Wands at the ready! Newlyweds Stephanie Dodd, 26, and Samuel Goetsch, 25, had an incredible Harry Potter-themed wedding complete with an owl ring bearer! The couple’s wedding stylist Kat Creech of Kat Creech Events shared all the fine details that went into making this Harry Potter tribute possible exclusively with The Knot.
“Stephanie has a very long history of loving the Harry Potter story,” Creech explained. “She shared with me that she was 10 years old when she started reading the novels as they helped her through a really difficult year of school when her best friend moved away. The rest, as they say, is history.”
After Goetsch proposed to Dodd on January 4, 2015 at the Surbiton train station in Surrey – a spot used used in the movie Harry Potter: The Half-Blood Prince – the couple fell in love with Harry Potter tributes. Even their engagement photos, also styled by Kat Creech Events, featured wands, Hogwarts invitations, and the co-mingling of the couple’s favorite Slytherin and Gryffindor house colors.
Credit: Steve Lee Photography
Dodd and Goetsch tied the knot on Friday, March 25 in front of 100 of their closest friends and family, choosing the iconic Houston, Texas wedding venue The Bell Tower on 34th to make their magical marriage come to life.
Creech, whose company places more focus on “the essence of who the couple is, their past, their dreams, where they shop, etc.” to create a “wedding brand” told the Knot, “This wedding is probably the most literal we have done. We usually focus on the “nod” of a concept, playing tribute to it without creating a cheesy environment,” but this one was Harry Potter all the way!
Credit: Steve Lee Photography
Creech said of the venue, “It was a pretty perfect choice on the outside with the lush greenery growing on the side of the building. The doors also felt like Hogwarts. The upstair archways provided the feeling of being inside the walls of Hogwarts.”
Credit: Steve Lee Photography
The couple and their wedding planner invested a lot to create the ideal Harry Potter atmosphere, “And boy!, did it make an impact,” Creech told The Knot. “The couple didn’t quite understand why a black dance floor was needed when the venue had a perfectly capable marble floor to dance on.” She explained that the marble floor was emblazoned with a star not befitting of the couples brand. Once the black dance floor was laid down, 85 handing candles were strung above it, and Dodd and Goetsch’s new house crest – a combination of the Hogwarts, Slytherin and Gryffindor house crests – was projected onto the floor! Without the couple’s crest Creech said, “I am pretty sure the room shot would not be same.”
Credit: Steve Lee Photography
“The little details became the supporting role,” Creech told The Knot, sharing some of her favorites. “Quill and ink inspired napkins, floating candle lighting, the quidditch inspired escort card concept, portion-inspired cocktails, and signage throughout!” The couple had a rustic trunk, much like the ones the wizards would transport their books and robes in, to collect cards and gifts. “Oh, and the guest were welcome to the tunes of John Williams’ “Hedwig’s Theme” by the string quartet,” the wedding stylist shared. “Little details like this cost pennies, but little details usually make the biggest impact.”
Despite the projected crest on the floor, the walls lit up with green vine projections, and the countless Harry Potter details throughout the grand wedding and reception, Creech shared with The Knot that there were two things that really stuck out for her, “Widget, the owl, and the suspended candles over the dance floor.”
Credit: Steve Lee Photography
After walking down an aisle created with ripped pages from old Harry Potter paperbacks lined with branches and hanging candles, during the ceremony the couple received their wedding rings from Widget, a real, live owl who flew through the grand doors at the back of the venue to Goetsch’s best man! Talk about attention to detail!
“All of the props were from the couple’s personal collection,” Creech told The Knot. “Transforming the venue was all about a feeling, an atmosphere. It was about a cohesive feeling of Hogwarts. By incorporating the feeling of the Forbidden Forest and the Great Hall, Hogwarts was born.”
Credit: Steve Lee Photography
The end result was a Harry Potter wedding for the books!
