Vietnamese Wedding Reception: Order of Events & MC

A Vietnamese wedding reception in Sydney usually runs in this order: guests are photographed at the door with the couple and both sets of parents, the bridal party and the couple make a grand entrance (sometimes behind a lion dance), the parents join them on stage, a representative of each family thanks the guests, the couple pour a champagne tower and cut the cake, the whole room stands for the first toast, and only then does the banquet begin. From there the night belongs to the tables: the couple change outfits, walk the room to toast every table, and the stage fills with singing before the dancing starts.

The MC carries that sequence in two languages, for a room where the grandparents follow Vietnamese, the cousins follow English, and the colleagues follow whoever is holding the microphone. Below is the Vietnamese wedding reception order of events as it typically runs at a Sydney restaurant or function centre, with rough timings and what the MC does at each step. Every family runs it a little differently, so read this as the common shape rather than a rule book.

What happens before the reception?

Much of the ceremony happens in the morning. The groom's family travels to the bride's home carrying the mâm quả, the red-covered gift trays that usually hold betel leaves and areca nut, tea, wine, fruit, sticky rice and often a roast pig. The couple light incense and bow at the family altar in the lễ gia tiên, rings are exchanged, elders give jewellery, and tea is served to the parents. The bride is then escorted to the groom's home, where the ceremony is repeated. Some couples add a church or temple ceremony in the afternoon.

The MC is rarely part of the morning; the families run it. But a good bilingual MC asks about it on the planning call, because it sets the evening up: which elders must be named from the stage, whether the grandparents are coming to the reception at all, and which family names and titles need to be pronounced perfectly in front of 300 people. If your family is Chinese-Vietnamese, the morning may look closer to the Chinese wedding reception order of events, with a formal tea ceremony at its centre. Either way, tell your MC.

Vietnamese wedding reception order of events

Here is the sequence most Sydney families follow, timed for a reception that invites guests for 6:00pm. Shift the times to suit; the order holds.

1. 6:00pm – Doors, door photos and the gift table. The couple stand at the entrance with both sets of parents, and every guest or group is photographed with them as they arrive. Red envelopes go into the gift box at the welcome table. MC: nothing on the microphone yet. Sound check, and a final run through names and pronunciations with each family.
2. 6:45pm – Lion dance (optional). Some families open with a múa lân troupe weaving between the tables and up to the stage. MC: brings the room to attention in both languages and cues the troupe's exit so the entrance follows straight after.
3. 7:00pm – Grand entrance. The bridal party walk the aisle first, then the couple, to a song they have chosen. Both sets of parents follow them in or are already waiting on stage. MC: introduces every name in both languages, in the order the families have approved. This is the first moment the room judges the MC's Vietnamese, so it has to be fluent, not phonetic.
4. 7:10pm – The families' thanks. A representative of the groom's family, commonly the father or a senior uncle, thanks the guests and the bride's family. The bride's family may respond. Then the couple thank both sets of parents. MC: introduces each speaker with the correct honorifics, keeps each to two or three minutes, and gives the other half of the room the gist in their language rather than a line-by-line translation.
5. 7:20pm – Champagne tower and cake. The couple pour the tower, cut the cake, and link arms to drink. MC: narrates lightly and keeps the photographer in position.
6. 7:25pm – The first toast. Everyone stands, glasses up, and the MC leads the count: một, hai, ba, dô! It is the loudest moment of the night until the dancing, and it is the kitchen's signal.
7. 7:30pm – Banquet begins. Usually eight to ten shared courses, served steadily over two hours or more. MC: steps back while the band opens their set.
8. 8:15pm – Outfit change. The bride, and often the groom, change: a Western gown for the entrance and an áo dài for the table visits, or the other way round. MC: fills the gap with a performer or a short, warm bit of hosting so the room never feels paused.
9. 8:30pm to 9:30pm – Table toasts. The couple visit every table in turn, with the bridal party carrying a tray of glasses behind them. Each table stands, toasts and takes a photo. A 30-table room takes an hour; a 50-table room takes longer. MC: runs the route with the couple so no table is missed, keeps the kitchen informed so courses keep landing, and hosts the stage in between with singers and the band.
10. 9:30pm – Singing. This is where Vietnamese weddings differ most from an Anglo reception. Friends, relatives and very often the couple themselves take the microphone, usually with the live band. MC: introduces each performer, keeps the list moving, and closes it before the energy dips.
11. 10:00pm – Bouquet toss and dancing. The bouquet, the garter if the couple want it, then the floor opens. MC: hands over to the band or DJ and gets the whole room, including the uncles, up.
12. 10:45pm – Farewell at the door. The couple and parents thank every guest personally as they leave, often with bomboniere. MC: final announcements, and sends tables to the door in waves rather than all at once.

