Saturday, July 26, 2014

The Wedding Preparation: Part 3 (Emcee)

"Wah, you have too much money to splurge ar? Why need to hire professional emcee? Just find someone that can talk on stage will do la...."
That was the response I received from majority when they got to know that I am getting a professional master of ceremony a.k.a emcee for my wedding. I am thankful that my other half, as well as my in laws, did not think the same way. We strongly believe in the need of getting a good emcee for major events like weddings. Emceeing is indeed a crucial, tough job. Not just being able to crack some jokes to wow the audience, an effective emcee will be required to simultaneously wear other hats: event coordinator, stage manager, clock watcher, sound and lighting consultant, trouble shooter, nerve calmer, cheer leader....A good emcee will make the event more entertaining, and a huge success. A bad emcee, can make an otherwise outstanding event look like amateur night at the local "lala" pub. After all the hard work in planning for the wedding, I would definitely want to hand it to someone who is capable of handling it.

Emcee: William Lee
Overall rating: 5 (out of 5)
Recommendation grading: Highly recommendedRecommended, Recommended with reservation, Not recommended

I found this incredible emcee while googling for wedding emcees over the internet. To be honest, I was already quite convinced of getting him for my wedding when I checked out his portfolio, testimonials from his past clients and videos of his performances over the net. I dropped an email immediately to arrange for an appointment...and engaged him straight after the meet up.

Price/Value: Slightly on the pricier side but you'll not regret getting him
William's charges vary according to the complexity of the program, but he generally charge RM2,600 for wedding reception planning, coordinating and bilingual emceeing (English, Mandarin or Cantonese). This package also include one assistant. His team, which acts as personal DJ and timekeeper throughout, will liaise with all parties involved in the event: banquet manager, performers, PA and lighting personnels, etc, to ensure smooth and successful event. 

As for my wedding, we paid RM3,000 (after RM200 discount) for planning, coordinating and emceeing both solemnization ceremony and wedding reception.

Quality of Service: Excellent
If you're looking for an emcee for your event, I highly recommend William Lee. Look for no other. He's REALLY GOOD!! While some emcees simply introduce people and make announcements, this guy has a myriad entertaining styles of doing them. Composed and flexible, William definitely has excellent stage presence, exceptional audience rapport and communicates very effectively. Also, he is perfectly capable of setting the perfect tone for the event, managing time effectively, making everyone feel welcome and at ease...More importantly, he does not hog the limelight!!  All my guests, even my elderly Chinese speaking relatives, were singing praises of him! 

Throughout the few months of wedding planning, we liaise with William over emails and met up in a few occasions to discuss on the itinerary, song selection and other related issues. With the help of his team, we managed to have the rehearsal done with the wedding party shortly before the solemnization ceremony. He even helped JW in planning a surprise performance (i.e. serenading me with songs and poem as I make my second entrance during the wedding reception). 

William explaining the significance of Unity Sand Ceremony
JW serenading me with "Can't Help Falling In Love"



FYI, my SIL also engaged William for her wedding, which was just 4 months after mine. Although both of our weddings were held in the same place and coordinated by the same person, they didn't feel much the same. Now that's how you regard a good emcee. 



List of other emcees found during my search (Price indicated is of 2012/2013's):
1. Jocelyn Lim - RM1600 (inclusive of floor manager) >http://www.jocelyn.com.my/<

2. Oliver Kwan - RM 1500 (emcee alone), RM1800 (emcee cum event coordinator). No DJ service >http://oliverkwan.com/<

3. Ethan Kong - RM1500 (inclusive of floor manager). >http://ethankong.com/<


Tip: 
Some hired emcees have very poor command of language and dress rather inappropriately. Check out videos/recordings of their past performances, listen to their pronunciation of words and take note of how they dress, at the very least, before engaging one. 


- Carmen -

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