Of course with all that prep, we didn't actually start the ceremonial portion on time. It took a little while for everyone to be finally ready, but when we did, it was a beautiful event!! It went off smashingly with only a couple of almost unnoticeable hiccups. Praise the Lord!!
I want you to know that all the photos you will see in this post were taken by the official photographer, Sandy, who was also the "madrina" of photography. This meant that she was the one who pays for the printing of the pictures given to the Quinceañera for her memory album as well as for gifting to the rest of the family and "padrinos". She prepared all the photos she printed for these purposes with lovely digital frames and designs, so I'll try to use those whenever possible :)
The event started with the emergence of the Quinceañera to be shown off by her escort.
Aide & her escort, Javier (a close friend of the family)
Once they made the round of the ceremonial area, Aide stood between her mother and father before Steve who proceeded to give a short message of encouragement and challenge to her as she goes forth into this new stage of life as a young lady with greater freedom...and greater responsibility. At the end of his message, Steve prayed for Aide and then came the presentation of the Quinceañera Bible. This was provided by the "madrina" of the Bible, who was my sister, Heather. Since she was unable to attend, I presented it for her.
(left) Steve giving the message; (right) The family praying together
(left) Hugging Aide after presenting her with her Bible (right)
After this, the DJ, Revolution Sound, played "Las Manañitas", which is the traditional Mexican birthday song. The really cool thing about this is that Aide's family was able to hire a CHRISTIAN DJ!!! So, all the songs that he played throughout the ceremony that are traditionally played for different elements of the event were Christian versions of the traditional songs! It was so nifty!! Once the song had been played, it was announced that everyone should relax and enjoy visiting as dinner was about to be served.
(above left & right) Shots of the guests seating area during dinner; (bottom) The Quinceañera's Table
After dinner, the Quinceañera and her Escort were called back to the center of the presentation area for the rest of the ceremony to take place. First, she was seated in a chair for the Changing of the Shoes. Her paternal grandparents, Thomasa & Jose, were the "padrinos" of the high heels, and they came forward to change Aide's shoes from flat slippers to high heels. This is the first symbol of her new womanhood...the ability to wear high heels.
Next was her "crowning". She had decided that she wanted a tiara, so one of her paternal aunts was the "madrina" of the tiara. Once her shoes were changed, this madrina was called forward to "crown" Aide with her tiara, a traditional distinction of a young lady, not a child. The website "My Quince Favors" states this about the meaning of the tiara: "Just as the crown and scepter
are symbols of power for royalty, they represent the authority and
responsibility gained as you transition into adulthood for the
Quinceañera." Other sources say that the tiara also represents the Crown of Life given by Jesus to all of His believers. Personally, I like that meaning better ;)
Then came the ring. I was the "madrina" of the ring and was called forward to slip it on her finger. Traditionally, the ring represents the never-ending love of God, as well as the unending circle of life to which she is becoming a more active part as she begins to make more adult contributions to society. It is also, hopefully, a place marker for a future wedding ring, which can serve as a reminder or pledge or purity before the Lord. The ring I gave her was a ruby heart with two diamonds on either side set in a gold band. I later explained to her that the red heart represents Christ's blood shed for her (from his heart) as well as her own heart covered by His blood. Being surrounded by the two diamonds, there represents imagery of the trinity as well as the idea that she is never alone, nor does she go through any activity or decision in her life on her own. The gold band represents God's eternal love for her as well as her commitment to him and her eternal hope of Heaven (streets of gold). And I shared with her that I hoped the ring would serve as a reminder to her of how precious she is to her Lord and Savior, as well as a means of reminder her to whom she belongs as she seeks to please Him first in all she is and does.
She had told me way back in the fall that she loves rubies and gold jewelry, but she really had no idea what I had found for her. I was really worried she might not be thrilled with it, but that was just silly because she was over the roof. She hasn't taken it off since that day!
Next was the presentation of the album. This is usually purchased to match the Quinceñera's colors, in this case purple. The "madrina" of the album was Aide's best friend Mary-Cruz. She was also one of Aide's Ladies in Waiting for the Waltz.
This was followed by the Presentation and Throwing of the Doll. This is similar to the wedding tradition of throwing the bouquet, only the doll symbolizes the young lady putting away the toys of her childhood and taking on the roles of a young woman. The doll presented to the Quinceañera as a memory of her special day is usually a beautiful porcelain doll commonly dressed in a gown of the same color as the Quinceañera's. In addition to the keepsake porcelain doll, a Barbie doll is provided for the throwing portion of this tradition. The Quinceañera stands on a chair and invites all the girls younger than 15 to come out on the dance floor. They then hold hands and dance around the birthday girl as well as weaving through the guests as the DJ plays a special song just for this rite (in this case a Christian version!). Then they all gather behind the Quinceañera and she throws the Barbie doll to be caught by one of the younger girls who is looking forward to the day when she too will put away her toys and become a young woman.
