Where can I find more advice on planning my party?
Ask a Magician, a series of blog posts answering your questions! – Issue XIII
Free Event Planning Advice
This question actually came from a client who asked me for some advice about her birthday party. It was one of those special “BIG” milestone birthdays. I haven’t given her name, but I won’t say the age either! I thought it would be useful if I share the answer with everyone. Her actual wording was:
You sound like you’ve done this before so I’ll take my lead from you. What would you recommend?
Before I give my answer, let me give you a little bit of background. I get enquiries to perform as a close up magician, stage magician and for my events hosting service every day (more than once per day). Some of these enquiries are shopping around for price. That’s fair enough. I understand that everyone has a budget, but it’s difficult to provide a full response when someone only wants the price rather than hearing what they will actually get for the price.
I won’t go into too much detail about that here. I have previously written a post about why I don’t match prices.
I was pleased with this question though as it showed to me that the client recognised that I was experienced at what I do. I’ve been performing magic for over twenty years, and for many of those years, magic has made up part of or all of my income. I’m sure you can imagine that I’ve been to thousands of events. I’ve seen it all, from weddings, birthdays, and corporate events, to performing on a heritage steam train on the hottest day of the year (without air conditioning), and being asked to perform a short link live on Sky TV!
My point is, that because of that experience, I am well placed to give advice. And as a potential client, I am always happy to help you plan your event, even if it’s not a magic question! The vast majortiy of the time people ask me about how the magic will fit into their event – for example, when is the best time for magic during their wedding, or where should they put the stage for the stage show. Don’t worry about that last question, because I always provide clear technical details so that you can get the best out of my show.
For me, it’s just all part of the service (an important word for my business), and relationships (another key word). For my children’s magic business I even wrote a book to help with planning a children’s party. For my close up and stage magic it usually takes the form of conversations about your event. I am a conversational magician, after all.
So to be blunt about answering the question, an excellent first point of contact is myself. Not only do I have the experience of all of the events I’ve been a part of, but I’m pretty well connected within the entertainment and events industry. If it’s not a magic question, but something more general with regards to event planning, or if it’s another party service that you require then I can usually put you in touch. That could be multiple magicians for larger events, multiple entertainers, or other services and party planners.
In the past, I’ve connected people with event suppliers who provide:
- casino tables for hire – always great when used in combination with close up magic
- giant Scalextric tracks for hire – this one went down really well
- a classical violinist – perfect for weddings during the wedding breakfast
- photographers and videographers
- and of course other magicians.
Note: if you are a party supplier reading this, then drop me a quick line to introduce yourself.
Have you been tasked with organising a live event of your own and are thinkg about your options and perhaps looking for some advice – magic or otherwise, then reach out to me on the phone or by email. Even if magic isn’t for you this time, I would be happy to help point you in the right direction.
Got a question to contribute? I would love to hear it! Leave a comment, or click here to email me.