A married double act for your wedding

Most wedding entertainment gets booked for the evening and then left to sort itself out. A stage illusion show needs more thought than that, so this page sticks to the practical side: when in the day it works, what your venue needs to know, and how it sits alongside everything else you've planned. The act is Jay & Joss, a married pair of illusionists, which helps more than you'd think.

Two magicians who've stood where you're standing

Jamie Docherty and Lewis Joss aren't just stage partners. Engaged in 2019, they had their own wedding in 2023, so they've been on the receiving end of a seating plan, a venue walk-round and a running order that changed six times.

We wouldn't lean on that too hard as a selling point. But it means the conversation is easier. You won't have to explain why the speeches matter more than the show, or why your nan needs a seat near the front.

The wedding routine that went out on Britain's Got Talent

In May 2024, on series 17 of Britain's Got Talent, they performed an illusion routine with a wedding theme and brought the judges into it. It earned four yeses, and the BGT caption for them was simple: “They are couple goals”.

If you want a sense of the act before you book, the full story is on our Britain's Got Talent page, and there's more footage on the media page. It's a fair preview of the tone. Romantic in places, nerve-racking in others, with the audience part of it throughout.

Simon Cowell's verdict at the time was “You could win this show.” Not a bad reference to have in your back pocket when you're telling the in-laws what you've booked.

When a stage show suits a wedding

Their show is wedding entertainment for a seated audience, everyone facing the same way. At a wedding, that usually means one window: after the meal, once the speeches are done and before the tables get cleared for dancing.

Everyone's still in their seats, they've eaten, and there's often a lull while the room is turned round. Filling that gap with a show keeps the energy up instead of letting people drift to the bar or the car park.

Meals run late at nearly every wedding, so build in some slack rather than pinning the show to an exact minute. Give us the planned times and the name of whoever on the day can tell us when the speeches are wrapping up. That one contact saves a lot of hovering in corridors.

It's less suited to the late evening, once the evening guests have arrived and people are standing around with drinks. By then the room has broken into groups, and a stage show is asking a lot of them.

Britain’s Got Talent

Close-up magic earlier in the day

The drinks reception is the other natural slot, while photos are being taken and guests are waiting around with a glass of fizz. That's a job for close-up rather than stage magic, and both of them work close-up solo too.

So one option is to have them mingle during the drinks separately, working small groups, then reunite in the evening for the stage show. Your guests meet them early on, and by the time the lights drop the room is already on side. As wedding entertainment goes, it's a neat way of covering two parts of the day with one booking.

Jamie's close-up work is on jamiedochertymagic.co.uk and Lewis has his own site at lewismagic.co.uk.

Making the wedding entertainment about the two of you

Because they create illusions for other shows besides their own, a moment built around the couple can be discussed. Something involving the two of you, your story or a detail from the day.

We won't promise a particular illusion before we know you, your venue and what you're comfortable with. Some couples love being up on stage. Others would rather sit and watch with their guests. Both are fine, just tell us which you are.

And it doesn't have to be the couple. A best man who'd love the spotlight, a gran who'd find it hilarious, a sibling who definitely wouldn't. Tell us who's who.

What your venue needs to hear from you

This is where weddings differ from theatres. The show has fire, lasers and some large pieces of kit, so the room matters. Country houses, barns, hotels and marquees all have their quirks, and plenty have rules about naked flames. Get those answers before you fall in love with a particular slot for your wedding entertainment.

Before anything is confirmed, the team will want to know:

• Whether there's a stage, or a clear area at the front of the room.
• Roughly how big that area is, and the ceiling height if you know it.
• How many guests will be seated for the show.
• Any venue rules about fire or special effects.
• A few photos taken from where your guests will sit.

Kids, grandparents and everyone between

Wedding guest lists are the most mixed audience there is. Small children, teenagers, elderly relatives, colleagues who've never met each other.

That sort of crowd is home ground for them. Three years of family shows at Butlin's resorts, roughly 250 a year between 2022 and 2024, will do that. And It's Not a Game, the theatre show they toured in 2026, was pitched at families and teenagers as much as at magic fans. The show leans on illusion, stunts and storytelling, so there's nothing to explain to the grandparents afterwards.

If you've got very young children coming, tell us roughly how many, and where they'll be sitting.

Mixed ages are actually where a big visual show earns its place in wedding entertainment. Nobody needs to follow a clever card trick from the back of a marquee. Fire and a levitation read the same to a six-year-old and an eighty-year-old.

Planning wedding entertainment around the day

A few things couples often forget to tell us, which make a real difference:

• Your timings. When the meal is due to finish, when the speeches are, when the evening guests arrive.
• Who else is booked. A band setting up during the show is a problem worth spotting early.
• Lighting. Whether the room can be dimmed, and who controls it on the night.
• The coordinator's name. Most venues have one, and they're the person who keeps the evening on track.
• The first dance. If it's straight after the show, we need to know so nothing is left on the floor.

Questions couples ask us

Is a stage illusion show too much for a wedding?

Not if it's in the right slot. After the meal, with everyone seated, it works as a centrepiece for the evening. It's a bigger moment than a band or a DJ set, so place it where people can sit back and watch rather than on top of the dancing.

Can they perform in a marquee or a barn?

It depends on the space, so send us the details. With flames, lasers and larger props in the show, we'll need the size of the area, whether there's a stage and what the venue allows. A few photos from the guests' side of the room help a lot.

Will you get the bride or groom up on stage?

Only if you want that. Some couples love being part of it, others want to sit with their guests and enjoy the show. Tell us when you enquire, and mention any guests who'd love to be involved, or who really wouldn't.

Do they do weddings abroad?

Possibly, depending on dates. Lewis is no stranger to cruise ship work, and the pair are currently at sea with America's Got Talent: Live on Stage. Pop the country, venue and date in the form and we'll check whether it can work.

How early should we book our wedding entertainment?

As soon as you have a date and a venue. Popular Saturdays go quickly, and they also tour and work abroad. Use the form to check a date. You'll hear back about availability even if the rest of your day is still at the ideas stage.

Ready to find out whether Jay & Joss are available? [Check a date](#enquiry) using the form on this page. Give us your wedding date, the venue and town, roughly how many guests and when your meal and speeches are planned. Got photos of the room? Send those too. Or get in touch via the contact page if you'd rather talk first.