When Josh and Sara contacted me to shoot their wedding, they said they wanted to do something a little different for their engagement photos. They are both devoted Harry Potter fans. Josh even proposed in Orlando at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter by leading Sara on what she thought was an official tourist scavenger hunt contest put on by AAA travel. Actually, it was a clever document Josh put together with a graphic designer friend. They scoured the park trying to locate all of the Horcruxes, the last of which was a ring. Sara approached the cart and asked the worker if she had the ring, to which the lady replied “I don’t have the ring, but he might.” When Sara turned around, Josh was holding a wand box, and when she opened it there was a diamond ring on the wand inside with a note that read “Always.” He got down on one knee and proposed and afterwards Sara learned that EVERYONE had been in on it all day! We decided that a magical Harry Potter themed engagement session was the only way to celebrate. They had their wands from Universal Studios, all we needed was a castle. Luckily, I knew just where to find one 🙂
The Cathedral of Learning on the University of Pittsburgh’s campus was the perfect backdrop with lots of dark stairwells, gargoyles, and even a great hall. With a little bit of magic lighting it made for a great Hogwarts castle.
What’s a magical harry potter themed engagement session without a little wand play? Big thanks to Christina Montemurro for her assistance with magical lighting that day. Recreating the glow of torches and candlelight combined with all the colors and spells one would expect from a magic castle was no easy feat! Especially in a space that photographer’s will tell you is lit by pretty much nothing. (I do love a challenge 😉
Magical practical jokes.
If someone cast a love spell on these two, it certainly worked.
We were trying for killing curse, but may have ended up with a sneezing curse instead…LOL.
It was a ton of fun planning out and shooting this session. As Professor McGonagall would say, a little light-hearted frivolity never hurt anybody 😉
Besides, what is love but believing in magic?
Happy Wedding Week to Josh and Sara, can’t for those Unbreakable Vows on saturday 🙂
