Envisioning a nervous, sweaty performance under the glares of a bored and hostile crowd? Relax, you're undoubtedly a charismatic guy, or you wouldn't have been asked. A little bit of preparation will ensure a great success, and should leave you feeling a lot more confident about your impending duties.

MCing is a great responsibility. You'll need to introduce the head table and toasters, read messages from friends and family not in attendance, and keep the evening flowing, while always injecting a bit of humor into your delivery. Do a stellar job and you'll make the evening a lot of fun for everyone.  

The first things to consider when planning what to say, are the wishes of the bride and groom.   You're serving as an honor to them, so find out the tone they want for their big night. Ask them about their expectations for jokes and toasts, and see if they can warn you on potential troubles. A heads-up on Uncle Leo's predisposition towards long- winded, incoherent speeches might spare the guests and earn you the gratitude of the family in the know.

Now on to the jokes!

The best possible thing the guys at Groom Groove could've done for you is to find hundreds of great wedding jokes. If you've done a search on the web, though, you'll understand that good material is hard to come buy. We highly suggest The Wedding MC Joke Book which was created by two crazy comedians from Canada. The book has literally dozens of great, classy and - most importantly - funny jokes for a wedding MC. It's easy.

You're probably not a stand up comedian, (unless, uhh, you are a comedian) but you don't need to be one to do a great job, and have everyone laughing throughout the evening. The guests are on your side. This is not a hostile crowd and heckling at a wedding is considered in very poor taste (even though it's funny when it happens.) Everyone wants to have a good time, laugh a little, and enjoy the evening's celebration.

Telling a humorous personal story or anecdote about your relationship to either the bride or groom will connect you to any guests you don't already know, and hopefully leave them primed to laugh at what comes out of your mouth.

Surfing wedding joke sites on the web might leave you with the impression that your jokes need be a little risqué. DON'T FALL FOR IT! Jokes about the upcoming honeymoon, or about underwear that may or may not adorn the bride will leave your audience uncomfortable and are unlikely to get you the kind of laughs you're after.

Above all else, stay away from any kind of mother-in-law jokes. Please, if you've got any compassion for the poor groom, don't turn his mother-in-law against him from the start of the marriage.   There will be plenty of time for that later!

Choosing the right joke

Your comic material can be sourced from hundreds of websites, or even your local bookstore. While selecting your jokes, try to avoid anything overly generic, and concentrate on one-liners that can be personalized to the happy couple. Your own jokes are usually the best. Again, you don't have to be a professional comedian to be funny. Jokes are usually just observations that are carefully analyzed and well-told. As the MC, think about the things you've observed about the bride and groom over the years, and (if you feel comfortable), even the things you're observing at the reception, as long as they're in good taste. Don't choose material based solely on what makes you laugh; always test your jokes out on a few others. This ensures that the joke has a broad appeal, and the more you practice a joke, the better your delivery will be at the crucial moment.

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