The Party:
It began with an owl, or at least a pop-up version of one. In it's talons was a miniature letter inviting guests to a special potions lesson where they would learn the art of potion making using glass cauldrons.
The evening's first activity was for each "student" to assemble their own custom wand. They picked their wand cores and used a variety of parts to make their own magical baton while enjoying a little charcuterie and a photo booth. Click here if you want to see more about the modular wand system I used.
Once everyone had their wand we moved into potions class. Each student was issued a text book and all the tools they would need to make 3 potable potions. Our in-house potions master guided them through this learning experience where they got to see all sorts of reactions, brewing methods, and magic. Most potions were stirred using a custom made cauldron stand that magically stirred their concoction with the wave of a wand.
After potions class we held a small House Cup tournament where we pitted the attendees against one another in activities like Quidditch Pong and Charms Practice. By then the potions were setting in which made the battle for the cup more competitive.
The final event of the evening was a nod to divination with an over-the-top, fog-filled crystal ball atop an decadent chocolate pumpkin espresso cake. When the fog dissipated, it revealed a chocolate symbol to tell your fortune.
The evening was such a unique and custom experience. We all had so much fun and my friends still love to talk about it!
The Inspiration:
It all started in New York! My boyfriend & I were visiting friends and heard about a potions making experience at the Cauldron. Obviously we had to do that!
The experience was fun, but..., no shade, was a little less than we had hoped for. We looked at each other and said, "We could do this better". Thus began a project that took at least 3 years off our lives.
Behind the Scenes:
The planning for this party was insane! It took over 4 months of inventing, designing, purchasing, assembling, experimenting, and decorating.
My amazing pastry chef sister designed and made the dessert. You should definitely check out her culinary creations on her YouTube channel, Brittnee Kay Bakes
My incredibly talented and creative boyfriend made countless custom illustrations for the potions book, potions ingredient bottles, wand core displays, and other decorations. He researched and found hundreds of bottles for all the potion ingredients. He created all the potable potions recipes from scratch, plus wrote the potions text book. Somehow he also found time to create all the necessary items for the House Cup tournament which was a last minute addition.
I spent most of my time designing, engineering, prototyping, re-engineering, manufacturing, and assembling the magic cauldron stands. I had to dive deep into the world of pop-up craft in order to figure out how to make a paper owl spread out of an invitation to deliver a letter. I spent weeks inventing a modular wand system, then even more weeks designing and 3D printing all the many wand parts.
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