Nothing wastes a newlywed's time more than choosing a truly experienced, talented and best wedding officiant. But how not to make a mistake in choosing? After all, every wedding toastmaster declares his professionalism and individual approach to the celebration. Don't be fooled!
The Svadebka.ws team has compiled a rating of wedding hosts, thanks to which every couple will be able to find their ideal specialist.
Is a toastmaster really needed for a wedding?
Looking back at wedding celebrations in Europe or America, many couples in our country are increasingly asking the question: is it really necessary to order a wedding host? After all, if you carefully approach the organization of the celebration, you can save money on the services of a toastmaster. Especially when it comes to weddings with a small number of guests.
The main task of the host is to entertain both the newlyweds and the guests. If you have a friend who has a cheerful disposition and a loose tongue, then he can easily take on the role of toastmaster at a small celebration.
Wedding Bride 2022
“We made our choice for the role of host a couple of months before our wedding. And this was the only and most significant failure in the preparation for the wedding, and in the entire wedding in general! ... We had a meeting with the presenter only once, the appearance of the presenter, the modern theme of the competitions were agreed upon (the concept is vague, we needed at least a stop list of competitions), and especially an important factor for us - what we expect to see at our holiday exactly a female presenter (!), not a toastmaster. Because in my understanding, a toastmaster is a person with a button accordion in his hands, reading poetry and boring guests with endless dress-up competitions. While the presenter is the person who is responsible for the quality, novelty and originality of her program. At first deceptive glance, girl N seemed quite adequate. After listening to our wishes, she assured us that she is a professional in her field, and our wedding will be held at the highest level, promising that we will see our script in the near future. We didn’t meet again until the event itself, due to her “eternal busyness” (a bad sign), and we saw the event script only two days before the wedding, it was sent to us by email (we should have thought about the script much earlier and took the initiative to receive it yourself, and not wait until the last minute from the presenter). If at all, of course, it’s possible to call it a script! (((In the “script” itself there were various inaccuracies, errors, competitions that we didn’t even discuss, other people’s names, snippets from some other scripts, and that hated word toastmaster! !!! Of course, there was no time left to change anything (there would have been left if we had knocked out the script earlier), and we just had to believe her encouraging words that we had nothing to worry about, and we would remember this day for the rest of our lives (in vain! It was necessary to at least insist on correcting the script). Unfortunately, on that day her words turned out to be prophetic. We will not forget such a shame until the end of our days. ... On that day, her entire image, from her appearance to her manner of conducting the holiday, and It only caused gag reflexes in us and our guests. She appeared to us in a ball gown of an unknown color. In her words, “the color of chocolate,” although before that, all my life I personally associated the color of chocolate with something deep, beautiful, alluring and appetizing. But this same dress evoked in me only one desire - to BURN!!! This outfit harmoniously combined with black, undyed, greasy roots and peeling ends of hair, once a bright red color, carefully pinned with children's hairpins. Worn down shoes completed this unforgettable image. And all this against the backdrop of an unusually beautiful and delicate snow-white hall. To say that she looked ridiculous in it is to say nothing! But this was only the beginning of the “holiday”. I have never encountered such unprofessionalism and such tactlessness and I hope I never encounter it again... Emphasis in words, illiterate speech (this could certainly have been noticed at the meeting), confusion in names, attempts to make a good joke began to grate on the ears already at the very beginning of the event. Poems and phrases, with arms open to the sides and legs spread shoulder-width apart in a half-squat, accompanied us throughout the evening... I would also like to note the complete lack of ability to quickly respond to unforeseen situations, and the inability to feel the audience. Which is a huge disadvantage in this profession. Moreover, for the most part, she herself created all these unforeseen circumstances. For example, a pause of half an hour between exit registration and the “loaf” ritual. After registration, the presenter calmly retired to the hall to paint her lips, leaving all the guests, parents, and the groom and I standing stupidly in front of the steps of the restaurant (it was necessary to discuss the order of traditions and timing in advance). As if to justify it, N referred to the fact that the music was not ready yet (the readiness of the music by a certain time had to be controlled by one of the assistants) and at almost every wedding this is exactly what happens and in general such ridiculous pauses in the evening program are norm. Thus, the groom and I ourselves had to entertain the guests all this time, who, due to this long wait, simply wandered off to walk around the garden. I understand that there are technical issues, but you can’t leave guests alone for half an hour... (it was necessary to think through in advance and discuss with the host what will happen after check-in) There were also always some inconsistencies. The groom and I are standing on the path under the arch, after registration, and the host says to the guests: “well, now we congratulate our newlyweds.” Everyone, naturally, begins to give us gifts, flowers, envelopes, although the gifting was planned in the hall, as a result - we have nowhere to put all these gifts, there is neither a table nor a box for gifts nearby (dear brides-to-be, after registration there must be a stand someone who will accept flowers from your hands and then place them in vases or cars! Almost no one thinks about this, keep in mind! Standing with 20 bouquets in your hands is unrealistic). Then, realizing that she had blurted out another stupidity, the unforgettable presenter N begins to push the guests away from us, with the words: “You will give gifts in the hall, and now the young people are dancing” (((((Here is another example, during the dance of the bride and groom, and the dance with Our parents planned to sprinkle rose petals from a decorated basket. What does the presenter do?! She, completely forgetting about the existence of the basket, takes a white plastic bag with the inscription “magnet”, comes out to us and begins to pull out the petals with her hands. Romantic, isn’t it? ?! At such moments, I wanted to fall into the ground. For some reason, N decided that her main task that evening was to constantly tolerate and humiliate the guests. The guests were generously gifted with such remarks as: “Why are you standing here, you shabby grasshopper ", "Why are you yawning like a boiled sausage." What the guests didn't hear about themselves that evening! The bride also did not go without... attention! During the competition "Come up with words to address the bride starting with the letter "C", for example: brave, pretty, sunny,” I was given the following characteristics: The guest says: “Modest!” Presenter: “The bride is modest?? Well, maybe. I just didn’t see it!” Guest: “Self-critical” Presenter: “Self-critical? Are you confusing her with someone else?” And she ended this competition with the words: “Let’s finish it quickly, otherwise this bride’s noodles will start dripping from her ears.” In general, I sat like that, flowing around... She didn’t give any breaks at all, during meals she constantly carried out blitzes, in the following style: she approaches the guests at the table, hovering over someone’s plate and asks the question - “Are you cool, cool?!! Now it will be even cooler!!” And such remarks and embarrassments accompanied us all evening. Only thanks to the self-hypnosis “calm, only calm” I did not ruin my holiday! Competitions, such as who can pronounce a tongue twister better, made me smile, but nothing more. And most of the competitions, in addition to the fact that they were simply uninteresting and hackneyed (what about the approved script? Newlyweds, you should know almost all the competitions that you are planning! Let there be a couple of surprises from the host, but no more, the rest should be agreed with you!), and in addition, she didn’t really explain the rules. Guests ran up to us and asked what they needed to do in this competition, and the presenter was absent again at that moment. She even managed to ruin the family ceremony - it was very sad and depressing. And this man was going to sing at our wedding, without having any musical education, despite the fact that we had a professional singer who coped with his task wonderfully. We were saved only by the fact that the presenter told us about this in advance and we managed to prohibit her from this “gypsy girl’s exit.” In general, the guests did not like it, all without exception. Everyone said that the wedding was amazing, except for the host N. Thanks to them for their tact and understanding, and for the fact that despite such a terrible host everyone tried to smile and have fun... And at the end of it all, when we expressed to her our negative opinion about the wedding , I heard in response: “Let’s talk about you!” There was no warmth and tenderness at your wedding at all, you married for money!” What else can you say... The man once again confirmed his lack of professionalism and inability to adequately perceive criticism addressed to him.”
Work according to an individual scenario
The absence of a universal scenario suitable for all wedding events stimulates the creative approach of each organizer. The uniqueness of each wedding individually depends on the program drawn up, taking into account the age of the invited guests and social status in society. The preparation of a plan for a festive evening is carried out jointly with the customer, wishes and recommendations are taken into account. The proposed standard version of the sequence of events at a family celebration indicates a lack of interest in organizing a unique experience for the newlyweds and their friends.
Signs of a good presenter
The wedding host is not only the toastmaster responsible for entertaining the guests. A true professional takes on several tasks at once:
- control of event timing, proper distribution of time for congratulations, entertainment program and wedding ceremonies;
- introducing guests;
- holding entertainment programs and competitions;
- resolution of conflicts and force majeure situations;
- control the mood of guests, regulate the intervals between toasts.
Man or woman
Who to choose, man or woman? The ideal option would be if you call a couple. Thus, they can build interesting comic dialogues and immerse guests in a real romantic fairy tale. If there is only one toastmaster, then see for yourself who to give preference to. There are no strict limits here. Pay attention to the fact that the person is not shy, has charisma and the ability to cheer up.
Try not to look for a person who could combine the role of both an organizer and a musician . Let it be two people, but everyone will be able to fulfill their role perfectly. After all, when choosing high-quality furniture for hotels, first of all it should be comfortable and visually attractive.
Toastmaster program
