It’s one of the most important days of your life. You want everything to be perfect. Here are some common mistakes in arranging wedding entertainment and some tips to avoid them.
1. Hiring hobbyists instead of professional entertainers
Do you really want an amateur practising on your guests? The service you will receive from a full time professional is in a completely different league from someone who is supplementing their day job. Entertaining wedding guests takes much more than the core skill of the performer. Any musician can play a few tunes and any magician can perform a few tricks. The things that set the professionals apart are their confidence and experience. These come from entertaining at hundreds of weddings. There’s no shortcut to that experience. The reactions of your guests will let you know that booking the best was worthwhile!
Hire the pros!
2. Arranging conflicting entertainment at the same time
Some forms of entertainment work very well together. Other combinations are not so good. As a close up magician, I know that it’s not great performing at the same time as loud music. When this mistake is made, guests try hard to hear what the magician is saying, but they end up effectively watching a magical mime.
An experienced magician can still perform in loud environments, but it’s not giving the best entertainment to your guests.
If your not sure how something will work, ask your entertainers for advice! They are the experts with the experience to guide you.
Consider how different forms of entertainment will work together.
3. Booking an entertainer without the appropriate endorsements
Most serious performers are members of Equity. After checking for the Equity logo, look for endorsements from relevant professional bodies. These will be different for each form of entertainment. For magicians, the biggest seal of approval is membership of “The Magic Circle”. There are many other magic societies, but none as highly respected.
Check their credentials.
4. Making a booking without being entirely sure what to expect
Ideally, it’s good to meet up with your selected entertainer(s) before the big day. This can be especially useful if you are trying to decide between two or more performers.
Sometimes meeting up is not practical. In that case, make sure that you see plenty of video footage.
In this day and age, there is no excuse for an entertainer not filling their website with videos. It’s their chance to show you who they are are and what they do.
Meet up with them if you can.
Watch lots of videos if you can’t.
5. Setting a ‘cheap’ entertainment budget
How much are you spending, per person, on the food? Everyone needs to eat, but no matter how good the food is, your guests are unlikely to be talking about it a week later.
How much are you spending, per person, on the entertainment? If you’re booking ‘cheap’ entertainers, they won’t be remembered either.
However, if you can find the budget for premium entertainment, your guests will have memories from your wedding that will last until your 10 year anniversary!
Set a budget that values your guests!
6. Booking entertainers who are not insured
Accidents happen. I’m very happy to say that nothing has ever happened to me, my customers, or their guests while I have been performing. That’s no reason for a performer to be irresponsible though. Any entertainer serious about their business must have Public Liability Insurance.
Ask to see proof of Public Liability Insurance.
7. Leaving it too long before confirming the entertainment
Some couples make an enquiry, get a quote and then take days, weeks (or longer) to make their decision. The wedding is often months away. It feels like there’s all the time in the world to confirm the entertainment.
The problem is that a great performer will be taking bookings all the time. It only takes one of those calls for you to lose your date. With your preferred entertainer no longer available, you’ll be faced with researching an alternative. Do you really want second best on your wedding day?
All of this can be avoided with an early decision. For most performers, a deposit payment will secure the date. Then you can relax in the knowledge that the entertainment of your guests is in hand.
Avoid disappointment, book as soon as you can!
Bonus tip
How to check if an entertainer is a good fit for you and your guests?
This is the important one for you to figure out! No entertainer can be right for every wedding. Take a good look at their website.
- Does the tone feel right?
- Do the videos show someone you would be happy to present to your guests?
- Do the comments from previous customers reassure you? Do you get a good feeling from the performer and their persona?
Follow your instinct, decide what’s most important to you,
and you won’t go far wrong!
Yours Magically,
