A quinceañera is a fundamental right of passage for many girls of Latin American descent — the celebration of their 15th birthday and symbolic transition from childhood to young adulthood.
Creating a fun and exciting party that pleases both the birthday girl and other guests can be tricky. You have to integrate aspects of religious tradition and cultural heritage with the contemporary fashions and activities modern teenagers adore.
There are staples of every quince (as it is often referred to) including customized quinceanera backdrops, entertainment and decorations, but within all these areas of focus there are nearly endless possibilities. With that in mind, here are a few tips to plan an unforgettable celebration.
Start Planning Early
Quinceanera.com has one piece of simple advice that holds true for almost any event: Begin the planning early – more than 4 months ahead of time if you can. There are a variety of moving parts associated with planning a quince, including booking the venue for the party (and mass) choosing a theme, sending out invitations, finding a caterer and hiring entertainment. As part of the site’s quince planning tips, they encourage families to hire a party planner or enlist a friend to help work within a budget and distribute some of the planning labor.
Think About Decorations
Since the guest list at a quince can be diverse and multi-generational, these parties need to have a broad appeal. This kind of consideration should go into the choosing of your theme, which in turn will help guide your decoration choices. Themes like “Hollywood glamour” or “high fashion” can appeal to the teenage girls in attendance (including the birthday girl herself) as well as be amenable to the family.
To make sure you’re getting the most out of the big day, set up backdrops for photos so your guests can show off their best party duds! Your backdrop can be customized with photos of the birthday girl, a special message or other images she would love. SignArtEtc has a professional design team that can do the layout — all you have to do is upload the graphics.
Choose the Waltz Music
The quinceanera waltz – a dance shared by the birthday girl and her father or grandfather – is an important part of the quinceanera tradition. Often, there is choreographed dancing and a ceremonial element that may need to be planned ahead of time. While there are more traditional song choices such as “El Vals de las Mariposas” and “Tiempo de Vals,” as Quinceanera.com points out, almost any sentimental song with an emotional meaning can be used for this dance.
Pick Your Damas and Chambelanes
Another traditional aspect of the party is the picking of the Corte de Honor. This is essentially an entourage traditionally composed of 14 girls (damas) and 14 boys (chambelanes) who are friends and family of the birthday girl. While 14 of each is recommended, as Q by Da Vinci points out, there are a few hard and fast rules governing how many there need to be and their specific role in the ceremony.
The Corte de Honor will often perform alongside the honoree for the quince waltz and other dances during the party. Since this group typically is comprised of close friends of the honoree, it’s important to gather the entire group together for photos and video – in front of the backdrop is a perfect spot!
The Last Doll
One of the more heartfelt and symbolic traditions that is part of a quinceanera is that of the “last doll.” This is a doll or toy, ceremonially gifted from the father figure to the birthday girl during the party, symbolizing the last remaining vestiges of childhood. The doll then takes on a role as part of the proceedings, pinned and wrapped with cápias – printed ribbons with the Quinceanera’s name and the date printed on them. The ribbons are then given to different family members throughout the party as a token of thanks. To cap the night, the last doll can be ceremonially gifted to a younger sibling or friend, symbolizing the transition to adulthood.
Sign Art Etc specializes in high-quality, low-cost custom banners and backdrops, perfect for any celebration. To learn more, contact Sign Art Etc today.
