Cotillion 2017

As I mentioned on Facebook last week, my kids’ annual school cotillion was a few days ago, and I wanted to share a few photos of the event because it was such a fun evening.

| Registration Table |

I worked on the decorations for the event, and stuck with what was easy and simple, but still elegant.  Since we’re at a classical Christian school, I can’t go wrong with a classical theme–old books, art and statues, musical instruments, etc.

| Beverage Station |

We had a minuscule decorating budget, so most of what you see came out of my house (I joke that I need to start an event rental business!).

| Dessert Table |

Cotillion, at our school at least, involves a dinner with students and their parents, then ballroom dancing by the students.  They spend two months every year learning ballroom dance during their PE time, and are taught the waltz, tango, cha cha, rhumba, swing, and foxtrot.  While the students are introduced, or presented, at the beginning of the evening, this isn’t a debutante “coming out”; I know some of us think of that when we hear the word “cotillion.”

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|  Connor escorting Caitlin  |

You can read about last year’s cotillion {here}, as well as the headmaster’s dinner at our previous school {here}.  They’re very similar–and lovely–formal events, where the goal is to instruct our children to be comfortable in a variety of social situations.  Manners and etiquette are stressed throughout, and how to make others feel at ease through the art of conversation.

As I mentioned, I had a tiny decorating budget, but I really wanted fresh flowers as centerpieces.  We had twenty tables of ten, and these arrangements came to about $5 apiece.  I used dollar store vases, spray painted with my favorite gold spray paint {here}, and a mixture of white flowers from the grocery store.  I just used what they had that in the floral section that week–roses, spider mums, lilies, and carnations–and all the greenery is from my back yard, so I managed to get the bushes trimmed at the same time!

I created the place cards and table numbers using my Silhouette Cameo, which has literally been worth its weight in gold during the five-plus years I’ve had it.

Our school colors are navy and gold, and even though I had dreams of a fabulous Tiffany-blue color scheme at first, this worked out really well.

My son had a few of his friends over before the evening started, and of course I made them pose for pictures.

One of the things that I love about a smaller school is that all the kids are friends–my eighth grade daughter doesn’t think twice about hopping in the photo with the juniors and seniors, and they all have so much fun together.

We’ve talked about my daughter’s dress several times on Facebook, and also in {this} post where I share my favorite sources for inexpensive formal dresses.

|  Beaded Tulle Dress  |

We were both happy with the dress–price, quality, and style.  Because she’s teeny from all of her ballet dancing and even the size 2 was a tad big, I did have it taken in a bit, and it was the perfect combination of classy and stylish.  Our school has a dress code, and it can be really challenging to find modest dresses these days!

Even Diana got dressed up for the evening with a set of my pearls around her neck:

Once the kids were formally presented, we all enjoyed dinner together.  The kids were seated with their classmates while the parents were at their own tables.

The students posed for formal photos with one of our talented parent photographers and of course took plenty of selfies.

After dinner, the dancing commenced. You can see the dance card on my daughter’s wrist; that’s how they keep track of which dance they’re doing next (and with whom).  The guys have a card that they keep in their jacket pocket.

The evening concluded with the parent waltz–I danced with Connor and my husband danced with Annabelle.  I didn’t get any pictures of that since I was (obviously) dancing, but here’s one before our dance last year:

Oh, and did you notice my daughter’s gorgeous sparkly heels?  They’re Kate Spade, and completely fabulous, but I promise I didn’t buy a 13-year-old a pair of Kate Spade shoes!  They were passed down to her by a dear friend of mine and were in perfect condition.  I wish I could scrunch my foot into them!

|  Kate Spade Silver “Charm” Heels  |

I hope you enjoyed a glimpse into their fun night, and as always, thanks for stopping by!