Simon Alexander Blog: Professional Magician

Here’s a fun little sequence taken at Syon House earlier in the year by the very talented Richard and Sarah Harris from Capture It Wedding Photography. 

I saw Tania (the glamorous lady pictured below) again at another event over the weekend and discovered her to be blooming at six month’s pregnant.  Now that is magic!  Congratulations and best wishes to her.

I’ve posted below a handful of images by the wonderful wedding photographer Bonnie Lane.  I love these shots, as Bonnie’s managed to capture perfectly the relaxed, fun atmosphere of Chris and Rachel’s day at Gate Street Barn in Bramley this July.

Chris and Rachel also sent me this very nice note:

Thank you for being part of the day.  All the guests commented how good you were and how it added to the day.  I think it worked very well mingling with the guests, I know there were plenty of puzzled guests who didn’t quite know how you’d done the tricks.

One of the best aspects of my job is knowing that you’ve made a real difference to someone’s occasion.  That’s why it was so lovely this Monday morning to receive no fewer than three thank you emails from performances over the weekend.  I’ve shared a few of the comments below.

“I have to say that making the booking with you for our wedding was such a good decision! I feel that it really made our wedding that extra bit special and was the icing on the cake. Everybody thought you were incredible and your tricks were a real talking point for all our guests and helped them to mingle with one another. We got lots of comments on how great you were and what a good idea it was!
I would not hesitate to recommend you to our friends and family.
Many thanks for being part of our special day.”

Victoria & Edd Cattell – Wedding at Gate Street Barn

“Just a quick email to thank you very much for coming on Saturday night, you really made the evening.  We received loads of fantastic comments from all our guests about you.  Once again, thank you very much!”

Zoe Gilbert – Birthday party at Taplow House Hotel

“I just had to send you an email as I am still amazed at your entertainment on Saturday at our BBQ for Tandberg. You caused quite a topic of conversation over the evening and I still personally have not stopped talking about it with friends and family at home. MANY THANKS.”

Pat While – Tandberg Telecom UK Ltd – Corporate Event at Reading Cricket and Hockey Club

A couple of weeks ago I enjoyed performing my wedding magic at Aldermaston Manor for the wedding of Darren and Amanda Hughes.  The couple had seen my work a couple of times before so had some idea of what to expect but, as you can see, it didn’t stop me taking them by surprise in these great photos by Berkshire photographer Shaun Edwards.

I believe it’s so important to exchange good news in these difficult times and this is why I wanted to share how exciting the last few months have been; not just for me but for many of my colleagues in similar lines of work.

Without a doubt, magicians and entertainers are “luxury items”; no-one needs a magician, so we tend to be among the first to notice sea-changes in business confidence. 

The first quarter of this year has seen my own business turnover increase by nearly fifty percent on this time last year and, more importantly, I’ve seen a significant increase in bookings from the corporate sector.

I’ve had the opportunity to work alongside such high-profile companies as Microsoft and IKEA to promote the customer and worker experiences and have also been involved in a number of functions simply to thank employees and reward good performance.   

These types of events simply weren’t happening twelve months ago and it’s great to see genuine evidence of those green shoots of recovery poking their heads through the thawing ground.

Wishing your businesses growth and success throughout the year.

Simon

On 25th March fellow magician Clive Winterton and I are proud to  be supporting Concern Worldwide at the Twestival Networking Event in the Stone and Great Halls of the 900 year old Farnham Castle. One hundred per cent of the funds raised will help support the charity’s education programmes and as at 6 March 2010, the 2010 Global Twestivals have already raised sufficient funds to send 72 children to school for a year.  The 2010 Farnham Twestival seeks to raise funds for Concern Worldwide’s teacher training programmes.

The event is organised by thebluedoor PR agency, Farnham Castle and  iBundle, the Surrey based innovation hub, who are generously providing a free drink upon arrival. Mars Drinks were also recently announced as sponsors and there was even talk of wall-to-wall chocolate! GuyWakely has kindly sourced superb raffle prizes.  Nick Halstead, CEO of Tweetmeme will be the keynote speaker.

Everyone is welcome and Clive and I hope to be able to share our magic with you there. Follow this link for booking details.

… to say that I’m taking a month off from blogging during the December mayhem but will be back in the New Year. 

Wishing you a wonderful holiday season.

Simon

I recently had the great pleasure of working at the wedding of Laurence and Lauren Wong at Horwood House in Milton Keynes.  The day was a wonderful fusion of traditional British and Chinese cultures as you can see below in the photos by Bernie Raffe.

Laurence & Lauren at their Tea Ceremony	A little Boon Spending – sorry couldn’t resist the Spoonerism. Ouch!
Strolling magic at the reception	No idea!
Before…	… and after!

the couple sent me this lovely email from Japan where they were honeymooning.

“Thank you so much for everything.  Everyone commented on how great you were and we were really glad you were there.  Not only did you impress our guests (and confuse a fair few of them!) but it really took the weight off the bride and groom a bit when people were so entertained!   Thanks again for everything!”

Thanks you two and please accept my very best wishes for many happy years together.