I was the MC for my sister-in-law's wedding this weekend... to my American friends, I know most of you have never heard of such a thing, but it is a big, traditional role in Canada, and I believe also in the UK and abroad, whenever there is a large wedding reception, there are speeches, toasts, etc made for the bridal party by members of the bridal party, the parents of the bride and groom, etc. It is all Emcee'd by a Master of Ceremonies and I was the guy chosen by my sister-in-law because I am decent at public speaking, was close to them, and was drunk when they asked me and said yes!
In all seriousness, it was a fantastic weekend, from the church ceremony to the reception itself. Things went very smoothly and I did the best job I could - I think of the last four weddings I have had the pleasure of MCing, this was my finest job yet. (I did one last year for the Best Man of my own wedding, my Best friend, who recently moved from Huntington Beach, CA to Virginia Beach, VI. Amusingly enough, his wife, from St Louis, had been to several Canadian weddings and LOVED the concept of the wedding MC so much she decided she had to have one for HER wedding - in St Louis. It was strange doing it in front of a crowd that really had no clue what the program was all about, but they seemed to enjoy it immensely... I got several very positive comments, and was asked to fly down to be the MC for Bill's brother-in-law's wedding in '08, also in St Louis.)
Anyway, long story short, one of the things that the bridal couple did was to buy small gifts and tokens of appreciation for all the folks in their wedding party, and one for me for the big job that I was charged with doing. I earned my keep, but that is an entire other story.
They were, however, very thoughtful to do some research into what I liked and I suppose my wife may have had some input, as her sister asked her what it was I would like, but for my MC gift, I received a bottle of Taylor 20 Year Old Tawny... this from a couple of young kids who have never heard of Port, don't drink wine, hardly touched the champagne they were served for their toasts (I picked it - Dom Perignon 1999 Vintage) at the wedding, and generally consider a shot of tequila to be 'fine drinking.' I thought it showed a level of maturity and thoughtfulness that I can't honestly say I expected, but was extremely grateful for.
As I told them... I love the two of you and would have done this for free, but this was perhaps the kindest, most thoughtful gesture made to me in a very, very long time.
And as they don't know what Port is, I promised to educate them properly.
(Funniest thing is that the Best Man knew what Port was and seemed to know a lot more about it than I would have pegged him at knowing. We decided we had to get together and open a bottle or two sometime... so who knows, maybe we'll have another poster from the Edmonton-area soon!)
Edited for silly 'speeling'
Todd
Thoughtful wedding MC gift
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Thoughtful wedding MC gift
Last edited by Todd Pettinger on Thu Nov 08, 2007 11:31 pm, edited 2 times in total.
- Rich Greenberg
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Rich,
Good choice in execution style!
Todd,
A fun story. Hopefully you can convince your new friend to become another poster person. Either way, it will be good for you to have someone else to share some Port with, although I have a feeling your wine life is about to change this weekened. Please email me and let me know if you made the phone call re: Sat. night. Meanwhile, I will see you on Friday for sure!
Good choice in execution style!
Todd,
A fun story. Hopefully you can convince your new friend to become another poster person. Either way, it will be good for you to have someone else to share some Port with, although I have a feeling your wine life is about to change this weekened. Please email me and let me know if you made the phone call re: Sat. night. Meanwhile, I will see you on Friday for sure!
Ambition driven by passion, rather than money, is as strong an elixir as is Port. http://www.fortheloveofport.com