This Saturday was my dude's sister's quinceñera and it was definitely a great experience to be a part of. Lots of planning, running around, and making things from scratch. My kinda party. I was in charged of most of the decorations and photography so here's some of the things that I've learned that will hopefully help you out with your next event-big or small.
QUINCEÑERA LESSONS LEARNED:
•PREPARATION IS NUMERO UNO
=I'm a big list maker so I made different lists as the day got closer. I could refer to the list whenever I felt overwhelmed or a little too comfortable with things. I had lists of things I needed to make, things I needed to do, materials, and everything else that I needed to remember. We started working on the decorations months waaay before the date so we weren't panicking last minute. Plan things accordingly and give yourself lots of time to work on things-either buying and ordering stuff or DIYing everything.
-pages of tiny notes and lists.
•ORGANIZATION IS ALSO NUMERO UNO
=I am definitely organized and my lists totally helped. We put things in ziplock bags in boxes and made sure to label what was in it. The decorations were separated and labeled correctly. The clean up was a lot easier since we knew where the scissors, fabric, and random stuff went. Label all the things!!!
-boxes with labels and zip locks.
•TAKE LOTS OF PICTURES
=We opted out of hiring a photographer to save some money so my dude and I were running around the whole night taking pictures. Down side is that we're barely in any pictures. Oh well. Tip: take a picture with every single table to remember who was there and who to thank. We totally forgot this part but hopefully the videographer caught the crowd.
-the only pictures of me, and my dude with his sisters.
•THINGS WILL GO WRONG
=This was my first quinceñera so I wasn't completely sure what to expect but judging from Juddie's frustrated face and people running around, I knew things weren't going as planned. The DJ announced the toast too early so we took a deep breath and solved things little by little. We went around the tables and distribute glasses, champagne, and ciders. Wearing flats instead of heels was definitely a good idea. Next thing we knew, we were toasting for the little lady.
-quinceñera looking all grumpy and the after look of the night.
•HAVE FUN
=I was freaking out a little inside because things weren't going as smoothly as planned but then I thought these people probably don't care, they'll forget, and I'm being too harsh on myself. Whatevaaa. At the end of the day, all it really matters is that you have fun or whoever you're celebrating for. I asked Juddie's mom if she was having fun and she replied, "No, but as long as Juddie's having fun then I'm happy." It was the sweetest thing evarrr. The quinceñera did have fun and all her friends said that the party was "turnt up."
-cheesy jumping pose.
-photo booth fun.
-quinceñera and her court.
There's definitely things that I wish I would have done differently but like I said-things will go wrong. Keeping this list in mind will definitely help me out the next time we throw a ginormous party again and maybe this list will help you out as well when you throw your own shindig.
I'll have a separate post that shows all the rad DIY stuff we made for the quince. Boooyah!
Stay cool.
-Nika B.