A Traditional Debut Planner

Posted on by Debut Ideas!

6 months before:

  1. plan a budget with your parents
  2. decide on the number of guests you want to have and make a prelim guest list
  3. decide on your color motif and theme
  4. look for designers, choreographer, a mobile, florists, photographers and videographers. Look at their portfolios and sample work.
  5. list the members of your cotillion and warn them that rehearsals may fall on weekends. Ask them about their schedules so you both know what kind of commitment to expect.
  6. once you have confirmed your venue and cotillion members, have your invitation printed as early as possible. Order additional envelopes just in case errors are made while addressing them.

4 months before:

  1. finalize your guest list
  2. select the menu based on your budget
  3. decide on what type of cake you like. There are some bakers who can do very intricate designs, and there are others who can make simpler cakes on a budget
  4. book your vendors and make down payments: the florist, photographer, videographer, baker and band/mobile. Make sure that you have a written contract with all of them.
  5. discuss the type of cotillion you want with your choreographer, and make a schedule of rehearsals.
  6. finalize with your gown designs.

3 months before:

  1. schedule measurements and fittings of your gowns (with the cotillion members).
  2. start taping interviews with your family and friends for the video presentation
  3. finalize your menu and make the necessary down payments
  4. start having trial make-up sessions with different artists. Have your picture taken after each trial so that you can remember how each one made you up. There are times when how you look in person differs from your face in the photograph.
  5. begin rehearsals for the cotillion and other special programs
  6. decide on the souvenirs.

2 months before:

  1. book the make-up artist of your choice
  2. send your invitation envelopes to your calligrapher of printer
  3. conceptualize the décor and set-up with the florist or the hotel

1 month before:

  1. send out your invitations
  2. buy your accessories: shoes, bag, hosiery, jewelry, undergarments.
  3. go for final fittings and rehearsals with the cotillion members.
  4. finalize the layout and logistics of the reception venue.
  5. if you hired a coordinator, tie-up all the loose ends and discuss the flow of the events and program. Otherwise, assign someone who can take care of wrapping up and settling the bill for you after the function.

2 weeks before:

  1. discuss the program with the hose
  2. give the final head count to the Banquet Officer of the hotel or your caterer. Don’t forget to add the coordinators, photographers, videographer, etc. to the headcount.
  3. reconfirm all your reservations with the florist, photographer, videographer, baker, band/mobile, make-up artist, etc.
  4. buy a token gift for your parents to thank them for giving you a wonderful debut

1 week before:

  1. arrange your souvenirs and guest book.
  2. do one last cotillion rehearsal
  3. relax for the rest of the week.

the day before

sleep early

the day itself

kick up your heels and have fun!!

after the debut

  1. have your gown professionally dry cleaned
  2. make thank you cards for all the gifts you received

( Source: Seventeen Philippines, July 2001 )

[Article by Charley Antonio and Hazel Villonco of the Bridal Cortege]

77 thoughts on “A Traditional Debut Planner”

  1. hi there! can you help me please? the 7th birhtday party of ny my cousin is near approaching.
    please help me do the parts of the program. i really don’t know what to do.
    thanks for helping me. im looking forward to it. thanks!

  2. Hi Joan,

    You can use our program that is made for debut parties and tweak it here and there. http://debutideas.com/?p=48. After all, a child’s 7th birthday party should be celebrated differently. It should not be just any other children’s party. You can have 7 candles and 7 wishes instead of the 18s. You can have something like:

    INTRODUCTION OF THE BIRTHDAY CELEBRANT
    WELCOME REMARKS (BY THE PARENTS)
    INVOCATION OR PRAYER
    DINING
    7 WISHES
    7 CANDLES PRESENTATION
    SINGING OF BIRTHDAY SONG
    BLOWING OF THE CAKE CANDLES
    CUTTING OF THE CAKE
    7 GIFTS
    GAMES
    THANK YOU SPEECH BY THE CELEBRANT

    Put lots of games as children love games. Hope this helps and happy birthday to your cousin.

  3. hello! im having my debut this coming February. i have a venue already. (at Moomba in Mother Ignacia). I’m having a hard time choosing my theme and palnning the whole party. can u help me..please?

  4. hi debut ideas, i need your help.i really don’t know what theme will i choose.but i have this idea i want a SHAKESPEAREAN DEBUT PARTY.but i dont know what kind of giveaways and what are the plans or twist about my bday. can you hel me?pleease.

