Harry Potter Jargon and loooots of pictures to follow… beware…

It was back in December 2009 when Christopher and I sat down one night to watch Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, the first of the very popular children’s series. As the plot began to unfold, Harry Potter experienced Hogwarts, School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, for the very first time. Christopher turned to me and said, ” I want to go to Hogwarts SOOOO BAAAAADD!” I laughed at his child-like candor… and then the creative bug bite me…. How could I recreate Hogwarts for Chris? Is there a way to incorporate a birthday into the Hogwarts experience? Where do I get an owl? Can Muggles even have a magical party? Chris is turning 25 next year… I wonder if it could be a surprise party?…. and it went on… and on… and on… until April rolled around and I found myself immersed in creating the magical world of Harry Potter. For all you blog readers, you probably only noticed the fact that I was not blogging as much as usual…. and for friends, family, and Christopher, you probably only noticed that I was a little distant. For 4 months I planned…. and on April 17th, I pulled it off with the help of friends and family.

Here’s how the whole plot unfolds….

Christopher was taken out for a “Man-Date” by his friends Jason and Trevor. They shot guns at a shooting range, ate some ice cream…. and as Trevor distracted him with tantalizing conversation about cars… Jason made a beeline for the Irvine Train station. There, he confusedly followed Jason and Trevor to the station platform…. Platform 9 3/4 to be exact… and Christopher found 3 things out of the ordinary. The first being a handful of his friends waiting for the train… the second being a big green trunk in the middle of the walkway…. and the third being a letter addressed to him.

He opened it to find that he had been accepted to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry!

Aw… look at him! He’s still sooo excited, he can’t stop reading his acceptance letter!

The Train, Hogwarts Express to be exact, arrived and they all excitedly got on and traveled about 15 minutes to Hogsmeade (Santa Ana Train Station) where they were escorted to Hogwarts in carriages drawn by invisible Thestrals (cars). This shot, by Rita Skeeter (Amanda Patrice) is my absolute favorite from the evening… I love how it totally captures his anticipation and curiosity….

All the first year students….

The carriages left them at the front entrance of the castle… and who should appear, but Dumbledore’s assistant… ME! I led them into the great hall after giving them a quick pep talk…. and they were brought in to take part in the sorting ceremony in front of the rest of the school.

The great hall was decorated in its usual splendor… sporting banners from every house, an enchanted ceiling that was the exact visual of what the outside sky looked like…. and candles silently floated overhead.

The tables were set with the finest gold plates, goblets, and silverware there ever was… and each place setting had a unique class schedule, some Berty Bott’s Every Flavor Beans, a chocolate frog, a quill for writing, and a single sheet of parchment.

Candles, white flowers, and peacock feathers adorned the tables along with some vintage style jars and vases….

Even Hedwig, the owl, decided the party was worth attending… (and yes… it’s a real owl)

As the first year students lined up, the sorting hat (my dad) sang the annual Sorting Hat Song and each student placed it on their heads to be sorted into their houses.

Here’s what the backs of all the Sorting Cards looked like…

Christopher was more than happy to be sorted into Gryffindor…. the house he had told his classmates he hoped to be in.

Dumbledore gave his beginning of the year welcome speech and the students were dismissed to their classes. Yes, I said classes. Each house had a different schedule and they were to report to each of their classes together as a house.

And here’s what all the class schedules looked like….

Potions was taught by Professor Severus Snape (Trevor Clinard) in the Dungeon, where the classes learned about and mixed their own potions. I believe a love potion was being tested on…

Care of Magical Creatures was taught next to the Whomping Willow by a friend of Hagrid’s, Professor Ninnymuggins (Jeff Clinard) , who was joined by none other than Sirius Black himself. Together, the professor and Sirius Black taught about unicorns, hippogriffs, dragons, and phoenix’s. I even heard rumors of a real dragon’s egg being used as well! I also heard that Christopher does a very good impression of a Hippogriff…

Herbology was taught in the greenhouse by Professor Pomona Sprout (my mom)… and in Herbology, they learned all about growing magical plants (cilantro, basil, and poppy plants), their uses in the Wizarding world, and how Dragon poop acts as the best kind of fertilizer there is. Students were allowed to take home their newly potted plants.

Transfiguration was taught by the formidable Professor Minerva McGonagall (my Aunt Karen) in a classroom. She taught on the art of changing one thing into another…. and each house was required to take turns transfiguring play dough into different objects.

Lastly, Muggle Studies was taught in the Room of Requirement by Professor Hermione Granger (my sister Melissa), who was standing in for Arthur Weasley. Professor Granger taught on the possible uses for Muggle objects and why they were unnecessary in the wizarding world. Here are some of the Muggle Objects used in the class…

Oh! And I musn’t forget to mention that the houses were competing for the House Cup throughout the night. So as they went through classes, they were given opportunities to win points for their house, and answer extra credit questions for extra points. Aaaand…. in the middle of the 1st class…. 2 of the school’s  Snitches got out of the Quiddich equipment when Filch was cleaning it…. so the houses were set loose to find them…. each 150 points to the house that found it.

Chris’ family came down from Norcal to surprise him… he was so excited they were there!!!

Here’s the House of Gryffindor…

The House of Ravenclaw…

The House of Slytherin…

And the House of Hufflepuff….

As classes drew to a close, the sun began to set to the west and the enchanted ceiling glowed beautifully in the twilight…

Food was served by two of Hogwarts finest House Elves (Penny Steele and Sheena Halim-Machmur)…. and the winner of the House Cup was announced! I believe Slytherin was the winner….

Cupcakes were served…

And as the birthday boy tried to give his birthday speech…. he found himself speechless… wordless… and utterly blessed.

