Advices by Martin the Master of Ceremonies

Master of Ceremonies or "Vőfély"?

In order to talk about the differences, I first need to clarify what they have in common. Both professions are responsible for ensuring that the atmosphere at the wedding is good and that the guests are informed about the program, everyone knows what will happen when. When you want to decide between a master of ceremonies and a "vőfély", the first question you should ask yourself is whether you want a more traditional or a more modern wedding.

If you want a traditional Hungarian wedding, then a "vőfély" is the best choice because you can be sure that everything will be done in accordance with tradition. The farewell parties, the games, the bridal dance, everything. A "vőfély" also speaks in rhymes and poems, as is the beautiful Hungarian custom.

If the couple prefers a modern wedding, or if most of the wedding party is foreign and the host of the evening has to conduct the ceremony in two languages, then I think it is worth choosing a master of ceremonies. In my opinion, a master of ceremonies will be very happy to support you in anything that deviates from the traditional. I can put it this way: a "vőfély" is the guardian of tradition, while the master of ceremonies is the best friend of the Young Couple.

How can a master of ceremonies help?

I think a good master of ceremonies not only provides support during the wedding but is also there whenever needed in the period leading up to it. It is good to have a master of ceremonies on the wedding day because when needed, he or she can assertively control the crowd and events, and when there is no program, he or she retreats into the background so that the Young Couple and the guests can relax and unwind. A good master of ceremonies is like Batman, watching from the background, he or she is everywhere he or she is needed, but he or she is careful not to let the spotlight fall on him or her, because he or she knows that this evening is not about him or her, this evening he or she exists for others.

When wouldn't you need a master of ceremonies?

In my opinion, for smaller weddings, 30-40 people, a master of ceremonies is not necessary. Above this number, it is worth hiring a master of ceremonies, otherwise, all the administrative and coordination tasks that the master of ceremonies performs in the background will be transferred to the couple and they will have much less time to experience and feel the most beautiful day of their lives with those close to them who want to celebrate with them that day.

What should you look for while choosing a Master of Ceremonies?

I think the most important thing is that they can connect as people. This may sound strange, but I believe that a master of ceremonies can only do his or her job well if the couple is important to her. It is important for him or her to see them and the wedding party happy. I would warn everyone against a master of ceremonies who is not interested in them and does not try to connect with them. In a profession based on empathy like master of ceremonies, I think it is not appropriate for this to be just one of many, a notch. A wedding is an emotion, a gift, love, and transience.

Written by: Berencsy Martin Ceremóniamester
+36 70 392 5282
martin@cilinderesek.hu
Photos shot during a wedding we did together.

What should be in a vendor's contract?

A good contract is about two equal parties, partners, who both have obligations, and rights and are both protected by this contract. If I were getting married, I would definitely not sign a contract with a vendor who only writes about what rights they have. These contracts may also be in excessively vague language. You can often read afterward when there are problems that something was only discussed verbally or was not in the contract that should have been in it.

"Last August, we signed a contract with a restaurant... the contract of course stated that the restaurant reserves the right to increase prices next year (2022). We were asking at the time, what we could expect, how much could it be, the restaurant manager said with a wave of his hand that it usually does not exceed 1000 HUF(about 2-3 euros)."

This is a real-life example from a wedding group, I think this is also regulated in a good contract. Needless to say, they raised their prices significantly more than the aforementioned 1000 HUF/person. I think the contract should include that prices may only be raised according to the inflation indicated by the Central Statistical Office, and the vendor does not have the right to raise her or his price more than said inflation.

A szolgáltatók túlnyomó többsége csak foglalóval bérelhető fel az esküvői munkára. Mit jelent a foglaló? Vissza jár-e valaha? A foglaló, mint jogi fogalom alapvetően vissza nem járó díjról szól, amit a szolgáltató azért kap, hogy fentartsa az időpontot amikor az esküvőtök (vagy más esemény lesz, ahol szolgáltatást végezne), ha lemondjátok az esküvőt ez nem jár vissza, hiszen ő nektek tartotta fent a napot és potenciálisan más bevételi forrástól ezért esett el. A szolgáltató természetesen dönthet saját jószándékából úgy, hogy ezt mégis visszaadja valamiért. Ezentúl vis major (latinul szó szerint nagyobb erő) esetén kell a szolgáltatónak visszafizetnie a foglalót. A vis major előre nem látható a két féltől függetlenül felálló akadály, szokás akár „Isteni cselekedettként” is beszélni róla, ilyen helyzet lehet, ha földrengés akadályozza meg az esküvőt. Ezentúl a fizetésnek a pontos menete is meg kell, hogy legyen írásban.

