How to Throw a Magnificent Masquerade Ball : Chapter 1 ♥

Throwing a Masquerade ball is a fun and rewarding experience. It is a fantastic way to celebrate an important milestone, or just a great way to have a brilliant time, and release all of your creativity.  The planning is very exciting, but can be very difficult at the same time. Don’t hesitate to ask for help if you need it. There are plenty of websites that specialise in party planning, but personally, I think it’s more fun to do it yourself. There are also lots of websites that provide materials and services for parties, such as catering. I would list some, but I can’t assume that all readers are from the same country as me, so it would be too complicated. Party Planning is a brilliant way to get your imagination rolling. Go all out; don’t hold back, especially not with a Masquerade.

Throughout the planning process you need to remember the basic rules of a Masquerade ball.

Rule 1: All guests must wear a suitable mask that covers their eyes, and optionally other parts of their face.

Rule 2: No guest is to reveal their identity throughout the ball. If you wish, you can allow your guests to reveal their identity at the end. This can be a really fun experience, and you may end up making lots of new friends.

Rule 3: All guests must come in full costume, and respect the theme (No Astronaut costumes at a Circus themed ball)

Chapter 1: Choosing a Theme

This may or may not be the most crucial part of the planning process. Without a theme, you have nothing to base the other aspects of planning around, and everything will fall apart. You could go the traditional route and throw a Mary Antoinette inspired ball. Or you could do something a bit more modern, like a robot themed ball, where the venue is covered in bits of scrap metal and the costumes are very futuristic.

Here are some theme ideas:

©      18^th Century France

©      Palace of Versailles

©      Lace and Pearls

©      Futuristic/robot

©      Haute Couture

©      Coco Chanel

©      Circus

©      Safari

©      Luxe

©      Alice in Wonderland

©      Alexander McQueen

©      Countries of the World

©      Travel

©      Rubbish/Recycled items

©      Rainbow ( sounds cheesy , but looks amazing)

©      Surrealism ( A personal favourite)

©      Contemporary

©      Fairytale ( Another personal Favourite)

There are millions of ideas, it just about finding one that suits you. Like I said before, the theme is very important. It helps you decide on what food to buy, how to decorate, what to wear, and who to invite. For example, you can’t have a circus inspired ball if some of your guests have coulrophobia.

The First Step after choosing your theme is to make a mood board. Search the internet for pictures and images to do with your theme, and collage them together, either using a computer program (such as paint or Photoshop), or by printing them and doing it by hand. Add anything that you have at home to do with your theme, to the mood board. For example, in a ‘Lace and Pearls’ themed mood board, you could attach pieces of lace that you have lying around, or you could buy some.

If you can’t decide on one theme, making a mood board for each of your options, and leave them somewhere prominent in your home. Then, after a couple of days (or less, depending on how long you have to plan), see which one speaks to you the most. Alternatively, you could take the practical route of seeing which theme would be cheaper, and which theme would be easier to produce.

It’s really easy to get carried away when planning a ball, so make sure you keep your feet on the ground. I Adore dreaming up ambitious ideas, but make sure your ideas are ambitious and achievable. Also, make sure that you can handle the finances. I strongly recommend setting yourself a budget, and checking whether your theme will fit in to the budget. E.g. If your budget is £$€300, don’t choose the ‘Luxe’ theme, because it won’t be manageable. A good theme for people on a budget is the ‘Recycling’ theme, because everybody has rubbish and old unwanted things in their home.

However, don’t let your money set you back. If you have a small amount of dosh, but a large amount of imagination, then use what you do have. Why not try making most of the decorations? It will probably be a lot cheaper, and you can use things that you already own. Just because you have a small budget, doesn’t mean it has to be boring. You can go to town and back on it, with only a fiver in your pocket. Money (or lack thereof) should never hold you down.

It may be a good idea to make sure people like your theme, otherwise you’ll end up with no guests, and that wouldn’t be ideal. Mention the theme to friends, without giving too much away. You may find that some people want to help you plan and organise your ball, which is great! It would be an excellent bonding experience for those involved, and would take a lot of the pressure off your shoulders. Planning a ball is hard you know J But don’t be afraid to say no; if it’s something you want to do yourself. Assertiveness and independence are important skills in life, but make sure you’re not rude about it, or you may lose some friends along the way. 

Another aspect of your theme is the colour scheme (That kind of rhymes). This may be something you need to think about.

Also, how realistic do you want it to be? If you are having an ‘18^th century France ball ‘, will everybody need to talk in French?

 Finally, make sure you think through all aspects of the theme before making your final decision.

Peace, Love and Vitamin C Tablets

Moosiah

☮ ♥ ♫ :)

xxx