Before I started working in the Spanish Immersion School…I had NO idea what a Quinceañera was….but now happily I do….
And a couple of weeks ago a friend and I had the opportunity to help a lovely young woman and her mom decorate for this important occasion.

Quinceañera (lit. meaning One (f.) who is fifteen), sometimes called “Fiesta de quince años”, “Fiesta de Quinceañera”, “Quince años” or simply “quince”, is the celebration of a girl’s fifteenth birthday!

 Come along and see how we transformed the church fellowship hall into an elegant party venue….
on a budget of course….!
 The decorating plan got under way with “THE DRESS”!

Kudos to Mom for finding this gorgeous black and white dress at a thrift store!
You would never know….would you?

The color scheme was obvious!
Silver, black and white….with touches of seasonal greens!

With some twinkle lights of course!

We did some careful shopping at the dollar store….and the Sweetwater Shelves!
We recycled the Christmas trees for greenery…..

 

 

 

When we arrived to start decorating…..
We felt a bit like “church ladies”….so like any good “church lady” …we got to work!


The table centerpieces were simply a dollar store mirror, a floating candle in a wine glass, some silver eucalyptus and greens….with a simple white bow……
(Maybe a total cost of 5 dollars for each of the tables!)

 

From the Sweetwater Shelves….

remember my last minute centerpiece using those hurricane lamps with the wine glass and votives?



We used them on the food table…..with the greens, eucalyptus and white ribbon…
with some silver trays from the Sweetwater shelves!

It only took $20 worth of grocery store flowers….in the Sweetwater Silver…..

They looked amazing on the cake table…..

The cake was a splurge well worth it the money!
The bakery copied the design from the dress….
Yummmm!

The decorations were great….
but it was the special touches that made the evening special!
Each table had cards with simple statements….
I remember when T… 
The funniest thing about T is…..
Pens were provided so people could add their memories and thoughts about the birthday girl….
PRICELESS!

The brother of the birthday girl and a couple of friends performed a traditional Mexican Dance….Sabres and All!

It is traditional for the guests to receive a small token gift at a Quinciñeara…usually a little toy!
At this party guests went home with a photo card of the birthday girl in her gorgeous dress!
Classy….and relatively inexpensive!

The birthday girl put together a memory poster for each of her 15 years….they hung on the columns around the room….
Again….Priceless!

These flags give a nod to the heritage of the birthday girl!

It was so much fun to help make this fun evening a success!
Add the great food and wonderful friends….and it really was memorable.

Just a funny little aside…. These photos are of the arrangements from the cake table….
2 WEEKS after the party!

Amazing….

Have a great weekend!
I am going to do report cards and try to figure out something to use up so I can keep my challenge to myself going!
Maybe some of the wine we got as hostess gifts…..nothing makes report cards go faster than a glass of wine! (JUST KIDDING!)

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