HOW TO PLAN A QUINCEAÑERA
Glenda Luna
Technical Writing 2700
How to plan a Quinceañera
1
Table of Contents
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Introduction__________________________________________________Page. 2

Budget/Godparents____________________________________________Page. 3

Choose the hall______________________________________________Page.4-5
-Food
-Decorations
-Music

Additional information_________________________________________ Page. 6

Choose the Clothes__________________________________________Page. 7-8

Choose the Dancers and the Dance Coordinator_____________________ Page. 9

Traditional Gift and items____________________________________Page.10-12

Events_____________________________________________________Page. 13

Invitations__________________________________________________Page. 14

Conclusion__________________________________________________Page. 15

Index______________________________________________________Page. 16
How to plan a Quinceañera
2
Introduction
In Latin America 15 years of age for a girl means they are transforming from a kid to a
young woman. It is a major step for a girl’s life and it tends to be celebrated with a huge
party. It is like the common American Sweet 16 party but Latin’s call it a Quinceañera. It
is a celebration thrown by parents for their daughter that will always be remember by the
birthday girl. Therefore planning for this occasion should be taken a year in advance.
This manual will include all the details necessary to help you plan a successful
Quinceañera.
How to plan a Quinceañera
3
Budget
The first major step to planning a quinceañera would be putting a budget in place. Most
Quinceañera’s cost between 5,000 to 20,000 dollars.
If you the parent or guardian is paying for everything keep in mind that your budget will
cover:
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