Many Many Many thanks go to all those in attendance… Thank you so much for making Christopher’s 25th Birthday one to cherish forever! Your presence and participation meant the world to him… THANK YOU! Here’s some more shots from the party…

I think he liked the party…

A special shout out goes to Amanda Patrice, who volunteered to be the party photographer…. Amanda… you saved me. Thank you so much for all these beautiful pictures! I couldn’t have done this without you! And a BIG thanks goes to Trevor and Holly Clinard for volunteering their fab home for the party! Your hospitality was VERY appreciated…. I’m honored to call you two friends!

Happy 25th Birthday Christopher… you are loved by so many people! I pray this 25th year of your life will become just as surprising and adventurous as this party was!

I love pictures. I love pictures of couples, to be more precise. I know that you love pictures too. But what happens after you get that disc of images you ordered from your photographer? They’re great pictures of you and that special someone, but what do you do with them? After a year of giving couples just the disc of images for their use, it became quite apparent to me that most couples never get around to doing anything with their disc of images. So sad! But I understand…. because really, who has time to go through the bazillion images, pick the ones you like, take them somewhere to be enlarged, and scrapbook them? Or even if you just wanted to make a photo book, the task of finding a company that makes them…. and makes them well, is a time consuming task. So this year, for those brides and grooms who want a creative way to show off their engagement pictures, I’ve decided to offer a Photobook  style Guest Sign-in Book. Not only is this a great way to show off your pictures, but it’s a creative alternative to the traditional guest sign-in book. Instead of signing notes of Congratulations and encouragement in a book with no pictures, guests can sign and write notes to the lucky bride and groom in a book full of their engagement pictures….. so it can be shared for years to come with whomever sits next to your living room coffee table. I think it’s a much more personable and usable way to remember this time in your lives…. and I’m excited to make a ton of these books for my own coffee table!

Here’s the latest Guest Sign-in book that arrived this morning… custom designed by me!

It’s an 8.5 x 11” Hardcover Book….

That has a fully customizable front, back, and spine….

It’s pages are premium UV coated paper with great picture quality… and the pages are hinged… so you get the lay-flat effect. Love it!

The pages are thinner than Album pages, but thicker than just standard computer paper…

I’m a big fan of these White House Custom Color books… and I just wanted to share a little of my excitement this afternoon with you! Happy Wednesday!

It’s always been the assumption that I got the creativity gene from my Aunt Karen. (Even though technically, it would have run through my dad’s genes as well) She’s the artist….. a stinkin’ good one. Many fond memories from my childhood are the times Auntie Karen taught me how to make something cool….. like an origami jumping frog and how to hold a paint brush when I watercolored. She’s pretty  much the epitome of Creativity… and I LOVE IT!

She recently had a milestone birthday and asked me to shoot some pictures of her in this new stage of life. We laughed as she got used to having a camera in her face… and enjoyed the crispy colorful winter weather. The colors were delicious and I wanted to soak up as much of them as I could!

Here’s just a few shots from the afternoon…

In going shopping for a proper birthday gift, I came across a beautiful card with a pink glittery bird on the front. One the inside, it said simply, “You’re a rare Bird.” It was the perfect card and I couldn’t wait to give it to her! As I continued shopping, the creative gene kicked in and I decided I was going to decorate in a “Rare Bird” theme (since it’s my job at family parties to add my artistic flair to the decor)… and I found some sweet decorations. I used some old teacups, some branches and flowers from the bushes outside our house, an old jar, lots of candles, some super cute magnetic glittery birds from Papersource, string and paper hearts, and some fake daisies.

Here’s a collage of the birthday party and decor….

Be like Aunt Karen.

Be your beautiful self.

Do the things you love with all you’ve got in you.

Choose to Love…. always.

Be joyful in all circumstances.

Have the courage to jump off your branch… take risks.

You might just find that you remember how to fly.

Nowadays, There aren’t many birds who have the courage to do what they were made to do.

Be a Rare Bird.

January was full of new and exciting things. It was the first month of the 2010, thus serving as a perfect starting place for improvements and ideas. And although January isn’t prime wedding season, it’s definitely a big wedding planning and booking month…. which is exactly what’s been keeping me busy lately. In talking with my brides for this year, I’ve noticed a common point of frustration… there’s just SO much out there, it’s hard to choose what… and where …and how …and what colors …and what music …and what venue… etc. There’s invitations to write and design, there’s venues and vendors to book, there’s dresses and tuxes to pick, and then there’s the smaller details like whether or not to include RSVP cards with return stamps… or not. And even though I’m not a bride yet, I sympathize with their frustrations and feeling overwhelmed…. there really is a LOT out there.

So this year, I’m excited to offer something that eases just a little of the frustration and overwhelmed feelings my brides have voiced. This year, I’m offering personalized wedding websites for every wedding I shoot this year! Wooohoo!!!

Wedding Websites are a great way to hit several birds with one stone….

* Save money on paper RSVP cards and postage…. and request that all your guests RSVP directly on the site.

* Have a centralized location where your guests can view directions, view wedding details, and your engagement/wedding pictures

* Direct people to a Registry page on your website where your guests can see where you’re registered, click on the link, and start online shopping right then and there

*  Create a cool and super fun way to share your love story and excitement with your family and friends

Pretty much the best idea since sliced bread, if you ask me…

Here’s a few pages from a site I just finished for Billy Jack and Alissa, whose wedding in May is going to be super fun It features their wedding colors, their story, picture galleries, their wedding, registry, and vendor details, directions, times, and addresses, a place to find them on the internet, and a place to RSVP…. basically everything they could want in one stop! Check it out…

You can view more here.