ThrivingLilly

This was an event put on my people that love reading books as much as I do! If you loved A Court of Thrones and Roses these are the people for you! The even started Saturday but the weekend technically started Friday with a night out meeting everyone. A group of people went to The Coffin Club in Portland and ventured out from there. I started this weekend now knowing anyone but we all bonded over our love of books. We drank and danced with people we barley knew on Friday but made some fun memories that will last a lifetime!

Saturday morning was when the real event started with registration! Registration started at 11am with signing in and then getting a bag full of little goodies. My personal favorite was the tote bag we got with the Books, Gowns, and Crowns logo on it. Registration was also filled with authors and bookish merch! It was so fun to walk around and grab some themed goodies such as scents from Velaris or a sweatshirt with your favorite Bat Boy’s name on it. I picked up about 7 or 8 books at registration and was lucky enough to get them all signed by the authors. After my wallet was pretty much empty, it was time to head home for the main event!

The ball started at 7pm so we starting getting ready around 3ish which gave us plenty of time to take pictures after getting dressed. We grabbed some amazing photos at Cathedral Park under the bridge, but I know a lot of other groups went a variety of other places for pictures as well! After pictures it was time to head to the ball. Walking in was magical with fog and a string quartet playing entrance music. Everyone truly looked and felt like a princess. There were mountains and books and an abandoned castle along the walls making us feel like we were in a different time, song with gorgeous floating candelabra and bubbles filled with sparkling glitter. In another room there was 360 degree and 180 degree photo booths so we could capture not only the magic but our gorgeous outfits and cosplays.

The ball started at 7 and that’s when the real dancing music started and the food and drinks starting flowing. There is nothing like 500 people singing to A Thousand Years by Christina Perri all around you just having the night of their lives.

Sunday was a great follow up to the ball with a scavenger hunt starting at Noon. We all ran around the city collecting some amazing fan art and checking out some spooky and fun small businesses in the Portland area. But of course, the best part was ending the hunt with a visit to Powell’s, the largest new and used bookstore in the world! Getting lost in the stacks and stacks of books was a dream come true. There I bought only about 4 more books, and resisted the urge to buy at least 3 others. My new friends and I ended the night with some drinks and pizza at a local dive bar and said goodbye to our magical weekend.