Thank you for reading my very first blog post of 2019! I have been extremely busy throughout November and December, performing as a wedding magician at various venues around South Wales and the South West and as a magician for Christmas parties throughout the UK.
Blogging more often is one of many New Years resolutions I have. I would love to make the content as relevant as possible, so if you have any questions you would like answered, please do get in touch
In the last two months alone, I have performed as a 'surprise' on a number of occasions and am booked to do the same in 2019 & 20. It occurred to me that hiring a magician in this manner has a particular set of questions which inevitably need slightly different answers but there are also three important things you need to consider, hence this blog post.
Number one - Is it wanted?
It may seem obvious, it may even mean I lose business but it's THE most important thing to consider!
Now please don’t hate me, there really are three important things to consider but it so happens that number one, does have subsections/points.
The first of which is, have the people (whose wedding or event it is) spoken to magicians themselves? It is blatantly obvious that not all magicians are the same, the personalities and performance styles of magicians can vary massively (check out my blog on that subject here). This means that it is possible that the magician in Cardiff, Swansea (or insert any area) they may have spoke with does not seem like a good fit. That does not mean there are some magicians that would be a great fit and really add to the day.
The second subsection is that people organising the wedding or event may have organised something else. Although a magician can easily fit in at any point during a wedding or event, there are definitely times which are more desirable/better for a magician to perform. In a wedding for example the best times, well the most popular, are either the photo period or transition between day and evening. In both of these periods, you will inevitably find guests ‘waiting around’ either bored, hungry or maybe even both ☹️To combat this, the happy couple may have organised live music, garden games or any number of other things during these periods which they may feel are more suited to their theme or that they may simply like more. Once again this may unfortunately be magician dependent, which makes me sad.
It is also possible that the person or people organising the wedding or event may not have been able to afford the cost of hiring a magician. Weddings in particular can cost people thousands and all of the 'extra's' may not have been budgeted for. If this is the case then hiring a magician as a surprise is a great idea, especially when you consider that it is the 'little extra things' that are often the difference between an amazing day and an average one.
Number 2 - Think of the people getting married or who are organising the event
Lets face it, if you are thinking of hiring a magician for someone else, then you are highly likely to know them fairly well. This will mean you know what they like and conversely what they dislike, what they would appreciate and what they would consider an intrusion. Use your judgement and speak to the person you are thinking of hiring.
PS - If you are reading this and thinking "actually I don't know them very well" then you NEED to tell whoever you are thinking of hiring
Number 3 - It's all about timing
After much consideration and expense, you really need to get the timing right. This consists of a few parts, how long you want the magician to perform, what time of day and when do you want the people who are being surprised to find out?
My advice would be to speak to as many people as possible without ruining the surprise. If it is a wedding, you should include the magician you are thinking hiring (somewhat obvious I know) the wedding planner, the wedding coordinator at the venue and other friends and family. If you look at 'related posts' I have linked this blog to another one I did which talks in detail about how best to incorporate a magician into a wedding, the best times for magic, what you can expect and more. Please be aware if you book a magician as a surprise for the photo period, it is possible, maybe even likely, that the happy couple will not personally see much magic because the wedding photographer will be setting all the important wedding day shots.
What can I offer as a surprise magician or otherwise?
Ensuring that you get the absolute best of performance at your event and throughout the planning process is why I am so busy. Most of my work comes from repeat bookings and I have a 100% 5 STAR rating, which stands for well over a decade! When booking me, you can have complete confidence that I will surpass your expectations.
I have over a decade of performance experience as everything from a cardiff wedding magician, to corporate magician in Swansea, magician in Bridgend and Newport and as a party magician in London.
I am now taking bookings up until 2021 and do have some availability in 2019. It would be great to hear about your wedding, event or occasion and to discuss the best way of integrating my unique style of magic, to perfectly compliment what you already have planned.