The "madrina" of the doll was Steve and Gena's daughter Rebecka. They presented Aide with an absolutely breath-taking doll! Another young girl in the town caught the Barbie doll.
(left) The girls dancing around Aide as she waves the Barbie in the air; (right) Aide & the girl who caught the Barbie
(left) The porcelain keepsake doll; (right) Aide with Steve & Gena and Rebecka (left) and Emma (right)
Then came the toast! Yes, this too was provided by "padrinos": Aide's maternal aunt, Pola, and her husband Juan Luis. The padrinos of the toast not only give the toast at the event, but they also purchase a toast set. This comes with a tray, the number of toast glasses required for the type of event, and a bottle of champagne or wine. This all comes wrapped in cellophane, and you can purchase them with the colors of the Quinceañera! These were placed on Aide's table at the beginning of the evening, so at the time of the toast she was escorted back to her table by Javier where they took their glasses and awaited the toast. Pola, being the primary madrina of the toast, was the one to give the toast.
Next comes the Surprise Gift. Yes, there are even a "padrinos" of the Surprise Gift! This gift is entirely up to the padrinos to pick out something they think the the Quinceañera would really like. The padrinos were her paternal aunt and her husband, and their gift was a beautiful gold necklace and earring set similar to the ones she was already wearing. She opened the gift during its presentation, and then her "madrina" put the necklace on her, which she kept on for the rest of the evening.
And then came the waltz!! This was the moment that our 8 Ladies in Waiting had been waiting for!! I was so surprised at how anxious they were to do this dance! We had struggled to get them to really commit in rehearsals, but they were totally jazzed to do it and do it well on the actual night of the event...and they did beautifully, even when the DJ messed up the song! See, we had the song for the Waltz which included the artists singing the lyrics. We also had the track for the part of the ceremony when all the padrinos would be named and have an opportunity to dance with the Quinceañera and her Escort, and the track song was supposed to just be looped until the Padrino Waltz was over. Unfortunately, the DJ accidentally started the track for the official waltz of Aide and her Court. The girls did a good job, but they were upset and requested to do it again with the correct song. So, that's what we did....after the Padrino Waltz. Our MC (Mily) did a great job of not giving away the mistake. It seemed to all be part of the program, and I was proud of the girls as they rallied to do it all again and even better than the first time!
Aide & her Court (minus one girl who was unavailable at that moment)
And then, as I've mentioned, followed the Padrinos Waltz, which gave an opportunity for ALL of the padrinos to dance with Aide and her Escort, since there were even more than the ones already mentioned in this post!
(L-R) Me & Aide (Ring), Aide & her Grandfather Jose and Javier & Thomasa (High Heels)
(L-R) Aide & her paternal aunt (Tiara), Aide & her paternal aunt and her husband (Surprise Gift)
(L-R) Aide & cousin Chris (Beverages), Aide & maternal aunt Josefina (Cake), Aide & friend Gisela (Cake Knives)
(L-R) Javier & Pola (Toast), Aide & Mary-Cruz (Album), Aide & Karla (Favors)
(L-R) Aide & cousin Clemencia (Table Favors), Aide & Jay (Videography), Aide & aunt Ericka (Furniture Rentals)
(left) Aide & Sandy (Photography) and Javier & Faith (Eat-ware); (right) Aide & Javier (Escort)
Not present that evening (and therefore not pictured) were the padrinos of the dress, the Bible, the music (padrinos of the DJ), and food. Also, for the beverages and the cake they had two sets of padrinos instead of one, and only one set was present for each item.
Finally, it was time to cut the cake!!! At this point, though she had already been announced, the "madrina" of the Cake Knives was called forward. She is Mary-Cruz's little sister, Gisela. She presented the Cake Knives to Aide, and then they cut the cake.
(left) Cutting one of the cakes; (right) The traditional "mordida" from the other cake
Then to wrap up the traditional/ceremonial portion of the event, Aide was called upon to say a few words of gratitude to her family, Padrinos, and guests. She did a wonderful job giving her short but sweet speech. She thanked the Lord first of all for bringing her to this point in her life and allowing her this opportunity. She thanked her parents for all their support and encouragement and for hosting the event for her. She then thanked her sisters: "Mily, Sandy, and AMBER, who has become a part of the family and just like a sister over the last few years." Then with a short closing statement, she was done..and I was trying to hold back tears. What a sweet girl this one is! It's true, her family has become my own Mexican family, and this event certainly hammered that home for all of us!! What an awesome experience!!
Giving her speech
That was the end of the ceremonial portion of the evening. On to the dance!...
