EVERY couple wants their wedding to be special and unique. But for a celebration to go with a bang, a professional emcee can make all the difference, transforming a simple ceremony into a fairytale fantasy. Xu Wenwen reports.

For couples planning to get married, they expect a memorable, unique and impressive wedding ceremony to start a new life. In China, especially in big cities, wedding ceremonies now are very different from decades ago.

White wedding dresses and Western-style suits take the places of traditional Chinese costumes, and cars, rather than sedan chairs, are the transport of choice. While wedding banquets used to be held in the groom's home, nowadays they are more likely to be held in swanky restaurants or high-end hotels.

Today, Chinese weddings embody more Western features as young people eschew traditional symbols in an effort to provide a romantic atmosphere for their guests, and couples try to outdo each other in creating a fairytale day.

Hiring the right emcee is often the key to setting the right tone for the wedding day.

Traditionally, Chinese weddings used emcees who were usually senior, respectable members of the family or matchmakers.

Their task used to instruct the wedding couple through the rituals, such as kowtowing to parents and presenting wines to guests.

The requirement for a modern emcee is much higher. A small platform in front of the wedding hall is their stage, and they need a presentable character, ability to keep things moving along - as well as a sense of humor - to help keep the guests entertained.

Most wedding emcees do it as a part-time job. The guild regulations state that an emcee can only sign one contract with one company during a particular period, and companies draw commission of between 20 and 50 percent.

Since emcees don't need to take any qualifications, it's hard to determine their exact number. But as there are more than 2,000 wedding companies in Hangzhou, and each signs a contract with at least two emcees, there are probably at least 4,000 emcees across the capital city of Zhejiang Province.

According to Li Zhengliang, director of Zhejiang Wedding Industry Association, the most expensive emcees are entertainers who work in the local media - with an average cost of 20,000 yuan (US$2,930) for a wedding. However, you need connections to hire those people - mostly they perform just for their friends, rich people and celebrities.

Most emcees work for more modest fees, from 1,000 yuan to 1,500 yuan - for this you'll get a second-string TV personality or experienced professional.

At the lower end of the market, the emcees are restaurant PRs and art students who attract customers with a low price, around 500 yuan.

All of the emcees either take appointments from the wedding companies they are contracted to, or gain work by promoting themselves.

Top 10 league

Guan Er'zheng, billed as "Hangzhou's top wedding emcee," is a full-time entertainer who escaped from the yoke of wedding companies last year to start his own business.

He found the Hangzhou Top Emcee League at the beginning of 2009, which now has 10 full-time members.

"Top means the best," says Guan. "Only professional emcees with more than five years' experience and 150-plus orders annually can join the league."

Guan says an emcee usually entertains on stage for at least an hour, and a good emcee can host a wedding show for three hours. Unlike TV hosts, emcees always act in a supporting role to the bride and groom.

Usually, they introduce the couple, perform rituals such as exchanging vows and rings, as well as presenting tea and kowtowing to parents, give performances and amuse the guests.

These essential skills seem easy to describe, but the right combination is hard to find.

Many emcees learn how to recite jokes and incorporate other skills into their performances.

When Taiwanese magician Lu Chen became a hit after his magic performance on 2009 CCTV Spring Festival Gala Show, many emcees started to learn some magic tricks.

Guan also decided to bring some magic into his weddings, adding to his singing skills and performances of Sichuan Opera's face-changing scenes. His repertoire even extends to speaking English, so his skills are in demand for bilingual ceremonies and mixed marriages.

He decided to learn all these skills after beginning his profession as an emcee. Such is the demand for his talents that Guan's cellphone rings every 10 minutes during our interview, mostly for business calls.

Nowadays, after five years honing his skills, Guan doesn't need to advertise - every year he hosts more than 150 weddings.

With so many orders, Guan sometimes struggles to make each banquet go with a swing, coming up with different designs, themes and costumes.

Once he was booked for three weddings within one month for three employees in the same office.

To keep his performance fresh for guests who had seen him at other weddings, Guan had to prepare carefully.

"Talent, humor and knowledge are vital to an emcee," says Guan. "And as the requirements of customers get higher and higher, emcees who can keep innovating will go further."

The practise of hiring a wedding emcee began around 2000 in Hangzhou.

The first half of the ceremony needs to be solemn, with bride and groom appearing on the stage to complete a series of traditional acts, such as opening a bottle of champagne, cutting a cake, exchanging rings and paying respect to parents, guests and each other.

The second half of the evening is the chance for the emcee to enliven the atmosphere with games, performances and lucky draws.

Fairytales

However, every couple wants their wedding to be different, which gives the chance for an emcee to introduce various elements into the evening.

One wedding Guan designed involved the groom touching a crystal ball, making three wishes.

"First, I want to be the most handsome guy in the world," the man said. Then an angel-like woman stepped on to the stage and helped him into a black jacket.

"Second, I want a bunch of the most beautiful flowers." The angel again sent him a bouquet.

"My third wish is ..." the man's voice shook with excessive emotion. As the lights faded gradually, he started again: "To marry the most beautiful bride in the world."

Spotlights danced like stars across the wedding hall, hunting for the bride. Then Guan spoke slowly. "Open the happiness gate, let's welcome the most beautiful bride in the world."

A curtain behind the groom rose up, and the bride emerged with a dazzling smile. Every guest cheered, giving a long-standing ovation to the happy couple.

Guan has also seen weddings where the prince kisses the sleeping beauty to awake her, or Cinderella trying on a glass slipper.

The provincial government and the Zhejiang Wedding Industry Association plan to jointly set up standards that will test wedding emcees and award certificates to those who pass a training course.

The wedding association is now drafting a training textbook due to come out around the Spring Festival.

According to Li Zhengliang, director of Zhejiang Wedding Industry Association, every emcee needs to take a test and receives junior, medium or senior certification.

Even TV anchors must comply with the certification process, which will ensure only licensed professionals can host weddings - making every couple's wedding day one to remember.