Planning a Quinceanera

Planning a quinceanera for your daughter can be a very frightening thing especially if you don't know where to start. I have been planning my daughter's and have had to look to many for help. Since I have found alot of help and know what I am doing now, I thought that I would share it with others who are planning one. By starting your planning about a year ahead you can assure that you will get things done a little easier and not be so hurried at the last moment.

Let's Begin our Checklist

1. Get a notebook to write everything done to keep track of everything going on. It sure helps alot. This is also a good time to decide upon a budget and whether you will be paying for everything yourselves or if you will be finding help with the expenses through "sponsors" also called "padrinos." You will also want to make a list of people whom you wish to invite, so you can get an idea as to how big of hall you need to rent for the party.
2. Find the date closest to your daughter's 15th birthday as possible to have the party. Most always, quinceaneras are on Saturdays, so get a look at your calendar. By choosing 2 different dates, this will assure that you will have more of a chance at getting the date closest.
3. Once finding the date, you will need to find an appropriate location to have the party. This can be a VFW or a banquet hall, civic center, or another location suitable for the amount of guests you intend to invite. Be sure to check around at the different prices because this can really vary alot. They will also want to know how many guests are expected to attend. This is also the time to check the date with your pastor/priest for the ceremony, which usually lasts around 30 minutes.
4. The quinceanera's dress that she will wear on this special day is the next event in planning. This can be a prom dress, or what many call the "quinceanera" dress which can come in many colors and styles. This can also be expensive, but picking out the color will also set the tone for the decoration colors. Check around different locations and have your daughter try on different colors and dresses to see what looks best on her. Once you find the right dress, make sure to either order it, or put a deposit down on it and see if they offer payments per month, such as a layaway plan for it. Most places do.
5. Court of Honor is the next very important step, as your daughter will need an escort, and a court of girls and guys to dance in the quinceanera with her. Picking out girls and guys will be easier if you do not pick out girlfriends/boy friends as partners. The reason I say this is because if they break up, it will leave someone without a partner to dance with. Best bet is to pick out really good friends who can commit to the court of honor, which requires the girls to purchase a dress package normally ranging from $100-150. in price. Guys rental tux normally range in the $ 100-125. range, depending on your local rental location.
6. Picking out the court of honor colors mostly depends upon what the girls and guys decide they can afford according to the colors matching the quinceanera dress. You really want a color different than your daughter's dress because she is the princess for that special day and needs to stand out differently than anyone else's attire.
7. Checklist of items given to the quinceanera for gifts, such as: the Bible, ring, necklace, earrings, watch or bracelet, tiara, satin pillow to kneel on when getting her crown, and doll. List these gifts and ask the most important family and friends to your daughter to see if they want to buy and present them to her during the quinceanera ceremony.
8. Cake picking out can be fun, especially if you go to different bakeries to see what they offer and have a sample taste of what you would like to have. Depending on how many guests you expect to have, ordering the cake should be fun. Check your local bakeries to find out about costs and flavors.
9. Food for the party. You can find different family members to cook different parts of the menus, which will save some money, or you can search for different caterers to find the menu that you desire. Plastic ware for the party is also essential at this time. There are many party places around and warehouses that offer great prices for this.
10. DJ/Music/Entertainment will be another choice, depending on price. Be sure to check out all options and decide what kind of music you want. You will want something that can offer several different types of music so that all can have the chance to get up and dance.

Now, this is the top 10 on my checklist. There are also several other factors to consider such as the security for the hall if there is going to be liquor served. Check with the hall on this. Decorations are pretty easy to decide on once you have found the colors of the quinceanera and her party. Some people have their party based on a "theme" and others just decorate the hall with balloons or other pretty decoration ideas. Invitations can be either ordered or handmade, if you wish to save money. Photographers are also a very important balance here, but some choose to have a video person, or perhaps both !! Since the quinceanera along with her escort, and her court of honor will be dancing for their guests, you might want find a choreographer helpful.