I was booked to provide wedding magic in Essex at three different points throughout the day.
There were 90 daytime guests, followed by 50 evening guests. I was booked for the reception drinks, the wedding breakfast and then to help entertain the evening guests as they arrived.
Each part of the day needed a slightly different approach.
Close-up magic during the reception drinks
As guests made their way towards the drinks service, following on from the ceremony, they naturally began gathering with people they already knew.
Couples stood together, family members caught up and some groups found seats.
Guests were also being called away for photographs, so the groups were constantly changing.
This is one of the reasons close-up magic can work well during wedding drinks. It doesn’t require everyone to stop what they are doing. Guests can continue enjoying their drinks, talking and moving around while the magic happens naturally alongside it.
Moving into the wedding breakfast
I then performed for around two hours during the wedding breakfast.
One of the important things when performing during a meal is making sure the entertainment doesn’t interfere with the food service.
The venue had a food service order displayed in the hallway for the staff. I used this to work backwards through the tables, visiting the tables that were being served later first.
This gave me a simple way of keeping track of which tables I had visited while allowing the catering team to continue working without me getting in their way.
It’s a small detail, but these are the things that matter when entertainment is taking place alongside a wedding breakfast.
A fun moment
One table had a brother and sister. I had been told by a few family members that the brother had been a budding magician when he was younger, which gave us plenty to joke and laugh about during the performance.
The whole table got involved, and it became a really enjoyable perfomance for the entire table.
They both picked a card and wrote a fond memory to each other on it. both chose memories of their coffee dates, which created a lovely personal moment between them. The cards then disappeared, and the table erupted.
Finding love routine
I also performed my Finding Love routine for the two brides, which created one of the more emotional moments of the day.
As part of the routine, they each wrote something about the other. One wrote “Beautiful”, while the other wrote “I’m so lucky to have you.”
Why an all-day wedding magic package can work
This wedding was a good example of why having a magician for more than one part of the day can be useful, particularly for larger weddings. The magic wasn’t doing the same job throughout the day.
For larger weddings, particularly where a significant number of evening guests are arriving later, an all-day or extended booking can therefore be worth considering.
It allows the entertainment to adapt to what is actually happening rather than being restricted to one fixed part of the schedule.
If you’re planning a wedding in Essex and would like to discuss how close-up magic could fit into your day, get in touch.