Let's Be Adventurers: March 2013

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!