Having a wedding reception and decided to hire a caricaturist to entertain guests? Have you spent weeks trawling the internet, contacting artists for examples, prices and references until you decided The Wedding Artist was the best caricaturist for the job? An excellent choice! Why oh why therefore would you keep this a secret or a surprise, to what benefit?
- If a strange looking man walks up to you and asks to draw you, your first instant reaction is one of defence – “NO THANKS!” comes the response, its only natural. We go ‘into our box’ and I find half my audience are immediately running away from ‘the strange man’.
- Ever watched a TV chat show or Quiz Program and wondered why they use ‘warm up comedians’ on the audience? Because a cold audience is non responsive and makes for dull viewing. Buzz build up is essential!
The reaction I get when no-one knows who I am at a wedding… I am ignored and time is wasted
Please, please never keep your entertainment as a surprise for guests, as many will never have met a close up entertainer such as a Magician or Caricaturist and many will turn up blank faced and ignore the nice gents in suits walking around trying to get their attention. For an entertainer, walking into a cold room full of people who ignore them is soul destroying and it wastes at least the first hour, as I have to explain who I am and what I am doing. I would much rather be greeted by smiling faces, awaiting my arrival with excitement – with pecking order already decided.
- In addition, evening receptions often see guests disappear immediately following the meal, unless they are expecting entertainment, most will return to rooms or walk in the garden and I have been left without an audience on many occasions, so pre-planning is essential.
In 25 years of entertaining at functions, the only few that have fallen the flattest have been when I was kept secret – at one wedding the Groom even manhandled me towards the door to eject me!!
You’ve hired the BEST caricaturist – Brad Pitt’s caricaturist, Amanda Holden’s caricaturist, Paul O’Grady’s caricaturist, Ant & Dec’s caricaturist, TV Times’ caricaturist and the ONLY live caricaturist in GQ – The please boast about it and build up a buzz for my performance!
Trust me, Spot On George is worth the buzz and it will last for months!