What does the MC actually do at a Vietnamese wedding?

Hold the formality for the elders. The MC opens with Kính thưa quý vị quan khách, names both families with their titles, and handles the parents' segment with the respect it deserves. If that part is stiff in Vietnamese, the older half of the room switches off before the champagne tower.

Keep the room moving while the couple are off the stage. Between the outfit change and the end of the table visits, the couple can be away from the stage for more than an hour. At a Vietnamese wedding the MC turns it into the entertainment block, lining up the singers and keeping the kitchen in sync with the toasting route. This is the part families underestimate when they ask a cousin to host.

Bring in the guests who belong to neither family. Colleagues, uni friends, plus-ones. At one of our Mandarin and English weddings, with 300 to 400 guests and a quiet room, the MC left the stage and walked the floor, spoke with guests table by table in their own language, ran short interviews and asked for a show of hands for each language. The couple were surprised at how the night turned out, and friends later asked them for the MC. The same approach works in a Vietnamese room.

How do the two languages work on the night?

They are mixed where it suits, not repeated line by line. The parents' thanks are delivered in Vietnamese and summarised warmly in English. The bridal party introductions run in both. The singing is hosted in whichever language the performer is using, and the dancing in whichever gets people up fastest. Two languages take a little longer than one, which is why the run sheet above gives the formalities a clear half-hour before the first course.

On our first call we ask which languages are spoken in the room and by roughly what percentage, who is coming and the age range, the venue, start and finish times, any ceremonies or traditions, the tone you want, and a rough budget. The percentages change which MCs we shortlist. Before the day, the MC meets you by phone or video to go through the run sheet. If parents or friends share their speech scripts at that meeting, the MC can translate them live on the night. Our complete guide to bilingual wedding MCs in Sydney covers how to tell truly fluent from rehearsed.

We speak with every bilingual MC in each language they claim before they join our roster, and we check their background, tone and experience. For Vietnamese weddings that includes both the formal register the parents' segment demands and the looser one the singing block runs on.

What does a Vietnamese wedding MC cost in Sydney?

A full wedding with an established MC runs $1,400 to $2,200 plus GST. Senior hosts and premium bilingual briefs, which is where most Vietnamese and English weddings sit because of the formal register and the length of the night, run $1,800 to $2,500 plus GST and upwards. A reception-only host for a smaller, mostly English room is about $800 to $1,200 plus GST. Each extra language adds roughly 10 to 15 per cent. The quote on your shortlist is the all-up fee, plus GST, and travel is included within Sydney; for Wollongong, Newcastle, the Blue Mountains or the Hunter Valley we discuss travel with you first. The full breakdown is on our pricing page. Budget separately for the lion dance troupe and the band; your MC works with both.

Quick answers

How long does a Vietnamese wedding reception go for?

Plan on five hours from the door time, most commonly 6:00pm to 11:00pm. The formalities take about half an hour and the banquet two hours or more. Two languages run a little longer than one, so do not book the venue's shortest package.

Do we need a bilingual MC if our parents speak English?

If the grandparents, aunties and uncles follow Vietnamese more comfortably than English, yes. The opening of the night is the part the elders came for, and it lands very differently in their own language. If the room is almost entirely English-speaking, a single-language host is fine, and we are happy to match one.

When should we book the MC?

Couples usually book about a year ahead. The shortest turnaround we have filled was two weeks, but do not count on it. Once we have spoken with you, we bring a hand-picked shortlist within three business days, and if you do not love it we keep shortlisting.

If you are planning a Vietnamese wedding in Sydney and want a host who can hold the elders' attention and get the uni friends singing, tell us about your date and your room. A real person will call you back.