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The Offbeat Bride: Jessica, Software Trainer
Her offbeat partner: Jesse, College Math Instructor
Date and location of wedding: The Loft and the Galleria at The Madison South, Covington, KY — June 26, 2015
Our offbeat wedding at a glance:
WE DID THE THING — the Harry Potter wedding we wanted! The books and films mean so much to us both, and when he proposed at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter theme park, we decided then that we would carry the theme through to our wedding.
Tell us about the ceremony:
Our ceremony wasn't flashy, but it was very us. The groomsmen walked down the aisle to the Durmstrang entry theme, and the bridesmaids entered to the Beauxbatons theme from Goblet of Fire. The flower girls threw petals made of pages from Order of the Phoenix, which all of the bouquets and corsages were made from as well. Both of my parents walked me down the aisle to “Harry's Wondrous World.”
I made a special owl podium for our officiant. Scott Demarco wrote the most AMAZING custom ceremony full of quotes from Harry Potter and Doctor Who and really made it special for us. As he went through how the traits of each Hogwarts House would help us in our marriage, I realized… I FORGOT MY VOWS! He rolled with the flow, and we all had a great big laugh while someone ran to get them. We ended our vows with “Together or not at all,” where it would normally say “Till death do us part,” to honor Amy and Rory Williams from Doctor Who since we cosplay them, and we got married on their wedding anniversary.
We exited to the Quidditch World Cup theme to celebrate.
Tell us about your reception:
This Harry Potter DIY wedding wins the internet today
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We turned our venue into the Great Hall. There was the head table, and then we had four long rows of tables, each with table runners and chair sashes of that House's color and covered in decorations relating to that House:
- Ravenclaw had books and bird cages
- Hufflepuff had strange-looking plants and foliage
- Gryffindor had things relating to Harry, like magical creatures, the Triwizard Cup, and a quaffle
- Slytherin had potion bottles
We hung 100 battery-operated candles from clear thread to mimic the floating candles. The cocktail was red butterbeer, and the cake was pumpkin with white chocolate and a snitch on top. It was surrounded by large glass containers full of House Cup gems showing that Hufflepuff had won through a contest I held with my crochet business.
One of the best parts of the day was that earlier that morning SCOTUS announced their same-sex marriage decision. Those were the only tears on my wedding day, and everyone partied HARD in celebration. My dad got funny drunk and spun me too much during our dance. We got the quaffle out on the floor to play around and hit the DJ booth. Everyone got crazy during “Dark Lord Funk.” It was magical.
Vendors
- Photographer: Photosmith
- DJ: Rainey Day Entertainment
- Venue: The Madison South
- Officiant: Scott Demarco
About the Author: Offbeat Weditors
Working tirelessly to bring you stimulating content day after day, the Offbeat Wed editors will not sleep until you've gotten your offbeat fix.
OMG! I think I’m going to have dreams about this wedding – it is so beautifully awesome! The bride, groom, and bridal party look amazing. And I love that you turned your wedding reception into the great hall!
Also, I’m going to go ahead and gush about your Hufflepuff bridesmaid’s adorable Yoshi tattoo… CUTE! 🙂
I love everything about this wedding.
That is all. 🙂
This is so cute! I love it! So glad you followed your dreams 🙂
As a fellow Ravenclaw I am completely in love with all of this!!
And the Diadem in your hair! Ahhh <3 <3
I’m a Hufflepuff and even I squealed when I saw the diadem in her hair. So creative and it looks beautiful!
Those bridesmaid dresses are stunning!
Bride here!
Thanks for all the kind words 😀 I’ve noticed that I left off a few key vendors:
Bridesmaids dresses are Allure Bridal
Brides dress is White by Vera Wang (even though it’s grey, whut?)
Card box is Pennywhistle Potions on Etsy (related to Arda Wigs if you’re a cosplayer!)
Veil and headpiece was… me! SelphiesStitches on Facebook and Etsy.
I’m happy to answer any questions you have. This community kept me sane and inspired throughout our planning process.
Thanks for sharing where the headpiece came from….YOU! That is gorgeous. I definitely have to check out your Etsy site now!
Ahhh, I’m a huge butthead for possibly misleading with my words. I cut and altered a diadem ordered off of some Chinese ebay seller. I didn’t sculpt it or anything but I altered it heavily and added a comb and hand sewed veil. Just wanted to make sure I wasn’t giving myself TOO much credit hah! Thanks so much<3
Oops! One more important vendor!
Invites were designed by AmysSimpleDesigns on Etsy and printed at OfficeMax.
Loved the Harry Potter theme! Which quotes did you use for the ceremony? I’m getting married in a few months and would like to use some HP quotes.
