The M.C. and Breaking into a New Approach

WCPO ABC Channel 9 in Cincinnati, Ohio: Nov 2, 2009 (Transcript)

WCPO: This is the time of year when couples get engaged and start planning the most important day of their lives. Here to help them is a master of wedding receptions. His name is Peter Merry. He has written this book. It’s called The Best Wedding Reception…Ever! Your guide to creating an unforgettably fun celebration. And that’s what it’s about, Peter. It’s not about what the ceremony is going to be like. This is about, this is your party, folks. Have a good time.

PETER: That’s right. You know a wedding reception by definition is supposed to be a celebration of the fact that two people got married. But more often than not, the bride is taught to think in terms of what her dress is going to look like, and her favors, her decor, and her flowers, and then she shows up on the day and it’s not fun. But, she did all this planning. Why didn’t it turn out fun? And that’s because up ’til now, no one has told them how to create the fun side of the celebration.

WCPO: All right, how do you create it? What do you do?

PETER: Well there’s lots of things you can do. One simple example. You know how at weddings people will tap the glasses to make the bride and groom kiss? One idea I’ve got in the book is the idea of giving your Master of Ceremonies a list of several other couples that are there. Everytime they tap the glasses to make the bride and groom kiss, somebody’s randomly selected to stand and they kiss too. Now all of a sudden the guests are all involved and cheering and they’re waiting to see who’s going to get picked next.

WCPO: You. That’s what you are, You’re sort of this Master of Ceremonies for wedding receptions. Well, I’ve never heard of that kind of position. Is that something we need?

PETER: Well it’s funny. A lot of the wedding planning books overlook the role of the Master of Ceremonies, but the Master of Ceremonies actually serves as a spokesperson for the bride and groom…

WCPO: Keeps it rolling…

PETER: They’re the one that keeps it moving. As a matter of fact, I met Colin Cowie, a week and a half ago in the Bahamas, and I asked him about the Master of Ceremonies, and he said the most important thing is the timing of the event. Put aside everything else, if it doesn’t flow well, guests are going to look at their watches and say, “how soon ’till we can leave?” And that’s what the Master of Ceremonies takes care of.

WCPO: One of the fun things we’ve noticed a lot recently, are the videos of the dancing at wedding receptions. All of a sudden they break into from a slow dance into something that is fast and fun. Is that still popular, or should people start looking at the next big thing?

PETER: I actually have a few couples that are planning to do something in the upcoming months. And it is something that’s becoming popular because of YouTube, because they put it on YouTube and their friends all watch it. Next thing you know, 700,000 people have watched it.

WCPO: They’ve gone viral. And this is the generation that likes to go viral, so to speak.

PETER: Well, the other side effect too, that actually makes it fun is when a couple does something like that, the guests don’t expect it, and it’s almost like putting gasoline on a fire. That room just fills with so much energy, that if they do that kind of event right before their open dancing, their crowd will spill out onto the dance floor in a way that I can’t even touch as a professional entertainer.

WCPO: We were talking before hand, that for the longest time receptions were built for the moms and dads. You know, it was very quiet, and okay we’re going to cut the cake now, and all this stuff. That’s really not the way it needs to be.

PETER: Well it really should be, in my opinion, a celebration where everybody of all ages feels involved, and they’re having fun and enjoying themselves. And it should be the kind of event when people leave at the end of the night, they remember just how much fun it truly was.

WCPO: And this book helps people figure out who you are and what kind of fun reception you want to have, right?

PETER: Absolutely. There are 230 ideas in there that make a wedding more fun, in a style that will match your personality. Some of the ideas, brides are not going to like, and some of them they’re absolutely going to love. But by opening their minds to these new creative ideas, they’re going to even come up with some of their own that I’ve never even thought of. I’ll just include them in the next version of the book.

WCPO: All right, So you know brides right now? Send them up to the Barnes and Noble in Kenwood, because what time are you going to be there?

PETER: I’m heading over there right now.

WCPO: Right now, he’s going to be talking and signing books and maybe you can help out some brides who are freaking out about their upcoming big day. Thanks so much for coming by. We do appreciate it.

PETER: Thanks for having me.