talkmagic.co.uk

I know that this is a subject that has appeared in many threads in the past and I have trawled through a lot of them but I have a couple of basic questions that I would appreciate some guidance on.

I have been handed a superb in to winning wedding business. Mrs Wizz and I are ballroom dancers, your basic Strictly Come Dancing sort of stuff. Our dance teacher has built up a very succesful arm to her business coaching couples for their wedding dance. She in turn has offered me the opportunity to sell myself to the couples as a wedding magician.

The opportunity is simply too good to miss but I am scared witless about taking the first step.

I have decided to get myself out there by offering to do the first gigs free. That gives me a get out of jail card if I screw up and it gives the couple the comfort of knowing that they have not added to the obscene cost of their big day needlessly if they don't like me.

I however have never seen a magician performing at a wedding and my two basic questions are where and when do you perform, I am assuming it is a table hopping gig but don't really know and secondly what sort of tricks go down well at weddings.

Supplemetary questions would include stuff like how do you introduce yourself to the guests. do you do special effects for the bride and groom, what do you wear etc but I know that I need to buy some of the material on the market which covers presentation rather than the mechanics of effects to deal with a lot of this.

I would be hugely grateful for any advice anyone can give me.

Lots of information asked for here

You should wear a smart suit and preferably a tie. This will make you look professional and you'll fit in with what others are wearing so they will give you an amount of respet before you even begin.

When to perform - this depends.

Sometimes you're booked to perform while the photo's are being taken so this slot is about 30 -60 minutes, depending on the size of the wedding. Other occasions it may be walkaround during cocktails etc. but before they sit down for the meal. Never perform during the meal. You may then be asked to do the night shift which is the after dinner and evening reception which is where the table hopping comes in. This is my preference as by this time a lot of people are already worse for wear so they don't try to catch you out and are half cut which makes if easier for you. You could on occasions be asked to do a combination of the above such as before and after the meal, photo's and evening etc.

A lot of people don't know what they want so you could try to steer them around towards having you for the evening. Also, I wouldn't do it for free but offer a discount in return for being able to take some photo's of your performance (come in handly later) and to also have them write a testimonial.

Introduction wise, just be yourself and keep it simple. I walways do a special performance for the bride and groom which is different to the rest. I do a ring vanish and reappearance in a next of boxes and do something that they can keep afterwards as a momento. Be prepared that often they will have someone video the wedding and this includes part of the reception so you need to ne conscious of ths and if necessary, tell the cameraman where to stand and make sure that you have some routines that will be impossible for them to spot by pausing the DVD

Get a DVD such as Live at the Jailhouse as this will give you loads of info that will help you out as well as a number of good routines. Also Martin Sanderson's Corporate Close Up may be of interest,

Good luck and go for it.

I've got my first gig on Saturday which is a wedding

I've written a nice trick just for the bride and groom which I'm planning on performing as my first trick, in front of all the guests. That way they'll know who I am before I start.

I'm doing to do some coin and card routines at the tables before and between courses during the dinner. Depending on how that goes, I might be doing some walk around stuff after dinner too.

A lot is going to depend on what the couple want I guess.

Good luck with that!

Good luck Johnny.

I have a little experiance with this so ill advise you as i know herer goes you might know some of these but anyway:

1. Make sure you dress smart
2. Ill usually go into the place ask to speak to the bride and groom or the person who booked me and ask them if its ok to start.
3. When i go to the table ill introduce myself to the table ill say something like Hello im the magician tonight would anybody like to see some magic then if they say yes ill ask them there name and shake there hands and do my stuff.
4. For the bride and groom i will always buy a bottle of champagne and do a champagne production for them then give it to them with my compliments. I think its always nice to buy something for the bride and groom because it shows you respect them and your dedicated to your job and plus the production of a huge bottle of champagne gets you a huge round of applaus

Hope this helps its just my own set of rules which i abide by.

For the bride and groom i will always buy a bottle of champagne and do a champagne production

That's a bit generous

I wouldn't suggest this if you're not getting paid though! and you could ask the best man to provide a bottle for you to produce which will save you around £20 depending on what you buy and where you buy it from.

Would be a shame if they're tea-total

Oh yeah i only meant i would buy it if i was getting paid. I wouldnt if it was a freebie never thought of the best man idea actually. I do it in restaurants sometimes aswell if they book me i ask them to provide a bottle of champagne or wine or something. If they were tea total i could always take it back and drink it myself

You could always try some hypnotism to make sure that you got the bottle back afterwards and then you'll definately enjoy it more