magicwedding

A huge percentage of the enquiries that I get are about hiring me as a wedding magician. So I thought I would offer a little advice if you're thinking of hiring myself or another magician to perform some wedding magic.

A great time to have wedding magic is while you are having your photos taken. Many people don't realise when planning their wedding that the photos can actually involve a lot of standing around for your guests, especially when you are your partner are having your "bride and groom" shots taken. Having performed at hundreds of weddings I normally suggest that you have me there for the duration of the photos. Having allowed people to chat for a while, I then perform mix and mingle magic with small to large groups, which involves lots of sleight of hand magic with cards, money and generally anything that is around me including magic with borrowed objects. I also use this opportunity to perform a little bit of pick pocketing by taking your guests' watches without their knowledge. Of course I give them back but this never fails to get a fantastic reaction. This is always a huge talking point when your guests then go into dinner.

Another very popular way to use wedding magic is to have what is known as a table magician or table hopping magician. This is the same as a mix and mingle magician but the magic is performed at tables during the reception dinner. The nice thing about having magic at the meal is that there are a lot of people sat together who might have met for the first time that day. Table magic is the perfect ice-breaker in this situation and certainly with the magic that I do there is a lot of comedy involved and people tend to relax when they are laughing. This is also a load off your mind if you can hear people laughing, clapping and having a great time at your wedding.

As a rule, most magicians including myself will only perform between courses. The reason for this is that, as much as people enjoy the magic, they are there to eat, so I don't like to interrupt people while they are enjoying the food. Apart from interrupting them, it is also quite difficult for people to really get involved in the magic if they are holding knives and forks for example. The only course that I find it is okay to perform through is dessert as it tends to be less formal.

When it comes to cost this can vary greatly depending on different factors. However, one piece of advice I would give is not to simply look for the cheapest magician. I am certainly not the cheapest magician you will find and I truly believe that when it comes to entertainment you do get what you pay for. Unfortunately, as in any industry, there are high and low standards. If you are not careful you can sometimes end up with someone who has no real experience at all. They have simply bought a few tricks from a magic shop and then advertised themselves as a "professional" magician. As impressive as those tricks might be to their friends "down the pub" there is a vast difference between someone who does a few tricks and someone who has spent years honing their craft, performing all over the UK and even the world.

If you would like a no obligation quote for having Matthew J Dowden as your wedding magician please click here.

If you have booked a magician, please double check that you are getting the magician that you have booked. In recent years I have heard on numerous occasions about magicians who will take on a booking and then pass this booking out to another magician WITHOUT telling the client that someone else is coming along. In my opinion this is not only unprofessional but completely unethical. We all have emergencies from time to time and in some cases there may be a genuine reason that the person you have booked has to send a colleague as a substitute. However, this should be a rare occurrence and you should at least get a phone call from the magician you have booked explaining the situation.