In every contract with a vendor, the contract must clearly state what service is being provided. Does the venue only provide the space or does it provide more than that, such as serving staff, food, decor, unlimited drinks, and food? There are many variations of these. What kind of flowers does the decorator use, live or artificial? Which parts of the venue does the decorator have to work on or even have the right to work on? In the case of every vendor, I think the contract should state when should the vendor arrive, in my opinion at least 15 minutes ahead of the agreed time.

The photographer’s and filmmaker’s contract should state how many pictures she or he will take or what kind of film she or he will make. How long will they keep the pictures and film? Will they hand over raw materials? How long do they have to finish the pictures and films? How and what can be changed at the venue on the day? How long do they have to be at the wedding? How can they publish the finished films and images, can they use them on their website or elsewhere for marketing, can they enter them into a competition? The last point, which only recently occurred to me, is if I terminate the contract for any reason (which hasn’t yet happened, knock on wood), I will do everything I can to help the couple find another photographer.

What to look for when planning your wedding and choosing a photographer? A photographer's advice.

You've proposed, a myriad of thoughts are racing through your head. Hopefully, this is the first and last time you'll have to organize a wedding, planning it is a complex task. Should it be a small wedding or a big wedding? Should we invite Aunt Margie? Should there be a band or a DJ? Should the two of us sit separately or with the family?

Among these questions is whether you want a photographer or not. If so, who should it be? Obviously, since this is my profession, I consider this an important question. I think the person and personality of the photographer (cinematographer) to be the most important of all vendors because commonly we are with you the most if you have a wedding planner, she will be the one who deals with you even more than us. It is not uncommon for us photographers to be at the wedding from 10 am to 1 am, during which you often share intimate moments with us and we spend a significant part of this time focusing on you, spending it with you. Every person is different, some need a reassuring, thoughtful person at the wedding, some need a relaxed girl or guy with whom you can joke around freely all day. That's why I always recommend to everyone to meet the vendors in person before the wedding, of course, there are times when this is not possible because they live abroad or are terribly busy, but in this case, a phone conversation can tell a lot about the vendor's personality. Make sure that the chemistry is there between the three of you, this will be the basis for everything!

What should you look for from the craft's point of view?

Everyone has their art style, even if the person can't necessarily describe it, which can be refined to your desires, especially if the person is a first-class photographer, but as the saying goes a leopard can change its spots. Our style is often already part of our subconscious, which is why I (also) think you need to find a photographer whose style really suits you! If you like the moments, and the compositions, but let's say they're a little too bright for your taste, we'll be able to help you with that. If you like the colors, the lighting, the compositions, but you'd like a little more posed pictures, that's fine too. We can always pay attention to one or two extra things that you'd like to see more of, but if this is a long list, then it's worth looking for another photographer. If you like his compositions and the moments he captures, but you feel distant from the way he poses, how he uses light, and how he develops the images, you should look for another artist to pick.

To have a complete sense this style, it's worth seeing the photographer's work in all different situations and lights. That's why I usually upload up to 200 images of a wedding day. It is worth seeing what kind of pictures the photographer takes in the dark or bright sunlight, what kind of moments they capture, and what kind of shots they take of the decor or the location. What kind of pictures do they focus on? If someone only posts a few photos on their website or Instagram, it is worth asking for a larger material that shows a wedding from start to finish.

Be sure to have a contract! The contract protects You and us photographers. Basically, the contract clarifies all the little details, rights and obligations. Someone who doesn't give You a contract may be moonlighting, maybe inexperienced (as long as someone communicates this, I think it is okay), and the worst thing may be a botcher who won't even give you the pictures and walks away with your money. The lack of a contract is a huge red flag. You often hear stories that someone didn't have a contract with their photographer, and the photos are of poor quality from these "photographers", they disappear with the photos, or they do not communicate, unfortunately, it is not uncommon that it can take up to a year for couples to receive their photos, if they receive them at all...

