Prepare a Budget
To start your DIY debut party, determine how much you will invest in this event. Setting a budget allows you to narrow your options and prepare the stuff for the party within your price range. DIY gives you the privilege to do this. Sit down with your family or sponsors and decide how much everyone will pay for the expenses.
Think of a Theme
After deciding on the budget, you can list all the themes for your coming-of-age party. Since this is probably the only debut you can celebrate, you can be creative and think of something you want to have.
More popular types of debut themes include The Great Gatsby, fairy tale, masquerade, and boho. If you're from Australia, the Smoke Garage offers three levels of venues for your debut. If you're planning a boho or classic-themed debut, this venue is great for parties like these.
On the other hand, if your country is famous for its vineyards, like France, California, etc., you should start making some calls to check if you can book their venues. You can even launch a memorable outdoor debut party in these locations.
Consider the Program
The party's program is what makes the occasion special and makes everything more memorable. There are customary parts of the events that you can add or remove to your party, depending on how you want your party to go. Just to give you an idea, here are the usual events you can consider.
- Debut's Entrance: As the main lead of the night, you can carefully plan how you would want your entrance to be. You can consider having confetti fall on you as you enter the doors or a beautiful harmony plays in the background as you walk down the staircase.
- Parent's Speech: Your debut is a perfect opportunity for your parents to give you a loving speech and thank the people who attended your party. They can also be the ones to announce your entrance after sharing their pieces of how thankful they are for what a beautiful woman you've become.
- Formal Cotillion Dance: The dance is one of the events that some ladies leave out in their debut program. However, a formal cotillion dance is part of a more traditional debut. This event includes nine to 12 pairs of people dancing to waltz. The participating people are usually the friends of the debutante.
- 18 Roses and 18 Candles: 18 roses are assigned to 18 special men in your life. They will dance with you after handing you the rose, a symbol of love or courtship. This event usually starts with your father, then your brothers (if you have any). Meanwhile, 18 candles are for 18 elected women who will offer you helpful advice and special wishes, serving to "light you the way."
- Blowing of Candles in Birthday Cake: Your debut party is your 18th birthday, and no birthday is complete without singing you a happy birthday. After that, don't forget to add the blowing of candles!
Once you have a good outline of the preparations for your debut party, you'll surely need professional help. Although you're DIY-ing your party, reaching out for help in areas you're not confident will ensure a better flow of the events when the time comes.
You can consider hiring a makeup artist who can help you look extra special for your night and would also help you touch up your makeup so that you'll be flawless throughout the night. Also, you can hire an event planner who will assist you in booking a few essential stuff, like the DJs, and connect you to a renowned gown retailer for your party.
List Down Your Guests
You would want to celebrate your night together with the most important people in your life. The number of people will vary depending on the capacity of your venue, which gives you the limitation. Nonetheless, you can start by listing them down to check out the people you can invite.
You can call these people and check the number of those who can make it and the unsure people. The rule of thumb is to list an extra five to ten people in case a few from your priority list can't make it.
Prepare Invitations
After you have finalized the primary things, it's the perfect time to send invitations to your guests! Your invitation is an extension of your debut. Prepare an invitation that reflects your party's theme and general "feel" of your party. Ensure to include important information, like the date, the venue, and the time! You can also include what they can wear, the color palette, and the theme. You can customize it however you want!
Your debut party will be an eventful day for you, and you want it to be memorable. You can make the most out of it by preparing everything by yourself. If you plan to DIY your party, this helpful guideline is just for you. Take note of the essentials, and then you can head and start with yours.
