Sweet Sixteen Planning: Putting It Together
Last week I gave you some steps to think about before planning your Sweet Sixteen Party. This week we are diving further into the planning process. As they say on MTV Cribs “This is where the magic happens”.
Step 5 – Pick a spot, any spot
Now that you have your theme in place you will want to think about venues to hold this party. Is it going to be at home, a restaurant, a hall, a sports club?
Start calling these venues and set up appointments to check out the facilities. If you are planning at the last minute know that many of these venues might be booked already. Ideally you want to plan for a sweet sixteen party a minimum of 3 months in advanced but if you start planning 6-12 months in advanced you will reduce the stress significantly.
Once you have decided on a facility you will be required to pay a down payment. This down payment will vary; some will want 50% of the cost upfront and others will want a percentage first.
If the facility provides food then you can skip to step 7.
Step 6 – Make the meal memorable for guests
Food is very important in party planning. I have had people tell me years later “Oh my gosh, I still remember how amazing that shrimp dish was at your wedding and not “You’re wedding was so beautiful” or “your dress was so lovely”. Keep this in mind when you are picking a caterer or a facility that is suppling the food.
Taste test first! If the company isn’t going to offer you to sample the goods, then look elsewhere. You have distinct tastes and so will your guests, so pick food that actually tastes good. With the amount of money you are spending on this celebration; expect nothing less than excellent service and dishes.
Step 7 – Entertainment
Before you skip over this step. Please take a 1 minute to read this paragraph. Perhaps you don’t think it’s necessary to hire any sort of entertainment. If the party is co-ed, a DJ can be the answer to a dull party where the boys just hang out with the boys and the girls hang out with the girls. Flashbacks of your high school dances coming to mind yet?
A DJ is not only providing music to dance to, their job is to also be the master of ceremonies. They will announce important details regarding food service, birthday cake presentation, any games or activities that are going on and he also closes the party out by announcing a last dance and a final birthday wish to the sweet sixteen birthday girl or boy.
Additional entertainment can be professional dancers for your theme. Ie Hula dancers for the Luau theme.
Step 8 – Have your cake and eat it too!
Sweet 16 Dress Cake
It doesn’t matter what the theme is the fact remains that you need a cake! Today’s Super Sweet 16 birthday parties feature a cakes that are like that of a wedding cake. They are often 2-3 tiered and can cost anywhere from $150-$1,000.
It doesn’t have to be elaborate and cost more than car payment. You can still find a local bakery that can do a sheet cake in your theme. However; the more guests you have, the closer to approaching that tiered wedding cake-style you will be. If you want to avoid the wedding cake style, you could go the cupcake tree route.
Wedding Cupcake tree by kylie lambert (Le Cupcake)
Cupcake Trees are all the rave now and they can reflect a lot of personality from the birthday girl or boy.
If you are having a more intimate party then cupcakes can be the ideal setup. They reflect personality, are easy to serve and yes, teens still love cupcakes!
Rose Cupcakes by http://bakerella.blogspot.com
Sushi Cupcakes by http://www.debbiedoescakes.net
If you are ordering a cake or fancy cupcakes, you will want to start checking out local bakeries and book appointments to see their sample books and cake tasting about 6-8 weeks prior to the event date.
Coming next week:
Part three
Sweet Sixteen Planning:Let the Magic Begin
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som of these styles are alittle tacky lik the suchi cake you should put more vintage things and ekegant
if possible could u tell me some venues i could possible have my sweet sixteen at but not crazy exspensive
Hi Nanza,
have you thought about looking into a community center? Community centers are fairly cheap to rent out. they may cost about $200-$400.00 for the day and they are ideal for setting up any theme since there will be ample of floor space for dancing and table set up. Check local park community centers or you could also rent out a clubhouse that is usually available in gated communities. You often need to reside in the community to rent out the clubhouse but maybe one of your friends lives in a nice community with a clubhouse by the pool etc.