Close-up magician since 1998
Wedding Magician for Hire
Close-up magic for your drinks reception, wedding breakfast and evening party. Based in Staffordshire, booked for weddings in Birmingham, Manchester, London and beyond.
Filmed at real weddings
Watch a wedding magician at work
Three short clips filmed at weddings Chris has performed at. The tricks are the easy part. The reactions are what you are booking.
On the day
What happens when you hire a magician for your wedding
Close-up wedding magic is not a show. There is no stage, nobody is asked to sit down and watch, and nothing has to be squeezed into the running order.
Chris moves between groups and tables with the magic happening in your guests’ hands, a few people at a time, and the reactions carry across the room on their own. It is the same approach whether the venue is a barn in Staffordshire, a hotel in Birmingham or Manchester, or a townhouse in London, and it is the reason magicians for weddings get booked in the first place: it gives two families who have never met something to talk about.
Recommended
The drinks reception
The photographer has the two of you, and everyone else has 90 minutes to two hours with nowhere to sit. A magician for the wedding reception fills that gap and gets the two sides talking. Call it a cocktail hour if you prefer; it is the same slot.
Recommended
The evening reception
The evening guests arrive and the day guests hit a lull before the band or DJ get going. Magic keeps that hour alive, and it is usually the first point in the day you are free to stand and watch it yourselves.
Also an option
The wedding breakfast
Table to table around the courses, so each table gets its own few minutes while everyone is sat together. If the meal is the part you want covered, say so on the enquiry.
Google reviews
Reviews from recent weddings
Pulled straight from Google, in the couples’ own words. Tap “Read more” on any of them for the full review.
The magician
Who is Close-Up Chris?
A close-up wedding magician since 1998, based in Staffordshire and booked for weddings across the UK. Ranked the UK’s number one close-up magician on Freeindex, with more than 200 five-star reviews behind that.
Chris does not take the magic too seriously. Its one job at a wedding is to get people laughing and talking to each other, and the trick is just the excuse. Pickpocketing, sleight of hand and mind reading are all in service of the same thing: a room that mixes.
Sophisticated, never stuffy, and by the end of the night nobody remembers the trick, they remember how hard they laughed.
Before you book
Wedding magicians for hire: the questions couples ask
The things couples ask before they book, answered plainly. Anything else, ask on the enquiry form and Chris will reply himself.
How much is a wedding magician?
The cost depends on what you book, which is why there is no price on this page and a quote takes one email. Three things move it: whether Chris covers one reception (drinks or evening) or both, whether you add pickpocketing and a premium set performed just for the two of you and your closest guests, and whether you want the Reaction Cam montage afterwards.
Send your date, venue and rough guest numbers through the form below and you get a fixed quote back with the packages set out in full. No hourly rate, no extras appearing later.
What does a wedding magician actually do?
Close-up magic, performed a few guests at a time, in their hands and with their things. Chris moves between groups during the drinks reception or between tables and the bar in the evening, so nobody is asked to sit down and watch a show and nothing has to be added to the running order.
On the packages that include it, there is also pickpocketing, and the Close-Up Corner, where the Reaction Cam records the moment each guest sees the trick land. Couples get a short montage of the best reactions after the wedding.
Is close-up magic kid-friendly, and does it work for older guests?
Yes to both. Close-up magic does not rely on volume, a stage or putting anyone on the spot, so it works for a table of grandparents and a huddle of eight-year-olds in the same hour. Children tend to follow Chris around; older guests tend to ask him to do that one again. Nothing in the set needs a warning.
Do you need a magician at your wedding?
Not every wedding does. It earns its place when there is a long drinks reception, two families who do not know each other, a big evening guest list, or a venue where guests spread across more than one room. If your day is a short ceremony straight into a sit-down meal and a band, you can probably spend the money elsewhere.
What is the best time of day to have a wedding magician?
The drinks reception or the evening reception, and Chris rates the two equally. The drinks reception is a 90 minute to two hour gap where guests are stood around waiting for photographs. The evening reception is when the second wave of guests arrive and the day guests need something to do before the band or DJ get going. Couples who want both are covered by one package.
Magic during the wedding breakfast is also an option. If that is the part of the day you want covered, say so on the enquiry.
Which parts of the day can you cover?
The drinks reception, the evening reception, or both. Rather than selling by the hour, Chris covers the whole of whichever reception you choose, so the magic runs for as long as that part of your day does and there is no clock-watching.
How far do you travel?
Chris is based in Staffordshire and performs at weddings up and down the country. Birmingham, Manchester and London are regular trips, and most weddings in between are within reach the same day. Put the venue on the enquiry form and the quote will cover travel, so there is nothing to work out afterwards.
Availability and a quote
Check availability
Send your date, venue and approximate guest numbers. Chris will confirm availability and send the wedding packages, usually within a few hours.
Call or email
Where Chris works
Weddings across the UKBased in Staffordshire. Birmingham, Manchester and London are regular trips.
- 28 years of weddings.
- 200+ five-star reviews.
- A reply within hours, from Chris himself.