Birthday Blogger

Shelbie Bruce's Quinceañera

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The time has finally come — I am 15!!! My party was incredible. My goal was to have a memorable night without breaking my parents’ savings. We did it! All it took was a little extra teamwork and creativity from my brother and my parents. After all, a quinceañera is about making good memories, not worrying about how you’re going to pay for everything.

I knew I wanted my colors to be gold and ivory, with a touch of light pink. I also knew I wanted to give a bottle of my perfume, “Florecita Shelbie Bruce,” to all my guests, as well as tiaras to the girls because I didn’t want to be the only one to feel like a princess. With that in mind, we sat down as a family and set a budget and put together a good plan.

One month before my party, my mother and I went shopping for table decorations, gift bags, items to go inside the bags, the cake, an outfit to wear. We ordered invitations, gift-bag cards, table thank-you notes. We reserved the room at the restaurant, and, last but not least, booked a mariachi band. I know, I know ... you might think I’m crazy for not doing things a year in advance. Well, I applied one of my favorite sayings, “Where there is a will, there is a way,” and, I assure you, it can be done.

Creating memories is very important to me — and I did it while saving money. Here’s how:

• For handmade goody bags, my mom, brother, and I spray-painted plain brown bags with gold paint and tied on ivory ribbon bows.
• I drew a picture of my own cake design so the cake maker would not charge us extra for her own creation.
• My mother is very good with crafts, so she made the most beautiful centerpieces. A professional decorator would have charged us anywhere from $80 to $100 per piece, and instead we spent only about $15 each.
• I wanted to keep my heritage alive, so I decided on a Mexican restaurant. Choosing a restaurant versus a plain, old room at a club is definitely less expensive, and the decorating is minimal since restaurants nowadays have their own decor and cozy environment. So it’s a win-win situation. You add a little bit of your own taste, bring in the mariachis, and serve Mexican food (in my opinion, the best in the world), and “FELICIDADES”! You created an amazing day — not just for yourself, but for everyone around you!

I will never forget my special day. I sure hope you can take any ideas from my experience and remember that it’s all about the memories, not about how much money you want to spend.

But there’s more ... I had a second quinceañera on TV! Read my next post for the details.

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Posted by: Shelbie Bruce on October 8, 2007 at 5:41PM