  5. Hi Nicole,

    Moomba has a safari effect going on, so you might want to draw some inspiration on that. You could have a safari adventure theme. Also Moomba is a closed space, more like a bar, right? You could also have a sort of rave party http://debutideas.com/?p=855 or a Glam-Rock party http://debutideas.com/?p=27. How about a 60s inspired Austin Powers theme and have your guests dress up in a 60s inspired outfit. That would be totally rad! Hope this helps and happy planning Nicole.

  6. Hi! I’ll be having my debut on May but I can’t find the perfect theme for it. Please help me. My venue is at the Glass Garden in Pasig. Thanks!

  7. Hi Mia,

    The Glass Garden is a really nice venue to have and a Masquerade Ball theme would be perfect for it. Have your guests wear masks for a very exciting and intriguing effect. I can just imagine you walking down the stair with your elegant ball gown on your grand entrance. A butterfly theme would also be perfect as it is a garden venue. You can also try the Renaissance theme with court jesters for entertainment. Hope this helps and happy birthday!

  8. hi, i just want to ask for help for the theme on my upcoming debut. im having a hard time to chose since i don’t have any ideas. thanks.

  9. May I know your idea about having a debut in Japanese theme like the cherry blossom zen you said or the anime style. whats your idea about this, my daughter will celebrate it this march. hoping you could enlighten me with your bright ideas. God Bless!

  10. Hi Arlene,

    The Japanese theme is a great theme to have because it is very simple and elegant at the same time. For color motifs on this theme, you may want to try baby pinks with white and chocolate brown to create an elegant and mature feel but still preserving some cuteness with the baby pink. You can also have green and chocolate brown. For decors, put white japanese lanterns around your venue, have bonsai plants on the stage, and have a structured rectangular box and fill it with green button mums as your table arrangement. For invites, I am thinking of scrolled plain white (or pink, depending on your color motif) paper on chopsticks with a simple chocolate brown font. You can also look for origami designs to fold paper. For party favors, a bonsai plant would be ideal, but any plant will do. You could also try chopsticks, mini japanese lanterns, chocolates in origami boxes, japanese dolls, etc. As for the anime theme, your daughter can have a sort of comicon party where her guests will have to dress up in their favorite cartoon characters. Hope this helps and happy planning.

  11. Hi Camille Torres,

    For a Shakespearean theme, gain inspiration with the movie Romeo and Juliet (Claire Danes and Leonardo diCarpio) especially at the party where they met. You can also gain some insight on costume and invitation wordings from the movie Shakespeare in Love (Gwyneth Paltrow). You can also use the play A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare to draw inspiration on how to decorate your stage. You could also incorporate this theme to a masquerade ball theme where all your guests should wear masks. A Renaissance theme can also be combined with this where you can have court jesters entertain your guests. For party favors, you can have crazy hats, masks, fan for the ladies, a photoframe with a printed Shakespearean poem in it, elegant jewelry boxes, etc. Hope this helps and happy birthday!

  12. hi !! i’ll be having my debut in feb. but i still need some thimgs .., i already have my 18 roses, candles, gentlemen, and thousands, could you give suggest another name to 18 gifts or something not very common.

  13. hi do you have any “pakulo” in mind na pede ilagay sa program ng debut.. para maging memorable po ung debut ng sister ko thanks po// help naman po.. next month na po debut nya.. 🙂

  14. Hi Jayson,

    It is nice that you are helping your sister out for her debut celebration. Anyway, usually debutantes perform during their parties because this is the perfect venue for them to showcase their talent to the ones they love. You could also incorporate games throughout the program so as to encourage audience participation. We have a list of some games that you may use for your sister’s 18th party. http://debutideas.com/?page_id=851. Sometimes it also depends on the theme, like if your sister has a somewhat street party theme, she can have a Mardi Gras grand entrance with costumes and all, or if she has a butterfly theme, your sister can have wings to go with her gown and then you can place a swing on your stage and that will be her debutante’s chair so that if she swings to and fro, it is like she is flying like a butterfly. Hope this helps and happy birthday to your sister.

  15. hello can u help me create a nice introduction to our dear debutante..ako kc ang mag spill for that..pls

  16. Hi Anne,

    It will be easier to create an introduction if you know the debutante personally because you can say something about her childhood and then now that she has blossomed into a beautiful lady. A general introduction (a host that is not related to the debutante) would normally say something like this “Tonight calls for a grand celebration and it is our distinct pleasure to introduce to you for the very first time, the reason why we are all gathered here tonight, ladies and gentlemen. So without further ado, let us all rise and give a warm round of applause, our lovely debutante, would you please welcome, Jam.” Hope this helps.