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Hall (food, music, decoration, limo) 15,000
Dress $100-$500
Dance Coordinator $500
Invitations *
Gifts/ traditional items *
Quinceañeras are known to have a tradition where they get Godfather’s (Padrinos) to help
pay for certain party items. Godfather’s is the fancy name for individuals who will
contribute to the party by paying for a certain item or someone who will donate some
money for the party. Godfathers are most likely relatives of the birthday girl or close
family friends. Therefore, before putting a budget together decide if you will have
Godfathers and how much money will they be able to donate. Also note them down for
what they will pay for and how much money they gave.
Usually you will get an individual to pay for the:
 Dress $100-$500
 Traditional Items
1. The heels $20-$100
2. Crown $50-$100
3. Pillow $50
4. Doll $200
5. Necklace/ring (or both) $400
6. Glasses $170-$200
 Invitations ($250-$300 for 500 invitations)
 Parent / Guardian usually pays the entire hall by themselves
*All the prices above are estimations according to different Quinceañeras.
The total cost, with the highest estimations of prices for the items, would be $17,320.
How to plan a Quinceañera
4
Choosing the Hall
A hall is the location where parties, wedding, graduation celebration, etc. occur.
When looking for a Hall make sure you do it a year in advance in order to get the hall
available for the day you want.
You can search on the Internet for halls located near you or asked friends who have
hosted Quinceañeras. After having an idea of the halls you will be looking at call all of
them and set up an appointment.
Visiting the hall is important. Your daughter and you want to see if the hall will be the
appropriate size to host your guest and the dance floor is a good size. After you had a full
tour of the hall, including the restroom facilities, and you have decided that you are
interested in the hall, start asking questions.
Three main points you should discuss with the owners:
 Party date/ Time availability
 Number of guest you will have.
 Hall price/ What will be provided
Party Date
Keep in mind that most times the hall you choose will not have the exact day you want
because other people have been in search for halls as well. So then just ask if they have
any openings for the month you are interested on. Also tell them the time frame you
would want the hall available for you.
Guest
Let them know how many people you will invite and the extra tables you want for food,
gifts, and music station.
Make sure that you inform them before hand the setting you want for your tables. The
tables should be space out enough to allow your daughter to walk through the tables and
greet the guest. Also where the main door is at tell them that you would like no less then
a three-meter distance between the tables set up on each edge of the doors to allow space
for the court of honor to make their entrance towards the dance floor. They should be
able to tell you right away if they are able to accommodate your desires.
Hall Price and what they provide you
Most halls will range between 5,000-20,000 depending on what is provided. A 5,000 hall
will most likely only include the hall and decorations.
How to plan a Quinceañera
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Pricier halls include:
Catering
Decoration
Music*
Limo*
Ask the owners how much will it cost if they provide the items above to you. Most likely
the price will range around 14, 000 dollars and up. Some halls offer the Music and Limo
but if you decide you don’t want them you can deny them and get them yourself
somewhere else. Most likely if the price is reasonable you will take their entire package
to make it easier on you. Negotiate a price with them that will fit the price you had in
mind.
You will make your final decision when one of the halls has the date you agree on, can
occupied the amount of guest you want, and most importantly it is affordable.
Figure 1 Small Hotel $7,000
Figure 2 Big Hotel $15,000
How to plan a Quinceañera
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Additional Information for the hall
Deposit
After choosing the hall you should know that a deposit would be require to reserve the
hall. Also you will need to go in detail about the catering, music, and decorations with
them.
Catering
The owner of the hall will make an appointment for you too taste and chose the one or
two dishes you want to be serve at the party. Also let them know about the snacks you
will want provided for your guest like fruits or crackers with cheese. You will have to
give them a time that you want the food to start serving an end at.
Music
With the music if they give you their DJ or you get your own make sure you give them a
list of songs/genres that you will like to hear at the party. At this moment you can let the
DJ know ahead if there will be songs that you will like to be play at certain times of the
party. If not sure yet just let him know you will get back to him with songs.
Decorations
For the decorations at this point of choosing the hall you won’t know the color and don’t
have to give them a color right away. You will need to decide on the table pieces and
tablecloths for tables and chairs. After choosing the party colors go back and let them
know*.
How to plan a Quinceañera
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Choosing the Clothes
An event like this requires a beautiful elegant dress that the birthday girl wears on the
special day. The traditional dress for Quinceañeras is a pink, puffy, long dress but now
people are choosing different colors.
Choosing the dress should be done ahead of time because it will take some shopping to
find the perfect dress your daughter wants. You also need to figure out the color to
prepare the decorations for the hall and the invitations.
Where to find a dress
If you have no idea where to look for a dress, you can go on the Internet, Google, and
search up “places that sell Quinceañeras dresses.” You will usually find stores in a
Hispanic neighborhood where this is different kinds of Latin stores. In Houston there is a
famous store called, Parisina. The stores manager said that dresses take three months for
adjustment and usually every other store takes the same amount time.
The dress stores will also have dresses for the female dancers and will be aware of a store
were you can get tuxedos for the male.
Birthday girl dress
When you try on dresses they wont fit you perfectly they hardly ever do and they will
have to take your measurements. With your measurements someone will tailor your dress
and have it ready for you in about three months. You will need to leave and down
payment for them of 40$. Dresses range from 100-500$.
After the sizing of dresses girls try to maintain a diet to fit in their dresses when they get
it back. When the dress is in, the tailor can do adjustments to it if it is a little loose or
tight on you.
Court of honor clothes
Females
After choosing your dress and color you need to choose another color for your damas
(ladies) dresses that combines with your own dress. The damas dresses will not be
elegant like the birthday girl it will be a plain long or short dress.
Males
You will also need to choose the tux style and color for the males. The male dancer that
is the birthday girl partner will usually wear a white tux with the vest matching the color
of her dress.
*The court of honor will pay for their own outfits so don’t get outfits that are expensive
for them.
*The surprise dance requires more movement and it will be hard for the girls to dance in
their dresses. Therefore all the females will get an extra set of nice dressy clothes.
How to plan a Quinceañera
Figure 1 traditional dresses
Figure 3 Female dancers short dress
Figure 5 Male dancers
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Figure 2 Dress
