Lucero had about 200 people attend her event. She’s profoundly deaf since birth and lives in a chilren’s home, but with the help of an organization called Mexico Child Link, and some Patrocinadores, or friends that helped out financially, she was able to have a big celebration.

Her hearing issues didn’t prevent her from proceeding with the traditional Quinceanera waltz. She practiced for weeks with the help of the two young men who accompanied her.

While this Quinceanera almost certainly had invitations, the article doesn’t mention the style. But she had 200 guests, including a godmother who travelled from Ireland to join the celebration.

Lucero clearly has good support from the Mexico Child Link organization.

Mexico Child Link provides a range of services for people with or affected by learning disability. The core project is a home for abandoned & orphan children with learning disabilities, near the town of Atlixco. Many of them are ex street children. The children live on a small farm in 2 specially built adobe houses where they are cared for in a family setting.

The farm provides a degree of self sufficiency for the project and allows the children to learn practical skills. And they seem to have played a great role in supporting Lucero and making her Quinceañera celebration special.  Read more about this Quinceanera celebration here.

So you’re having a Christmas Quinceanera?  No… I didn’t think so.  If your birthday happens to come during the Christmas season, you’ve spent the last 14 years sharing your birthday with a major holiday.  You know the experience of wondering if your birthday celebrations would be, well, bigger if they fell during another part of the year.  And it’s not about the presents that might be better another time of year, because you’re just happy to be remembered on your… what?!! Of course it’s about the presents!!  Girl, it’s time to cash in!

So while a Christmas Quinceanera could be very beautiful (thinking a Snow Princess theme) this is the one year, perhaps the only year of your life, where you’re justified scheduling your celebration at another less conflicting time.  First of all, venues will be at a premium this time of year.  Churches are busy with their own events, and every business in town is clamoring for a reception hall to host their Christmas party.  Same issue with caterers.  Your guests also have commitments to these same events, in addition to travel plans that may take them away entirely.  Your Quinceanera invitations that you put so much effort into may also be lost among your guests’ holiday cards.

And then there’s the issue of gifts.  Combine the current economy where pocketbooks may be lighter with the gift giving season, and your celebration can be seen as one more strain on your potential guests.  Scheduling your Quinceanera a few months out will make planning easier for you, and celebrating easier for your guests.  Don’t worry about etiquette.  Since the Quinceanera celebrates a stage of life more than a certain day, It’s perfectly acceptable to hold your Sweet 15 within a year of your actual birthday.

If you take on that Christmas Princess Quinceanera, you have the opportunity to create an extrordinary, beautiful, memorable Quinceanera.  White with a touch of red, trimmed in silver or gold will be a beautiful theme, and people will be talking about it for years.  Send us an invitation!  But scheduling at another time leaves you well within your rights, and likely even appreciated by your guests.

We don’t know whether she made her own Quinceanera invitations, but Eva Longoria likely paid for them herself.  She recently reported that she took a job at Wendy’s so she could pay for her Quinceanera. In fact, she still keeps ties with her manager from when she was 14. Traditionally the Quinceanera is hosted and paid for by the parents or godparents.  But with the increasing costs of modern American Quinceanera celebrations, some families find it appropriate for girl to help pay for the event.  As one step of responsibility in becoming a young woman, taking on a part of the financial responsibility (perhaps the invitations?) may be a good lesson.

The most important element of the Quinceanera invitations is conveying details.  Make sure you include the date, time, and location of the Mass or ceremony. Leave the specifics of a reception following the ceremony for separate cards to be included in the envelope.  The next item is the names of the parents and their daughter, who are doing the inviting.  That’s it!  Now… on to how to put it on paper.

Keep it Simple
As a rule of thumb, simple is best. A single-face card can provide enough space for the basic details and still look elegant.  But too much text can make it look crowded. On the other extreme, imagine a hard bound velvet booklet of several pages with gold cord and tassels from King Arthur announcing the Quinceanera. While this would be a relatively expensive approach, it illustrates the extent of possibilities.  Most people take a more modest approach, so let’s go over the details of minimum requirements of the wording of invitations.

