“We'd like to book someone to do close-up magic for our wedding guests. What's the best time for this to happen, and how long would they generally perform for?”
Well, this is something I get asked almost every day! The beauty of close up magic, is that it’s a really flexible performance style, meaning it can fit in with any time during your wedding day!
“How long should we have the magic for?”
My rule of thumb, is that I can entertain approximately 50 people per hour. An average sized wedding is around 80-120 guests, so this means that about two hours is the perfect amount of time. For every 50 guests above this, it’s worth potentially having an extra hour of magic. So a wedding of more than 150 guests, I would recommend 3 hours. But, if you’re having a big wedding, with lets say 200+ guests, it’s worth hiring a team of magicians. I have a network of some of the most amazing magicians at my disposal, so if your wedding is big on numbers, I can provide extra magicians for you too.
There is another reason however why two hours is ideal. Generally, a wedding runs in segments of two hours. Usually there’s two hours from ceremony to food. Two hours for food and speeches, then two hours until the first dance. This means there are three clear slots of two hours in your day, of which two of them are basically just periods of sitting around for your guests.
“When shall we have the magic?”
There are four key periods to your wedding day, other than the ceremony itself. You have the photographs and drinks reception, the wedding breakfast, that in-between bit during the room turnover, or the evening reception. Close up magic can work at any one of those times. The one that I find doesn't work quite as well though is the wedding breakfast, because at that point everyone is hungry, you are paying a lot for the food and nobody wants to hear “pick a card” whilst all they can think about is the chicken that is on the way to them!
I find personally that the best times are either during the photographs and drinks reception, or that bit in between the breakfast and the evening reception. The reason being is that your guests are stood around waiting for something to happen! These times can be long and drawn out, so adding a close up magician will really keep the energy levels up and make the days event flow smoothly. But, the optimum time for magic on your day will also depend on your venue.
So, why does the venue have any impact on when magic will be suitable? It’s simple really. If the majority of your guests are staying at the venue that night, then the chances are they will go to their room to freshen up, or have a rest for a little while after the wedding breakfast. This dramatically drops the amount of people around for a magician to entertain. So, if most of your guests are spending the night at your wedding venue, I’d say you want the magic to happen during the Photographs/Drinks reception. However, if your wedding is at a venue that has little or no guest accommodation, then it’s perfect to have magic after the wedding breakfast, and leading to the wedding reception! It will give your guests something to do during a part of the day which is unavoidable and essential, but also inherently boring!
Your guests will really appreciate something happening during those points in the day, as a wedding can be a bit of drag! By putting entertainment into those points of day, not only will it make the day easier for them, but it will make the day easier for you too!
You will be able to get everything done that you need to done, and not need to worry about your guests. Leaving them in the safe hands of your close up magician will mean you can enjoy your day at your leisure. You wont feel like you need to rush through your photos, or you won't feel like you have to rush through the hello’s either!
Hopefully, this has given you a little bit of clarity as to how long, and when. I also realise whilst I write this, that every single wedding is completely different, and that some of the logic applied here may not necessarily be the best course of action for your individual plans. This is exactly why I quote on a bespoke basis for each and every enquiry.
If you do want to find out more, or want to chat about your own plans for your day, why not drop me a message via the Facebook page. I’d be more than happy to chat to you about your day, and put your mind at rest about having magic as part of your wedding.
Ciao for now