Figure 4 Long dress
Figure 6 Main Dancer
How to plan a Quinceañera
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Choose the dancers and dance coordinator
Dancers
There are two traditions in Quinceañeras.
The first tradition involves 15 dance couples including the birthday girl and her partner or
the tradition that includes 15 males.
The tradition has changed because it has become difficult to find 15 couples and keep
them committed. Now people tend to get only 5 couples or as many couples they can
obtain but never more then 15. The dance couples are usually the birthday girl friends or
just guys hired by a dance company.
Dance coordinator
If you find a dance company they will provide you with dancers and an instructor that
will teach the dances.
The traditional way of doing it is finding your own dance couples and then searching for
a dance coordinator online or asking friends about someone they know. If you ask the
workers at the dress stores they will give you names of known dance coordinator
Dances
In Quinceañeras there are three main dances: waltz, father daughter dance, and surprise
dance
The waltz is the important dance. It is dance to a meaningful song that is chosen by the
birthday girl. The Quinceañera has her dress on throughout the entire dance and the court
of honor their formal clothes. During the waltz the Quinceañera is in the center or in the
front while the rest of the couples dance behind her or around her. The waltz is the dance
of the night that keeps all eyes on the birthday girl while she twirls around with her
elegant dress. Sometimes the coordinator will choreograph a dance where the male
dancers give the birthday girl a rose. Towards the end of the waltz another dance is
added, the Daughter and Father dance.
The father and daughter will have the dance floor to themselves and dance to a song
chosen by the two of them. The traditional song is call “Los baron de apodaca la ultima
muñeca” (the last doll). During the dance the father gives his daughter her last toy, a doll.
The song lyrics say that the father has realized that his daughter is all grown and has
become a woman.
The surprise dance is the last dance where all the females go and change into their extra
set of clothes and the male take of their tux jacket. This dance consist of different songs
usually the genres: bachata, merengue, and salsa. All the couples will dance the same
steps. This song is meant to be the entertainment of the night for the guest.
*The coordinator will choreograph the waltz and surprise dance.
How to plan a Quinceañera
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Traditional items
The Quinceañera is a birthday celebration that will transform the birthday girl from a
young girl to an actual Woman. Therefore during the party an hour will be reserve to
complete the transformation in front all the families and friends.
Items:
Cake
Necklace/Ring
Doll
Pillow
Crown
Heel
Surprise gift
Glasses for the toast
Cake
The cake is cut between the parents and the Quinceañera while a few pictures are taken.
Waitress will distribute the cakes to the tables. Cake is usually cut towards the end when
everyone is dancing.
Transformation
After the cake the parents will place a chair in the middle of the dance floor in which the
Quinceañera will sit.
At this moment the DJ will call forward the Godfather’s that purchase the items in order
that they are presented above.
Necklace and ring
Usually only one is given to the girl. The ring that is put on her hand will have the
number 15 with a beautiful design.
Doll
The doll is a traditional item that is given to the birthday girl during the Father and
Daughter dance.
Pillow & Crown
The pillow is bought to hold the crown. Through the entire party the Quinceañera will be
wearing a tiara and at this moment it will be replace by a silver crown. The crown is a
symbol that demonstrates the changes of a girl to a Lady.
Heels
She has been wearing flats but at this moment the Godfather will put heels on her to
complete the transformation. For this culture heels normally only worm by women and
now the birthday girl is capable of wearing a pair of heels.
How to plan a Quinceañera
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Surprise dance
This is where the Quinceañera is given a gift by a family member. They place a nice gift
in a box fill with balloons, confetti, and wrap the gift extremely good to surprise the girl.
Glasses
You will give glass to all the contributors of the party and call them to the dance floor to
thank them. During the toast the Quinceañera and the parents will say a few gratitude
words to everyone.
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How to plan a Quinceañera
Figure 1 Crown
Figure 4 Doll
Figure 3 Glasses and knives for cake
Figure 6 Pillow
Figure 5 Ring
Figure 7 Necklace
How to plan a Quinceañera
Events
Meal
Transformation
Thanking the Contributors (Padrinos)
Dances (Waltz, father and daughter, and surprise dance)
Cake
Open dance floor
It is important that you have a schedule in place for the events.
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Quinceañeras start at 5:00pm
Meals start getting served at 6:00pm and end at 9:00pm
Transformation will start at 8:00pm-9:00pm
Thanking the Contributors (toast) 9-9:30pm
Waltz/ father and daughter dance/surprise dance 9:30pm-10:30pm
Open dance floor 10:30pm- 1:00 am or 2:00 am
Cake can be cut at 10:30pm (people will already be dancing)
*This is an outline of schedule time for events. You can make your own schedule that
works best for you
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How to plan a Quinceañera
Invitations
After you have an idea of the number of guest you will invite, the dress color, schedule of
events, and the dancers, you can start on your invitations.
The invitations should include:
 The birthday girl name
 Parents name
 Time the party starts-ends
 When Food will start being served and stop
 Time of Events (court of honor waltz/surprise dance, surprise gift, toast)
 Usually a picture as well*
 If enough space they add all the name of the Godfathers
 Thank everyone
There are three common types of invitations that you can choose from:
Figure 1 Pamphlet style invitations
Figure 3 One page
Figure 2 Folded horizontal styles
How to plan a Quinceañera
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Conclusion
A Quinceañera is an important party for a girl’s life in Latin America.
It is her transformation from a girl to a woman stage. Her celebration has to be
spectacular and well plan. Following this manual will help you plan a successful party for
your daughter.
How to plan a Quinceañera
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Index
"10kt Yellow and Rose Gold Quinceanera Pendant, 18"" Walmart.com. N.p., n.d. Web.
29 Nov. 2014.
http://www.walmart.com/ip/10kt-Yellow-and-Rose-Gold-Quinceanera-Pendant18/15223770
"10kt Yellow and Rose Gold Quinceanera Ring." Walmart.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Nov.
2014.
http://www.walmart.com/ip/10kt-Yellow-and-Rose-Gold-Quinceanera-Ring/15223974
"24" Quinceanera Doll - #QD32." Joyful Events Store. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Nov. 2014.
http://www.joyfuleventsstore.com/quinceanera-accessories/quinceanera-dolls-dazzlingquinceanera-dolls/24-quinceanera-doll-qd32/
"Black La Strada Quinceañera Tuxedo." Black La Strada Quinceañera Tuxedo. N.p., n.d.
Web. 29 Nov. 2014.
http://www.misterpenguin.com/black-la-strada-quinceanera-tuxedo.html
"Michelle- San Diego Quinceañera Photography." Mis Pictures. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Nov.
2014.
https://mispicturesphotoandvideo.wordpress.com/2013/09/30/michelle-san-diegoquinceanera-photography/
"White." MFD. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Nov. 2014.
http://www.myfabulousday.com/Tuxedos/White
Luz Rodriguez, Owner, Parisina Bridal, November 24, 2014.