How To Choose A Wedding Magician?

How To Choose A Wedding Magician?

How To Choose A Wedding Magician is not as easy as you’d think. Because, there are so many, right?

Hopefully, you’ve now decided to book a magician for your special day and understand how much-added value one can bring to your day. The easy answer to this is to make sure they’re great! But how do you do that? Birmingham Magician Owen Strickland gives 10  handy tips to help you out.

1.  Try To Meet Them

If you can, you should try and meet ANY supplier that you’re going to have on your Special Day. This way you will get a feel for their personality, and that is so vital. This is even truer with magicians. Any professional magician should be happy to meet you and show you some magic. Websites can make anyone look good, but can they match up to that in real life? I get the majority of my weddings from meeting couples at wedding fayres, where couples can meet me and see what I do for real. No camera tricks!!

2. If You Can’t Meet them, Research them!

Are there videos/photos of the magician performing at weddings online? Does the magician do as many weddings as they say? It’s easy for suppliers to say, “We do X amount of weddings a year”, but is there evidence of that? If there isn’t, ask yourself why. Every wedding I perform at goes on my social media accounts. It’s therefore very easy to look back at say, 2019, and see all 70 weddings on there. My website has many photos of me performing at various weddings over the years.

3. Check Their Reviews

A big indicator of the quality of a magician is reviews. What have previous couples said about the magician? But how do you tell if it’s a real review? A sentence on a website, saying “He was amazing. Mr and Mrs W” could easily be made up. How do you know they even exist? How do you know that review wasn’t from 1994? Verified reviews are what they should have(preferably with dates and locations of weddings) such as Google reviews, Trust Pilot etc. I have loads of 5-star Google Reviews which you can view here.

4. Are They Recommended by Venues?

Is the Magician recommended at any venues you know? When an established and respected venue recommends a supplier, it’s usually a good sign that they are both good and trustworthy. They will not stake their hard-earned reputation on just anyone. I’m very humbled that several exclusive venues recommend me. Amongst such venues are Alrewas Hayes, Aston Marina, Hogarths Solihull, Moor Hall, Bordesley Park, Calderfields Golf and Country Club, The Limes Earlswood and Swinfen Hall.

5. What do They Cost?

Cost is very subjective, and every wedding will be working to a “budget” of some sort. You probably already know how quickly the budget can get out of hand! Magicians vary greatly in cost, as does the quality. I’m probably in the mid to higher range of pricing. But with that comes the assurances that have been mentioned in the other paragraphs. If a price seems too good to be true, ask yourself why, and check the other 9 points in this article. A quick look at any of the “Wedding Scam” pages for suppliers will show that in every instance, it’s been a cheap supplier that’s caused the issue. My best advice would be, do not book a magician on price alone!

6. Are they Entertaining?

As well as performing magic, your Wedding magician needs to be entertaining. He needs to be personable and be able to make your guests feel relaxed and at ease. There is no use having a technically amazing magician, if he is as dull as dishwater. I know some magicians who are the best technical magicians in the country. However they would be no use at a wedding, as they’re not fun to be around or slightly entertaining. Hopefully, my show reels will show you how I am at weddings. It’s all about entertaining to keep your guests happy.

7. Insurance

A dirty word in many ways, but an important one!! Any supplier at your wedding must have the relevant insurance. For magicians, it’s Public Liability Insurance. The majority of Venues will insist on it, and will not let a supplier on site without it. You don’t want to find out that your magician has been escorted off the premises, as he hasn’t got PLI! I have it with Equity, and covers me for £10 million. Thankfully, I have never had to use it!!

8. Have They Won Any Awards?

Has the Magician won awards? Scratch that! Nearly every Magician has “award-winning” on their website!! But what is the Award? It’s very easy to add “Award Winning”, without specifying what that Award was for. Do ask them what the awards they have won are, and when they won them. I’m very fortunate to have won The Wedding Industry Awards for Best Wedding Entertainer several times. TWIA is the leading award in the Wedding Industry, where only Brides and Grooms whose wedding a supplier has attended, can vote. They all leave feedback and it’s independently judged.

9. Are They A Member of The Magic Circle?

This isn’t in itself vital, because I know some excellent magicians who are not Members Of The Magic Circle. I know some boring magicians that are!! However, you can certainly get some peace of mind if a Magician is a Member. He will have been through a rigorous application procedure of an interview, exam and audition in front of some of the best magicians in the country. Only those deemed good enough are admitted. Thankfully, I passed and I am a Member. I am the West Midlands Regional Representative for The Magic Circle!

10. Are They Trustworthy?

A MASSIVE one, and a good one to finish. For any couple, trustworthiness in suppliers is vital. You are not only investing a significant amount of money with them but also investing trust that they will make your day amazing. This is a huge responsibility, and one I take very seriously. Ensure your magician gives you a legal contract that covers your money and their terms and conditions. Also ensure they give you a full invoice, detailing what you have paid

With all the postponed weddings from 2020 through the COVID-19 crisis, I have heard some horror stories from my couples about some suppliers. Some have refused to move dates or refund, leaving couples short of a lot of money. During this Crisis, I have moved 99 per cent of weddings where I was available for no cost. I have kept the original price that was agreed, and where I have been unable to fulfil new dates (through already being booked), I have refunded any deposit paid. My recent feedback from the poor couples who have had to postpone will bear testament to that.

So there we have it. How to choose a Wedding Magician in 10 hand steps!

For more information about booking me for YOUR wedding, please take a look at my wedding page here.

To see some reviews of me at weddings, take a look at my testimonials page here.