March 8, 2013

My Very Magical Bridal Shower

A few weeks ago was a monumental occasion. My twin sis, mom (and fellow Harry Potter enthusiasts), and bridesmaids threw me the most magical, unique bridal shower EVER.

Yes, HARRY POTTER themed.

We had all been Harry Potter fans since we were teenagers when we were curious what all the fuss was about with these Harry Potter books—from the first book, we were hooked (as was most of the world)...nerd alert! We even spent our 25th birthday at the Harry Potter theme park in Orlando…which seemed so hilarious and quirky at the same time.

The theme was kept secret from me until moments before the shower started. For weeks, my sister and friends were telling me how much I was going to love it--what could it be?? I had NO idea. I had strict instructions to be out of the house the entire day of the bridal shower. Fortunately jet lag got me out of bed early and I started off the day with breakfast with a couple of friends then bounced from hair appointment to nail appointment to lunch with dad while my sister and her posse prepped for the party.  

As we were driving back to my parents house, my dad handed me an envelope:

What?! No she didn’t! Yes she did! OMG! For all you non-Harry Potter fans, this is the official invitation to Hogwarts, School of Witchcraft & Wizardry! And ofcourse Julie made sure the address AND font was identical to Harry’s Hogwarts invitation in the first book.

I walked towards the house and saw a sign that read ‘Platform 9 ¾’ pointing towards the front door. As soon as I walked through the door, I was IN AWE! Nearly the entire house was transformed into a mix of magical candles, treats, and unbelievably creative details.

The living room was converted to The Great Hall with 2 long tables topped with centerpieces made up of Harry Potter books and candles in wax-dripped bottles. Above the tables, candles were floating in midair (well electric candles were suspended from the ceilings). It was AMAZING! Owl cut-outs and candles dotted the book cases and mini ‘dementors’ were strung to the ceiling fans as if they were flying through the air.  

Every part of the room was separated into sections. The ‘Potions class’ table had bottles filled with multi-colored bottles next to my bridal shower guest book. Julie put a ‘quill’, or feathered-pen, on top of the guest book for people to write well wishes—next to it was a sign that read ‘Rachael’s Book of Spells’.

Next to that was Honeydukes Candy Shop. There were Snitch cake pops, Mandrake cupcakes and chocolate frogs (don’t worry, not real ones!) and candies of all sorts. A snitch was hovering  from the ceiling up above.

On the other side of the room was The Three Broomsticks, otherwise known as the bar. Bottled water, flavored iced tea and white wine were on hand but my favorite beverage for the night was spiked butterbeer (Harry’s favorite drink which takes kind of like butterscotch). I was AMAZED when my sister showed me the Elvish-made wine. She poured me a glass and (with the help of a few drops of food coloring in each glass), the white wine changed to blue wine. Everyone who had wine held various glasses of blue, green and red liquids. AMAZING!

In the next room, the seating room was converted into the Gryffindor common room as well as The Owlery (and place for all of my amazing gifts). The mantle was lined with all types of paper and plush owls. Julie set up a table with appetizers including homemade avocado puff pastries, sausage stuffed mushrooms and small finger foods to hold us over until dinner. Even the bathroom mirror had the words ‘Moaning Myrtle was here’ and instructions to flush to get to the Ministry of Magic (sounds weird…Harry Potter fans get it!).

As soon as everyone arrived and a few drinks were poured, my twin sis started walking around with THE SORTING HAT! Hahaha. Each person had to choose a paper from the hat to see which house they were a part of—Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff or Slytherin. I was designated an automatic Gryffindor :). We all sat for dinner under the floating candles according to our assignment from The Sorting Hat. The food was a feast for the eyes—greek salad, tri-tip, ravioli cream sauce with veggies.

Julie had moved the couches outside so we could play games and open gifts in the open air. I felt so much joy and was overwhelmed with an obscene amount of gifts and love. And just after gifts were opened, she busted out the ping pong table and proposed we get started with Quidditch beer pong!

I could go on and on and on about how magical this bridal shower was and still cannot fully describe every detail. Not just the Harry Potter details, but the incredible feeling of love from the 30 girls and moms that joined to celebrate me being a bride. I am incredibly lucky to have had such a unique celebration and my twin sis nailed the theme. I’m so excited that she is also the driving force behind our wedding decorations/planning and if the wedding is anything as magical as the bridal shower, then this wedding will look extra incredible.

To the best twinnie ever...THANKS for making my wizarding dreams come true! 
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{Mini broomstick napkin holders}

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{Dinner served in The Great Hall}

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{Talented host, party planner extraordinaire, matron of honor & twin sis, Julie!}

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{Mother of the bride!}

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{With some of my best friends and bridesmaids: Julia, Sara and Julie}

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19 comments:

Niken said...

Rachael, that's definitely a great magical bridal shower!
oh, i LOVE Harry Potter, and of course, this is so great

Unknown said...

This is so great! Coming from a Harry Potter fan myself, this looks like an amazing party and such a sweet thing for your family to do for your bridal shower! Congrats :)

Megan said...

What a sweet bridal shower! I love the little broomsticks!

Kaity said...

I love the theme! everything came together so magically :) your sister did some great work!

Mo (New on U) said...

This is AMAZING! I want to know some one who is such a big fan so I can throw something similar! What great friends and family you have :)

Jenna said...

Ummm WHAT!?!? As a fellow Harry Potter obsessor, this is quite possibly the most amazing thing I have ever seen. Your sister more than nailed it :) I may have just peed my pants if I received an invitation to Hogwarts... I've been waiting for mine to come in the mail for SO many years! {kidding, but at the same time kind of serious}

xxx
Jenna

lauren | eyes/ears/mouth+lens said...

This is BEYOND AMAZING! The details are perfect, wow. I'm not a Harry Potter fan (oops!) but the level of detail your sister went into is soooo impressive! Lucky girl :) I hope it was everything you wanted and more! xo

Alli Campbell said...

This is all kinds of fabulous. I'm still waiting for my Hogwarts invitation letter, it's about the only thing that could tempt me back to study at this point. When I finished my undergrad there was an owl hanging around my house for a week - I was sure it was there to give me a postgrad letter, but no such luck.

If your sister isn't already, she needs to become an event planner!

m_b said...

i'm in AWE! i love this!!! your sister is such a talented planner, like whoa! all the details are amazing! :)

Lily said...

So glad to see all the pictures, Rachy! What an awesome party. I can't wait to meet your family in Mexico!

Anonymous said...

Wow! This is fantastic. Above and beyond!!

xoxo
Selena

Unknown said...

this is the most amazing thing I have ever seen!!!!!!

Louise said...

This is quite simply one of the best bridal showers I have seen. So unique and special. Your sister and friends did a great job. Looks like a great night x

Janine Ella said...

I envy your bridal shower!!!! It's amazing! I wish I could have one as great as yours! :)

xo,
Ella

A and B said...

OMG I am so jealous! What a great idea! We are going on a cross-country trip in the fall and I can't wait for Harry Potter World!

braddrew said...

I LOVE your blog! Whiten your teeth for your bridal shower with the All White Bleaching System and save 10% with the promo code ORALCARE at dentist.net !

Eatlovemerry said...

So lovely! x

Rachael said...

Hi Torrie! Send me an email (rachael.obanion{@}gmail.com) and I'll put you in contact with my sis...she'll share all of her magical shower secrets ;)

zerry ht said...

Wow, your bridal shower party looks tremendous. Your dress is extremely gorgeous. Please let me know from where you get the dress? My sister is also tying wedding knot soon at wedding venues NYC and I am going to host her bridal shower. I would like to gift such a pretty dress to my sis for this special occasion.