Muggle Matrimony: James & Katy
This edition of Muggle Matrimony takes a look at James and Katy, who first met in the workplace. Katy was introduced to the series by her brother and immediately knew she would be joining the mass queues for all future midnight releases. James, however, as is the case with many grooms we feature, faced not only pursuing Katy romantically but also accepting her Potter obsession. As it would turn out, he made the right decision.
James proposed during the couple’s second trip to the Leavesden Studio Tour. Shortly after arriving at the Hogwarts Castle, he pulled out a Sorting Hat and asked Katy to try it on. After snapping a few pictures, James then produced a ring and popped the question. They immediately proceeded to the gift shop for celebratory mementos.
Naturally, when it came to planning their wedding, James and Katy opted for one that would incorporate their love for the novels. The couple decided to manufacture most of the decorative elements themselves, which included acceptance letter invitations, chocolate frogs, and Ollivander-style packaging for pre-made wands scooped up from Etsy.
On tweaking the appearance of the venue itself, Katy was determined to strike the right balance between tasteful and paying homage to the series. To do this. she amped up aesthetics that would already be present at a typical wedding and updated them to match the color and symbolic themes from the books. “Here Comes the Bride” was replaced with “Hedwig’s Theme.” Seating arrangements were divvied up into Hogwarts houses. Wands accompanied place settings. The sumptuous Honeydukes buffet featured edible Dark Marks, Fizzing Whizbees, and Cockroach Clusters. There was even a giant chessboard stationed on the grounds that curiously had a few pieces missing, which made it all the better for guests who assumed roles in their very own Wizard’s Chess adventure.
Perhaps the most memorable item was James’s one-of-a kind Wizard’s Monopoly board game. Hearing Katie’s remarks about the absence of such a piece of merchandise, he painstakingly crafted this incredible Potter DIY memorabilia, which was then hidden in a pre-wedding scavenger hunt for Katy. Also scattered throughout the hunt were the custom-made property cards, pewter playing figures, a rule book, cottages, and castles.
The wedding, though, was not without a hitch. A disappointing order of Snitch cake pops forced James and his groomsmen to put on their chef hats the day before the wedding. In an attempt to salvage the desserts, they left Katy’s parents’ kitchen littered with abandoned chocolate balls, gold spray, and discarded wings.
That aside, when the big day arrived, according the Katy, it was just magical:
When the time came, I walked down the aisle to ‘Hedwig’s Theme’ and couldn’t stop smiling. Seeing James waiting there for me was the best moment. We had a surprise guest bringing in our wedding rings, a beautiful barn owl called Darcy. It was terribly hot in that room, and she didn’t have much fun flying, but we got the rings in the end! We all posed with Darcy and Hera for some lovely unique pictures afterward.
We got a chance to ask James and Katy a few questions in their Q&A. Enjoy!
Images via C Y Wild Photography
