As I mentioned in my other blog, we went Mr. Bean’s cousin’s wedding this last weekend. I want to share some photos from their wedding in hopes to inspire brides to be!

Note: Above is the “In Loving Memory Of” table complete with photos.

The Groom’s father made all the wine – isn’t that neat?

The cake was made by the Bride’s grandmother. Yes, those are fondant Calla Lilies. I can only aspire to be that great of a cake decorator.

I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but I’ve added a “Recaps” tab to my blog:

They’re all listed in chronological order so you don’t have to waste time trying to find them!

Sorry for my prolonged absence. This is what happens when you start a new job, buy a condo, go on a business trip and get sick. Anyways, I digress. Now for my long awaited post about MC-ing.

Why MC-ing? Well, why not? I find that MCs are usually fairly low on the list of a Bride’s to-do list and I haven’t seen one weddingbee post on MCs*. How important to you are your MCs? I admit that I have personal reasons to think about as Mr. Bean and I are MC-ing our friend’s wedding at the end of July. I am a bit nervous (of course Mr. Bean is as cool as a cucumber, haha) but it’s not as if it is our first time being Masters of Ceremonies.

Our first time was last summer at our friends’ wedding: we played dual agents. Both Mr. Bean and I were in the bridal party as well as being MCs.

 (We had a joke that Mr. Bean had many hats due to his many roles, so he wore a top hat for part of the reception. But that’s typical Miss Bean behaviour – hamming it up. Go me.)

So why are we being asked to be MCs? To be honest, I’m not sure. When I think about it, I guess it’s because we’re organized, willing to put the time in to be organized, aren’t ridiculously afraid to talk in front of large groups of people and  we both have a sense of humour. However, I can’t really take too much credit, for we read this amazing book that really got our heads in gear.

As shown by Amazon

I think this book is a great for anyone considering to be an MC, as it is a practical guide infused with humour that gives you a list of things that you should think about such as what you should and shouldn’t do, questions to ask the bride, how to make a good toast, etc. It’s geared towards the bestman (as I guess traditionally he could be the MC), but it has good advice for anyone speaking publicly at a wedding reception. If I were to sum it up in two points this would be it:

1. Anyone can be an MC – you just have to be prepared.
2. Your role as an MC is to not keep everyone highly entertained or to steal the show from the bride and groom, but to keep the event going smoothly and in a non chaotic manner.

// here ends blatent promotion of the best MC advice book ever. I’m not biased at all!

That being said, I think it is important to not get too cocky about being about being an MC the second time around. Like any public speaking, having done it once is reassuring, but you’ll never quite be out in the clear. Every audience is different just as every event is different. So do any of you have any advice for the second time MC?

 When Mr. Bean and I came to choose our MCs, we knew hands down who it was going to be: my brother and cousin. How did we know? Well, both of them play off each other amazingly well. My brother is hilarious, if a bit random, whereas my cousin is a bit more logical and organized in his thinking and will keep things on track.

 That’s just about how cool they are! ) Oh, yes. And they like monkeys**.  

How did you go around choosing your MC? What were the most important things for an MC to do in your opinion?

* If there are any posts on weddingbee about MCs, I haven’t seen them. But I’d really like to!
** We have an inside joke in our families about us being apes and monkeys. It’s definitely going to be incorporated into our reception shenanigans.