Hello, sweets! Thanks for your kind words <3 Our officiant wrote a custom ceremony for us that was a mix of Doctor Who, direct Harry Potter quotes, and general sentiments about the qualities of the houses helping us in our marriage and how love is the most powerful kind of magic. Its a lot to type but you can email me or message me on facebook (I always link my business fb with my name on here) and I can email you the draft of the ceremony for ideas. Or, if you'd like to hear how they flowed, I'll post our ceremony video here!
https://youtu.be/jtlhxpewx1A
Good luck with your upcoming wedding!
THIS! THIS!!! OMG THIS!! I sometimes wish FH was more obsessed with Harry Potter like myself, because this would be our wedding. Look at all those details! The bird cages! The Quaffle! The Potions! That Cake! Too wonderful! Congratulations! Beautiful wedding!!!
You had the wedding of my dreams! We, too, got engaged at WWoHP and would love to do a Hogwarts theme in our wedding (I have Rowena Ravenclaw’s diadem to wear for it…though I like your idea of the hair clip better!). We can’t make it entirely HP, because the fiance’s family doesn’t read, has no imagination, and wouldn’t enjoy themselves or contribute to the fun of the ceremony/reception. But there will definitely be some elements in there, some of which I might have to steal from your brilliant ideas…. 😀
That’s awesome that you got engaged there also! Where did yours happen? Ours was by Hagrids hut in the line for the Dragon Challenge. We went back for our honeymoon and they added a metal detector RIGHT where it happened!
The diadem I used is a knockoff version of the Noble Collection piece. I was torn on how to wear it but I bought a few (dirt cheap on ebay) to cut up and experiment with and found this worked for me. Its suuuuch a pretty piece for a bride! I know yours will look beautiful 🙂
Have fun sneaking those magical moments in under the muggles’ noses!
I we weren’t have a horror movie themed wedding Harry Potter would’ve been my next choice. THIS IS AWESOME. I love everything about it and I think I just scared my fiance by screaming “HOLY SHIT, EVERYBODY GOT A WAND!!” I also screamed about Ravenclaw’s Diadem in your hair and the house tables. Your details were fantastic. Way to go 🙂
Oh your wedding is gonna be sweeeet! I love a macabre wedding 😀 The wands were made by my dad out of dowel rods thst fit neatly into the holes of 3 wooden spools stacked on top of each other for the handle. Just in case you ever need a little magic of your own and Olivanders is closed 😉
Good lord! What a beautiful wedding! Love, love, LOVE all the Harry Potter details: the floating candles, the centrepieces, your diadem/headpiece!
Congratulations on your wedding, my fellow Ravenclaw 😀
What a perfect example of how a wedding can have a fun theme, and be completely elegant at the same time! Very well thought out. I love how the bridesmaids/groomsmen represent the different houses, and the tables were organized by house as well. Your Ravenclaw hair clip is just gorgeous!
There is nothing better than a unique wedding experience. This definitely ticks all the boxes.
This is an amazing wedding. I love all the unique, colorful details, especially those bridesmaid dresses!
What a lovely wedding! My 2nd dream (had my first, Halloween themed) wedding is the wedding in “Order of the Phoenix”! I love the personal touches, and what seems like a unique/intimate wedding. Love this! My husband and I are huge Harry Potter fans, and love what you did. Kudos 😉
This is absolutely amazing!
Beautiful. Glad to see we inspired others with some of our ideas! Harry Potter weddings for the win!
Oh wow!! Well done!! What an amazing wedding! I am currently reading all the books and love it all so much. What lucky guests, even the candles!!! Sorry lol, I love it x
I LOVE THIS!!!! I loved the layout of the reception, I loved her Helen Ravenclaw Vail, I loved the snitch on the wedding cake… I LOVED IT ALL!!!!!
please please please i really want to know where you got the wands from? i can’t find them for my own wedding
Hello! The wands were handmade by my parents using an old cosplay trick of mine. We found some wooden spools and bought them in bulk because we needed 3 for each wand. Then we bought a bunch of dowel rods that were the same diameter as the inside hole of the spool and fit snugly. The hardware store cut the dowels into wand lengths and my dad and mom stacked 3 spools on the end of each piece for a handle, sanded the tip, and stained the lot.
Hope this helps!
They came from Wands and Wood on Etsy. They were very reasonably priced and had a great quality.
Thank you soooo much!!!
And i LOVE the Harry Potter – Doctor Who mix!!
The only thing I would have added are Bow Ties, cause they are cool…
But the rest is so “fantastic”, I can’t believe it!
What an amazing way to get married! I hope that is was a magical experience 🙂