A minor detail many don't pay attention to, but it's worth it, is listing the group photos. I can recommend this to you for a couple of reasons. On the one hand, it speeds up the photo shoot. The photographer or the master of ceremonies only has to read the names out loud and doesn't have to go through the list in his head (parents from one side, then the other, then together, siblings, siblings and parents, etc.) There are so many possible variations and we don't know which variation would be important for you. This can even cut the time you have to spend with group photos in half, standing in one place, which is usually worse for girls because they are standing in brand-new high heels. (Girls, and boys, if you have new shoes, wear them at home for at least a few hours before the wedding so that they don't hurt your feet at the wedding.) On the other hand, this can prevent many unpleasant situations and problems. It is not uncommon at a wedding to have a lot of people and it is difficult to keep in mind who was photographed with whom, and this can hurt someone else, without any hurtful intention, by not taking a photo with them. Unfortunately, it also happens that the parents have divorced and it ended badly, or they are no longer with us. In the first case, it is not necessarily lucky if we put them next to each other and potentially create tense, unpleasant moments for anyone. In the second case, if we do not know in advance, one or both of you may get a painful reminder on the wedding day, when we are looking for the person who is now only watching us from above. Writing such lists does not take long, but it can prevent a lot of pain.

Another aspect to pay attention to when taking group photos, and this brings me to my next topic, is timing. After the ceremony, is best to take group photos if possible. Often, you have to move on from the ceremony to another location, or sometimes the ceremony is somewhere, where the wedding party would not fit aesthetically. After the ceremony, everyone is still in one place, some people are only invited to the ceremony, or can only go there for other reasons, the children did not run off to play, I could go on and on, but I think You get the point. Proper timing is necessary to take a lot of photos. A good wedding planner can help You and us photographers with this. If you want photos of getting ready of how your lips are decorated you need to coordinate the makeup artist's and the photographer's timing. If you want to have gorgeous photos of the venue as it is decorated, then the decor should be ready before you go to the ceremony, if you are getting ready where the wedding will be. If this can not happen, the other solution is for the master of ceremonies to keep the entire wedding party occupied while the photographer captures the venue. In such cases, it is best to plan for two photographers and one can stay with the wedding party, while the other takes photos of the venue for you. No couple wants to see bags, baby bottles, phones strewn on the tables or lavish coats hanging on the chairs. That is why the decor must be ready at the given time, so that the photographer is not disturbed by the wedding party in his or her work, and we do not disturb the wedding party in their partying and relaxation I would not like to ever tell any grandmother not to sit down at her table yet.

I left the most important part for last, at least in terms of timing, I always recommend having the couples session close to sunset. Many people want to hold it between noon and two o'clock, which is certainly the most unfavorable time for outdoor photography. At this time, the sunlight comes in at roughly a right angle, which makes the shadows on our faces deepen around our eyes, making us look like we've just had a 10-round boxing match with Rocky Balboa. As the sun goes down, the light comes in from a flatter angle, which creates a much more pleasing effect. Sunset gives the most beautiful natural light!

These creative or couples sessions could be a decisive point for a lot of you. Many people call this in many different ways, some call it couple's session, some call it engagement photos (at least in Hungary), although I don't really understand the latter, since you're no longer engaged at this time, but don't let the names fool you, the point is that this is the time when beautiful, romantic photos of the two of you are taken. Some colleagues are strictly and exclusively willing to do documentary work, meaning they are not partners in such a joint series, although they are relatively rare. It's worth discussing this and asking. Some set everything up to the smallest details and even tell you how to hold your pinky, some give you minimal direction and just let everything unfold naturally, and there are those like me who try to give you an experience at this time, who operate with games, music, and emotional questions. I like to secretly give little prompts, and funny, unexpected things will unfold as just one of you will know about it. I like to create an atmosphere so that you can relax. I'm just guiding your movements very subtly. I don't want to classify either of these styles as better or worse, you have to know which one you like best.