Quinceañera’s Perspective

Quinceañera’s Perspective

Good morning everyone! Hope you're having a good day. I just wanted to share some advice from a few past Quinceañeras that I sat down and talked to briefly. Hopefully this helps some of you with your upcoming parties. Enjoy! 

I liked how my Quinceañera party was very elegant and festive. The food was delicious, the decorations were perfect, and everyone had great time. What I didn’t like about it was how my hair and makeup was done. My hair was styled how my mom wanted it, not how I wanted. Also, I did not like how my makeup was applied. I felt I looked like a clown because my lips were too bright and I was not used to wearing so much makeup at the time. What I do recommend all girls that are planning to have a Quinceañera, is to go see their hair stylist and show the stylist a picture of how they want their hair and makeup to be so they can practice on the birthday girl before her big day.-Erika

Well if you're planning to have damas or chambelánes then to make sure to plan ahead for any sports or after school activities they do not have trouble scheduling practices. Planning everything can be stressful but remembering your family is there to support you are always good to remember! If some things don't go as planned remember to just go with them after all it's a special day that should be about sharing the joy with friends and family…so if you're having fun then people will most likely not even notice if something didn't go exactly as planned.-Gaby

It is major drama & stress especially if you have damas & a BIG court!! But in the end it is worth it. I would say it is a lot of HARD work but in the end it will pay off. Just don't go to overboard with the quince practices times, be patient && also listen to people's ideas- Jocelyn 

(Here is Jocelyn's baile sorpresa for anyone interested in checking it out.)

My advice is the day of relax and just have fun. It's your birthday and u can cry if you want too but you don't want ruin your makeup. Every little thing will get u mad or frustrated if you wake up on the wrong side of the bed. Make sure everything is ready ahead of time so all you have to do is just show up to your own party. If you’re doing a dance make sure everyone practices a lot mine got messed up and I wasn't confident. I was an angry bird for mine because I wanted everything to be perfect.-Sarah

Well the stressing part was having to get all the padrinos, I went personally to everyone’s house and it was time consuming. Then I still had to go another time to pick up the money. Getting the recuerdos and invitations was another mess, especially since I had my quince in Mexico; it was hard to see what I was ordering so I had to leave that to my grandma. The food well my grandmother had taken care of that and I'm assuming it wasn’t easy since we had to engordar los pavos months before the party haha. The valtz! Was stressful for me because it was hard to get everyone to come to practice, but they we always fun at the end of the day because I had all primos for my chambelánes so we got to know each other more and have fun! But overall I loved that I was able to have a quince, because it’s a great memory at the end of the day! I got to plan my family which was very meaningful and helpful! The baile was great, I enjoyed it to the max, I promised myself I was going to dance the whole night and I did! I made sure to take as many family members out to dance with me that night lol it was great. I mean don’t think it was stressful all the time lol it had its fun moments-Jocelyn

Hope that helps some of you! Have a good day and remember:

Quinceañera Parte Numero Siete!: Quinceañera Part Number Seven!

The Venue

            For your Quinceañera you may want to consider the places that you can have your party at. Look into city sites such as parks, gardens, rec centers and club houses from golf courses. Checking with restaurants with banquet halls are always a good option as well as hotels that have banquet halls usually set aside for business meetings. Make sure to check college alumni halls, surrounding towns, and outside settings like a farm or someone who has big back yard.

Budget & Checklist & Padrinos

Budget is the most important part of your Quinceañera. Make sure you know how much you have to spend and be reasonable with what you have. Don’t go into debt for a one time event. Consider the following things to make a list of when planning your Quinceañera:

Necessary Quinceañera Items	Budget	Cost
Venue
Ceremony
Dress
Crown/Tiara
Shoes & Accessories
Invitations
Food/Drink
Limo/Transportation
Live Entertainment
Decorations
Cake
Party Favors
Hair/Makeup/Nails
Photographer/Videographer
DJ/Lighting
Planner(not necessary)
Choreographer(not necessary)
Total

Your 12-month Quinceañera planning list

12 Months Before:  

Select potential padrinos

Plan on number of guests

Collect magazines and catalogs for ideas as well as shopping around in person at local shops

Make a planning notebook

Choose theme and colors

Contact church priest (Determine parish requirements, book date)

Ask for referrals for photographers, caterers, DJ’s, invitation printers, flower shops and bakeries (for such services it is usually best to work with someone you were referred to)

Research possible event sites for availability and security measures they offer

11 Months Before

Discuss budget plans with potential godparents

Visit event sites

Meet with caterers for tasting

Select style of invitation’ style

Decide whether you will purchase your dress or have it custom-made.

Consider reading: “The Hunt for the Perfect Reception Hall: Search, Compare, and Save“

10 Months Before

Select your Quince court (the number in the court is your decision, 7 couples are recommended.)

Select and book the following:

Bakery/cake

Caterer

Music provider (live band or DJ)

Photographer and video

Florist

Reserve event hall

Verify that church is available on event date and reserve

Order invitations

Select fashion designer if the dress will be custom-made

If you decided instead to purchase your dress, begin your search

9 Months Before

Visit fashion designer for formal dress selection

Meet with your entire court to discuss their physical attire (after selecting yours)

Select accessories

Select shoes

Purchase party favors and decorations (these can even be created by your family)

6 Months Before

Select and purchase “Last Doll”

Select and purchase the Bible

Reserve hotel rooms for guests

Reserve limousine

3 Months Before

 Pick up invitations

Arrange rehearsal with court

Hair/makeup test-run

2 Months Before

Send out invitations

Verify details with your service providers

DJ and song list

Hair/Makeup

Final fitting for gown

Remind guests who have not responded (in order to avoid unnecessary expenses)

Consider any of these Quinceañera music playlists

1 Month Before

 For a formal reception create seating chart

Verify final details with:

Florist

Bakery

Photographer

Priest or Pastor

2 Weeks Before

Pick up gown

 Perform hair/makeup test-runs

Avoid too many fatty foods, chocolates or other items that might keep your skin from looking its best

1 Week Before

Get plenty of rest and relaxation so you will look radiant on the day of your Quinceañera Verify that you are not missing anything from your planning list

Day of the Celebration

Eat a good breakfast

Get your hair and makeup appointment(s) done and just remember to breathe and have a good time.

Day after Celebration: Send out thank-you note

Padrinos/Godparents/Sponsors

Padrinos are traditionally played by the grandparents or godparents of the Quinceañera. Padrinos help with the expenses of the Quinceañera celebration. Since Quinceañera’s have become very elaborate and expensive there is more need for more than just the two padrinos or godparents also called sponsors. With the expenses split up amongst padrinos the cost is less. People that can be padrinos can be friends, family, extended family and people from the community. The padrinos help with the expenses of the church, venue, food, drink, bible, flower bouquet, last doll, tiara, shoes, and other accessories.