. Invite your guests from the cocktail area into the ballroom.
3. Line-up your bridal party
4. Invite your guests to be seated
5. Cue your photographer, videographer and venue contact for all activities.
6. Introduce your bridal party
7. Introduce first dance, father/daughter, mother/son dance
8. Announce cake cutting
9. Introduce all toasts
10. Introduce Blessing Over the meal
11. Announce Garter/Bouquet
12. Get the attention of all your guests for each of the described activities
I hope this gives you a better idea as to the importance of using a professional Emcee instead of a friend or family member.
