Wedding Emcees Explained: Costs, Duties and How To Choose
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This article is part of a series about hiring a wedding DJ and the ins and outs.
There is a lot of conflicting advice out there about wedding emcees. If you’re in the process of planning a wedding, you might be trying to navigate whether to hire a wedding emcee, a DJ or to just have a friend or family member do it.
I’ve produced hundreds of weddings and would love to help clear up a little confusion — particularly around the question of wedding djs vs. emcees.
In my experience, it’s easier for everyone when you hire a wedding DJ who can also emcee the event. First of all, it’s one less vendor you have to worry about and one less contract you have to read through. It’s also much, much smoother experience when you have one person running the whole show at your wedding reception.
Here are some the most common questions I answer when helping clients explore their MC options:
My fiancé wants his brother (or insert any other family member) to emcee. Is that a bad idea?
Personally, I would not recommend letting your friend/brother/uncle be your wedding emcee. They may be charming, funny and perfectly suited to being on stage! However, wedding MCs do much more than just speeches.
Wedding MCs are also responsible for helping you finalize your schedule of events and coordinating with vendors and the wedding planner to make on-the-fly adjustments to your itinerary as they come up. If you have a wedding DJ, they will also need to coordinate closely with them to make announcements.
If you’re not used to doing the job, it can be stressful for the. Your family member will also end up so busy running around as a vendor on your wedding day that they won’t be able to enjoy it themselves.
Thank them for the offer and instead hire a professional wedding DJ who emcees too — and invite your family member to give a toast at your wedding reception instead!
What does a wedding emcee actually do?
The role of a wedding emcee is two-fold: host your wedding reception and ensure that your schedule of events runs on time.
(We also have a whole article about this here!)
Exact roles and responsibilities of a wedding MC vary based on whether you have a wedding DJ, wedding planner and/or wedding coordinators, but you can generally expect them to:
Welcome your guests to the reception dinner: A really good MC will make your guests smile, encourage them to get to know their neighbors and warm up the crowd for introductions
Introduce your wedding VIPs: They’ll hype the crowd so your bridesmaids, groomsmen, maid of honor and best man walk into a super-excited, cheering room!
Introduce the couple’s Grand Entrance: The MC will make sure all eyes are on you as you enter the room for the first time as a newly married couple.
Make important announcements: They will lead the transition through the highlights of the evening, including the father-daughter dance, mother-son dance, cake cutting, bouquet toss, anniversary dance, photo dash (or table dash), private last dance, and anything else on your schedule of events
Get guests out on time: A mission critical moment of the night! They’ll pick up the mic as the evening winds down and prepare guests for exit (so you don’t get stuck with overtime fees from the venue!).
How much does it cost to hire a professional wedding emcee?
Professional weddings MCs may charge anywhere from $500-1500+ depending on location, scope of duties and experience. If you hire a professional wedding DJ, the cost of emcee services should be included in your package at no additional fee.
Do I need a wedding emcee if I already have a DJ?
You should not need to hire an emcee on top of a DJ. Too many cooks in the kitchen! Instead, look for a wedding DJ who has emcee experience. A professional wedding DJ should be able to do both.
What's the difference between an emcee and a wedding coordinator?
In general, the wedding coordinator works behind the scenes while the emcee is the “face” of your wedding reception.
Emcees are in charge of the microphones, coordinate handoffs during toasts, make announcements and keeping guests engaged throughout the evening. Meanwhile, wedding coordinators are responsible for helping execute the schedule of events with the event planner and vendors throughout the evening.
However, these aren’t hard lines. A good emcee is always willing to step in and assist the wedding coordinator when needed!
How do I choose a great wedding emcee?
My advice is to look for three key factors when hiring someone to be your wedding MC:
Organization skills: A good MC is super-organized and extremely detail-oriented. Since they play a key, front-facing role, they must be able to show they’re able to absorb a lot of details quickly and stay organized under pressure.
Experience: Having prior experience is non-negotiable when it comes to wedding MCing. There’s very little room for error on your wedding day and an experienced MC will be able to remain even-keeled and navigate unexpected situations without guests ever knowing a thing.
Personality fit: MC should be someone who can make you and your wedding guests feel comfortable around. Vibe, cultural fit and ability to make you laugh should all be part of your evaluation criteria.
What kinds of problems a wedding emcee solve?
An experienced wedding emcee will have answers for all of the following unexpected scenarios:
What if speeches run long?
What if a family member disappears before introductions?
What if the couple changes the timeline during the reception?
They will also be able to help you plan through common scenarios as you organize the schedule of events / itinerary during the planning process.
Here are some common scenarios an emcee should be able to manage:
“We're skipping the bouquet toss. How should we keep the reception flowing?"
“Our venue says dinner may be delayed 30 minutes. What should the emcee do?
“We have guests who speak English and Spanish. How should introductions work?"
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