The Award That Quietly Changed My Confidence
Early in my career, like many performers, I spent a lot of time wondering whether I was genuinely good enough.
Not in a dramatic sense.
More in the quiet internal way most creative people experience privately.
You perform.
People applaud.
Clients seem happy.
But deep down, there is still part of you wondering:
“Am I actually building something meaningful here?”
That’s why receiving recognition from The Wedding Industry Awards in 2014 became far more important to me than I expected.
Recognition From Real Clients
The Wedding Industry Awards, often shortened to TWIA, was one of the UK wedding industry’s most respected award organisations at the time.
What made the awards particularly meaningful was the judging process itself.
Suppliers were not simply judged by panels or industry insiders.
The votes and feedback came directly from couples who had actually booked you for one of the most important days of their lives.
That mattered to me enormously.
Because unlike entertainment at many other events, weddings carry genuine emotional pressure.
People remember them forever.
You are trusted with moments that cannot be repeated.
Performing at Weddings
Although my work today focuses heavily on corporate events, conferences and trade shows, weddings played a hugely important role in my development as a performer.
They taught me:
- how to read rooms quickly
- how to build trust with strangers
- how to adapt to unpredictable situations
- and how to create moments that felt personal rather than simply impressive
Weddings are fascinating environments psychologically because emotions already sit incredibly close to the surface.
People are relaxed.
Families are reconnecting.
Old friends are reminiscing.
The atmosphere is naturally emotional before the entertainment even begins.
When strong mentalism works in those environments, the reactions can become incredibly memorable.
The Shortlist
After being nominated in the East Midlands category for Best Entertainment, I was later shortlisted and invited to Bassmead Manor Barns in Cambridgeshire for the awards presentation itself.
At that stage of my career, simply being shortlisted already felt significant.
I still remember reading through the comments couples had written during the voting process and realising that the thing they consistently remembered most was not specific routines or demonstrations.
It was how the performances made people feel.
That was a surprisingly important lesson.
Because audiences rarely remember technical details years later.
They remember:
- the atmosphere
- the laughter
- the sense of disbelief
- the conversations afterwards
- and the shared experience itself
Highly Commended
That evening, I received the “Highly Commended” recognition in the East Midlands Best Entertainment category.
And while it may sound strange, the award itself was not really the part that stayed with me.
What stayed with me was the realisation that complete strangers had taken time after their weddings to vote, write thoughtful feedback and support what I was building.
That gave me confidence.
Not arrogance.
Confidence.
There’s a big difference.
At that point in my career, external validation like that quietly helped reinforce something I had been slowly discovering through performances themselves:
people genuinely connected with what I did.
What Couples Actually Remembered
Looking back now, some of the feedback itself remains incredibly humbling.
One couple wrote:
> “All our guests were blown away and everyone was still talking about it afterwards.”
Another said:
> “Before we had even booked our venue, we already knew we wanted Looch there.”
And perhaps most importantly, several people described the performances not as “tricks,” but as moments that made their wedding feel more memorable and unique.
That distinction matters enormously to me.
Because I have never really been interested in simply fooling people.
What interests me is creating moments people genuinely experience together.
More Than Just Weddings
Ironically, many of the skills I developed during those wedding years became the exact same skills that later proved valuable at:
- corporate events
- conferences
- trade shows
- awards dinners
- and large-scale live performances
Learning how to connect quickly with groups of strangers in emotionally charged environments is incredibly useful training for almost any live performance setting.
In many ways, weddings became an important foundation for everything that followed afterwards.
Looking Back
Today, I rarely mention awards unless somebody specifically asks.
But looking back honestly, this particular recognition arrived at exactly the right stage of my career.
Not because it made me feel successful.
But because it helped me believe I was moving in the right direction.
And sometimes, especially early on, that small shift in confidence can make a much bigger difference than people realise.
