Tom Haibeck

Tom Haibeck (“high beck”) is a Vancouver, British Columbia marketing and communications consultant who has helped plan and emcee hundreds of weddings, special events, meetings and receptions. He began his career in the communications industry as a radio newscaster and reporter after completing a broadcast journalism program at Mount Royal College in Calgary, Alberta. At that time, Tom also took the Dale Carnegie Course in Public Speaking and Human Relations, where at the tender age of 19 he won First Prize for Best Speech and finished the course with the Highest Award for Achievement. A few years later, he graduated from Simon Fraser University’s School of Communications in Vancouver, British Columbia and worked for several large advertising and public relations agencies before launching his own firm in 1988. Since that time, The Haibeck Communications Group Inc. has worked with some of Western Canada’s leading corporations and was named “one of the city’s most effective marketing and public relations firms” by The Vancouver Sun (for more information about the company, please visit www.Haibeck.com). But his most satisfying career achievement has been the publication of his book – “The Wedding MC: A Complete Guide to Success for the Best Man or Event Host” (please see www.WeddingToasts.com). Now in its seventh edition, the book has sold over 50,000 copies worldwide and has inspired glowing reviews from around the globe. His inspiration for the book was based upon his own experience with the vagaries of wedding protocol and the trauma of public speaking. He gave his first wedding toast at the age of 15 while serving as the Best Man at his brother’s wedding in Long Island, New York. He had no idea what to say or how to propose a toast, but managed to mutter a few nice things about his older brother and his new Bride prior to raising his visibly shaking glass. A few years later, at the age of 20, he was asked to emcee a friend’s wedding. Again, he had no idea what to say or how to emcee the wedding – and thus made many embarrassing mistakes throughout the evening. Still, his sense of humor and speaking abilities carried him through the event, and he was soon asked to emcee the weddings of other friends and family members. Through that experience he was able to develop and refine an overall approach to the task that has proven to be exceptionally popular with bridal parties and their guests. But it was his own wedding that ultimately led him to write the book on the subject matter. Tom and his wife asked an old friend to emcee their wedding – and the result was disastrous. The gala wedding reception soon resembled a scene from the bachelor party of a few nights earlier, as the well-oiled emcee regaled the audience with tales of former girlfriends, outrageous road trips, excessive flatulence and other inappropriate subject matter about our boyhood. The Bride’s parents were mortified; many of the guests were deeply embarrassed; and “the boys” in the back of the room were in hysterics (with their raucous laughter further fueling the emcee’s frat house approach to humor). It was at that point (while the Groom was hiding under the table) that the idea for the book was born. Within a year of the wedding, Tom had penned his step-by- step approach to the role of wedding emcee (the book also offers tips on how to write and deliver an effective wedding toast plus a review of the duties of the Best Man). Through his experience in the advertising business, he was able to pull together the required contacts and resources to self-publish the book. His first print-run of 1,000 copies sold out within months and generated national media attention. The Wedding MC handbook has since become a perennial Canadian best-seller, with its wit and wisdom proving popular year after year. The book is now available in American bookstores for the first time ever. Tom and his family live in North Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Fortunately, he’s still the best of friends with the misguided (but otherwise brilliant) individual who emceed his wedding.