Names of Hosts on the Quinceanera Invitations
The names of the parents and their daughter are almost always included on the invitations, generally in the form of:

Mr. and Mrs. Carlos Martinez
request the honor of your presence….at a Mass celebrating the fifteenth birthday of their daughter,
Veronica Marie….

or

I, Veronica Marie
along with my parents
Mr. and Mrs. Carlos Ramirez
cordially invite…

If the parents are separated or divorced, you may refer to them as:

Mr. Carlos Ramirez and
Ms. Maria Ramirez (or whatever last name she uses)

… or if they are remarried:

Mr. and Mrs. Carlos Ramirez and
Mr. and Mrs. Rudy Quintana
the family of Veronica Marie
cordially invite….

On formal Quinceanera invitations, convey the details of date & time by spelling out the numbers in the following format.

Day – Saturday, the tenth of July,
Year – two thousand and eight
Time – … at five o’clock in the afternoon
Location – Saint Paul’s Church
Town – Houston, Texas

Remember to capitalize names of people, cities, states, churches, days, and months. That’s all you need to have the basics covered. Put it all together and you have something like:

I, Veronica Marie
along with my parents
Mr. and Mrs. Carlos Ramirez
request the honor of your presence
at a Holy Mass in the
celebration of my
Fifteenth Birthday held on
Saturday, the tenth of July,
two thousand and eight
at five o’clock in the afternoon
Saint Paul’s Church
Houston, Texas.

If the address of the church would be helpful, feel free to include it. Zip code is not necessary.

Additional Content
You may want to include additional content, something along the lines of :

With the love of my family
I will express my thanks to God
and my feelings of becoming a young woman.

If the space in your Quinceanera invitations allows, you may include a favorite Biblical verse, poem, or something written by you. If godparents are involved in hosting, or helping to pay for the Quinceanera, their names may also be included on the invitations, but it’s not required.  Including the names of the court is a possibility as well.  If there are 14 males and 14 females, this may come out to quite a list and a large invitation design is necessary.  Some online applications such as Paper Shouts, let you see what your layout will look like after entering text and photos.

When you finalize the wording, be sure to proofread it and proof again. Ask family and friends to check for grammar and spelling errors. If your Quinceanera invitations are being professionally printed, be sure to get a proof as well, to let you check no only the text, but the paper and layout as well.

In the big picture, remember that the main purposes of Quinceanera invitations are to announce the ceremony and celebration, and to invite people to attend.  While you want something nice, possibly suitable for framing, you don’t have to create a masterpiece. It will set the tone for your celebration, and is just the first step of your magnificent event. Let your Quinceanera be your masterpiece!

Start with the paper selection.  Art supply stores and craft shops are great places to find beautiful paper for your Quinceanera invitations.  With all the colors available, remember to consider the color of your ink and how it will show up on the paper.  Consider choosing paper the same color as your gown or other part of your theme.  The texture is also important.  Many papers, while beautiful, will not hold ink well, and may cause your printer to jam.  Specialty art stores are likely to be able to help you select an appropriate stock.  Find a couple options that will work, and buy just a sample to test before buying a large quantity.  Also, there’s nothing wrong at all with traditional card stock.  Blank invitations can be found at craft stores, and often include envelopes. In fact, Amazon offers a beatiful set of stock cards that allow you to print your own Quinceanera invitations.

Use your computer to design the content.  Many software applications such as MS Word, have built-in card templates that can be useful.  Often, Quinceanera invitations include a photo of the girl.  If you choose this route, you may want to use a head shot.  If you’ll be wearing a formal gown and have it at this point, a full photo of yourself in the gown is appropriate.  You can also find elegant art on the Internet that may be used beautifully.  Try a search on “free clip art” for a start.  You may even find something specific to a Quinceanera celebration.  The verse, or wording,  is up to you but will almost always be on behalf of the parents or the girl and parents together.  Include a poem or short biblical verse if you have the space, but don’t try to cram too much on the page.

You can also add some ornamentation to your Quinceanera invitations if you like.  Ribbons, lace, or a small bit of other material may be added for a touch of elegance and creativity.  Again, browse your local art supply or craft stores for ideas.

Depending on how creative you want to be, making your own Quinceanera invitations can be time consuming.  Try requesting help from family members (as long as they promise not to smear chocolate on the paper!).  They’ll likely be pleased to help and honored that you asked.  In the end, you’ll have beautiful Quinceanera invitations you can be proud of, your family can share in the process, and you’ve saved a bundle as well!.