Planning a Smooth, Successful Wedding Day.
February 6, 2017
I've been working as a professional magician for over a decade, and in that time I've been to countless events. I've been lucky enough to attend and perform at some truly spectacular weddings, but there have also been some which haven't quite gone to plan.
Brides and grooms can get so caught up in planning the tiny details of their wedding that sometimes they can lose sight of the bigger picture. They spend so much time, effort and money on small elements that won't be remembered, forgetting to consider how the day will actually flow.
Over the years, I've gained an awareness of the different elements of weddings and other events which are crucial to ensuring their success.
My advice is to think of planning a wedding like painting a picture. Start with broad brushstrokes - a general outline - then gradually build up layer upon layer of detail, adding your personality as you go.
In my experience, the first and most important things to consider fall under three large umbrellas: timings, entertainment and food.
With so many different elements to arrange, working out the day's timings can be terribly confusing.
Start with fixing the ceremony time - both the start and the finish. You can then work backwards to figure out what time you need to start getting ready, and you'll also have a better sense of how much time you have left to fit in photographs, a meal and entertainment. Try not to leave the guests unattended for too long at a time (or too frequently throughout the day) as they will just become bored.
Once you've outlined a rough framework for the day, it's a great time to start thinking about the entertainment. Remember that as the bride and groom, the focus of your day is to get married in a special, memorable way, but for the guests a large part of the day comes down to having a good time. As a result, you need to think about the best ways to keep your guests busy and entertained during the day's quieter times.
Consider hiring a professional magician to perform strolling magic during the drinks reception, or while you're having your photographs. This is also a fantastic way to break the ice and get people talking. Alternatively, table magic performed between the courses of a sit-down meal can create an interactive, exciting distraction during what would otherwise be wasted time.
However, don't think that you're limited to just one form of entertainment, especially if you're having a large wedding. You might also want to provide games if there's an outdoor space, or a sweet cart for guests who get peckish. As small as these ideas might seem, they will all give your guests something else to do, look at or talk about.
If you're starting to think about food as a means of keeping guests happy, then it's probably time to start thinking about arranging some sort of meal, formal or otherwise.
Weddings can be long days, and with travel and ceremony times often falling across lunchtime, it's not uncommon for guests to go most of the day without eating. If you want to give them something more substantial than sweets and snacks but less formal than a sit-down meal, food vans can offer some brilliant, varied, high quality options.
Full guests are happy guests, which is why food should form such an important part of your day.
Hopefully this has given you some idea of where to start with planning a smooth, successful wedding day. Get these things right and everything will fall into place on the day, giving you a truly memorable wedding.
If you're interested in hiring a professional wedding magician to make your day magical, get in touch for a quote.