  17. Hi Anne Nievera,

    Do you have a theme in mind? It will be easier to think of the 18s when you have a theme. Anyway, for 18 gifts, these are some general terms you can substitute: 18 treasures, 18 jewels, 18 gems, 18 presents, 18 precious things, 18 valuable things, etc. Hope this helps and happy birthday.

  19. hello sannah, what usually comes to mind when we think of the month of June is Back to School. I know it may be boring since you regularly go to school, but you can actually put some twist to it. perhaps you can have a Japanese / Korean school girl theme where girls get to wear short skirts with knee high socks.
    http://www.crunchyroll.com/forumtopic-368371/cutesthottest-school-uniform/

    There is a scene in My Sassy Girl where they went out partying in their own school uniform, which is kind of cute!
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UPMtqBPlPhY (My Sassy Girl Scene).

    You can also go for a rainy-day theme, where all your guests, including you, can wear cool raincoats and bring umbrellas as props! Your theme doesn’t have anything to do with the month you are going to hold your party. You really have to go for a theme that’s within your taste and match it with your personality.

    Happy planning! 🙂

  20. Hi! I will be celebrating my debut on September, can you suggest what theme would fit the month of September? I am thinking of having a nature fairy-inspired debut but I have no ideas on what I should do about it.

  21. hi mads,

    a nature-fairy inspired theme seems very appropriate for the month. it’s also quite easy to play with. You can take advantage of an outdoor venue where nature is at its finest. Starting with a garden venue, you can decorate the area with glittery leaf garlands and if your party is at night, you can add Christmas lights to add to your magical theme. You can hang strings of light and add some candles and dim any other types of light in your venue. Also sprinkle glitter or confetti around the tables along with some flowers and leaves. You can make use of materials such as sequins, silk flowers, leaves, and glitters to decorate your debut venue.

    The most exciting part about this theme is how you can dress up for it! Have you watched Drew Barrymore’s movie, Ever After? She wore a beautiful dress there when she went to the prince’s ball. You can have wings just like her. =)

    For your invites, you can use gothic script:

    Then you can construct a poem like:

    Fairies, did you hear? Madel’s 18th birthday is drawing near!

    The party is at 7:00 in the evening, please say you’ll fly by. Madel’s god-mother awaits your reply!

    You can write on old parchment paper then roll them into scrolls. Another idea is that you can make the font very tiny as if the invite was written by a fairy! And since the invites will be hard to read, you can send each invite along with a plastic magnifying glass! You can also add glitter to the invitation for “fairy dust”.

    Good luck planning and Happy Birthday! 🙂

  22. Hi Karen,

    The theme that you should choose is something that is close to your heart so that you will not have a hard time planning it. For instance, if you love fairy tales, then pick your favorite fairytale story and go with it. If you are more into dressing up, you may want to try having masquerade ball or a renaissance theme. The theme should also reflect your personality so that if you are a fun loving person, you may want to try the rave theme, glam rock, runway inspired theme or psychedelic theme, roaring 20s theme, etc. This is your party girl.. know what you want and go with it! Make your personality standout. Happy planning.

  23. Hi! Me and my mom are planning for my debut on December. Actually, my birthday was last January, but we’re here in the U.S and we weren’t able to go to the Philippines, so we’re doing it when we get home which is on December.

    Please suggest any theme that is appropriate with black and white motif (but I will be wearing red), simple yet elegant. And what would be a good alternate for the grand cotillion? And please suggest any other gimmicks that are unique.

    Thank you.

  24. hi, can you suggest any ideas that is “rocker chic theme”? my daughter will turn 18 this April, her motif will be pink and black. I want a party that has an ambiance of rock n’ roll at the same time will not ruin the traditional way of having a debut party, i don’t want a party that is kinda rebellious. i want it simple yet elegant. and do you have any substitute for 18 roses,candles,gifts..that is suitable for her theme..? thanks a lot..=)

  25. Hi Ma’am Marlene,

    The rocker chic theme would be a great theme to have. I don’t think it is rebellious in any way to have pink and black party. Teen celebrity Taylor Swift had her debut with a pink and black party and it was totally cool. For her 18s, try 18 balloons in place of 18 candles where her 18 candles will burst a balloon to reveal a piece of paper written by them and then read them out loud. For 18 roses, make use of pink colored roses and rename it 18 pinks or 18 pink roses. We have other 18 alternatives here in this article that may help you in choosing an alternative for her 18s. Hope this helps and happy birthday.

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