Hosting a Chinese traditional wedding banquet in Singapore

You have an outgoing personality and is outspoken. Because of this, good friends getting hitched always feel that you are the best person to emcee/host their wedding. To make things worse, it is to emcee a traditional chinese wedding here in Singapore. Fret not for here are my key points to look into when navigating the intricacies of hosting a chinese wedding banquet in Singapore.

Hosting a Chinese traditional wedding banquet in Singapore

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EXPECTATIONS OF THE BRIDAL COUPLE Sit down with the wedding couple and find out what they want for their wedding celebration, what their expectations are. This in my humble opinion is key because this is THEIR night. That one night of their lives which they will remember for all eternity. As their wedding night emcee, you should try to meet their objectives and expectations. For example, if they were a fun, outgoing couple and they were game enough, you could bring them up on stage and have fun couple activities to entertain them and the audience. However, if the wedding couple were introverts or shy, perhaps you should refrain from having such stage activities. Do not engage in such activities just to entertain the audience or ‘make fun’ of the couple at their expense. KNOW THE PROGRAMME/SCHEDULE As a wedding emcee or as an emcee for any type of event, you have to know the programme/schedule inside out. Especially so for a Chinese traditional wedding here in Singapore as it usually entails several common steps. Listed below is a sample of a common programme of a traditional Chinese wedding banquet here in Singapore. 1. Opening video/photo montage. (Photos of bride/groom each individually culminating with how they met and couple photos) 2. 1st March In. (March In song) 3. Couple on stage. (Wedding cake cut) 4. Couple take their seats. 5. Dinner is served. 6. Band 1st set. 7. *(2nd video/photo montage of morning gate crash) (may or may not have) 8. Couple 2nd march in after a change in outfits. (normally around Dinner 3rd course) 9. Popping of champagne, champagne fountain, bridal couple cross hands toast. 10. Speeches. (from Best Man, Maid of Honour) 11. Bridal couple Speech. 12. Traditional toast. (where you gather both families and the couple’s best friends to stage) 13. Stage Activities for the couple if deemed suitable. 14. Couple then starts their tour of each table for table photos. 15. Band 2nd set 16. After dessert is served, couple with their parents will stand at entrance to thank guests. Emcee to do thank you and wrap up for the night. This is just my own rough template of what normally happens throughout a traditional Chinese wedding banquet. It is by no means exhaustive. For example, the wedding couple might want to have a dance (Step 13) or maybe the groom might want to sing for the bride, etc…. I put this sample up to show you that an emcee needs to know the entire agenda. And although you are just the emcee, you should ensure that all the details are checked and ready to go because if anything cocks up or malfunctions, the first thing the audience will look to is the emcee. So, make friends with the banquet captain, the tech engineer, the band leader, the best man, the photographer, the videographer, the person in charge of playing the songs/montage/video, etc…. Ensure you check and recheck the sound system, play the montage or video completely to see that it runs nicely and the audio is audible. Work out a system with the banquet captain to signal you when the couple is ready for the march ins or when dinner is ready. Work with the band leader when they should get ready and start for their respective sets. Find out where the Best Man/ Maid of Honour sits in case you need to find them. Run through the agenda with the photographer/ videographer so they have an idea what to expect. Normally the wedding couple will put the Best Man in charge of it all but it doesn’t hurt for you to help out. In the end you will at least have the confidence when you step up on stage. (Hahahah! Not so easy taking on the role of a wedding emcee right!) BRIDAL COUPLE GAMES As mentioned earlier, if this segment is deemed suitable for the bridal couple in question, there are many types of activities you can propose. You can trawl the internet for ideas if needed. But they can be as simple as a couple quiz to see how well they know each other to more fun and silly games like getting the bride to pass an egg from the bridegroom’s sleeves through his outfit and out through his pants without breaking the egg. I humbly remind you that what may seem a fun activity can seem off colour or in bad taste to an older audience so please check in with the bridal couple to see what is appropriate. SOME THINGS TO REMEMBER The song list or the band’s playlist may not be the purview of the emcee but like I said before, the first one anyone looks to when something goes wrong is the emcee. So, remember that some nice slow love songs are breakup songs. Definitely not appropriate on a wedding night. As emcee, you may not be in charge of this aspect, but you can certainly give a timely reminder. Remember this is the bridal couple’s night to remember. Remember to respect their wishes and meet their expectations. A wedding celebration is a once in a lifetime event to celebrate the union of 2 very special people in love. A couple who will share the rest of their lives together through good and bad times. Should you need advice on how to emcee a wedding like a pro or if you want one of Singapore’s top wedding emcee to emcee your wedding celebration, don’t hesitate and contact Emcee Cyril now at www.emceecyril.com. Make it an awesome night for all to remember. Say “I will!” today…