I just finished filming the second parent sponsored deb party. The theme was famous couples costume party. In general, I was petty impressed how committed the debs were to the party. All the girls had dates and they were all in costume. Most of them were pretty inventive: Scarlett O'Hera and Rhett Butler, Mickey and Minnie Mouse, and Superman and Louis Lane. It seemed like many of they girls had their hair and make up professionally done for the event.
The couples entered on a red carpet and spoke with fake reporters on the way in. It was cute, but no one really knew what to say. After mingling for a few minutes, the couples were asked to go outside to take a picture with, I think, a professional photographer.
Generally the party was a dance... it felt a lot like an 8th grade dance, actually. That had to do with the fact that the parents who paid for the party (not cheap) were in attendance and gave off the distinct aura of chaperones. It was pretty hard to get people to dance. The DJ - yes, they did hire a DJ - had the most luck when he played line dancing music like the cha cha slide. There was a charming father-daughter dance, however it was obvious staged (ie they were all doing EXACTLY the same steps).
All in all, I think the group of debs that threw the party had the best time, but I suppose that's to be expected. There wasn't an activity planned for the event, as there had been with the previous party. That seemed to confuse a few people. One of the debs called it "painful" to be there, she and her friends only stayed because she had to - it's part of the rule that you have to stay at the parties for the entire time. She's not a big dancer, so the party just didn't seem to do much for her. Looking around, I'd say that was true for the other guests too. The small dance floor was empty most of the night, people huddled against the walls, around the tables, or outside on the porch (it was a cold night, so people generally only went out there to avoid being inside). This is also why it reminded me of an 8th grade dance.
The dinner was a finger food buffet. It was both hot and cold foods, however most of it ended up cold since they didn't use chafing dishes. Judging from that, I'd guess they didn't use a caterer. Then again, they could have done a pick-up caterer rather than delivery. Regardless of how it was served, the food was good. Cake was served towards the end of the party, I heard it was from Once upon a Blue Moon. I think it was a chocolate encounter cake, but who knows for sure. Either way it was delicious... it just begged for milk, which was nowhere to be found.
It's customary to give rather expensive party favors at the parent sponsored parties. These gifts were really lovely:
1. An engraved photo frame with the picture taken by the photographer at the beginning of the evening - I think it said something like "Couples Costume Gala, October 13, 2007"
... The fact that the photos were printed out during the party makes me think that the photographer wasn't actually a pro. Maybe one of the parents brought in a photo printer from home?
2. An engraved ring - I think it had the debs initials on it
3. A star Christmas ornament with the girls name on it and the date on it
... The ornaments are used to decorate trees at the ball in December, so the girls get one at each parent sponsored party.
Unfortunately for me, it wasn't the best shooting environment. It was pretty dark (to set the mood I suppose), the music was entirely too loud for such a small space, and the DJ brought these ridiculous lights that made shooting really hard. Now that I think about it, it reminded be of a roller skating rink during the couples skate... ugh luckily no one there was prone to seizures.
UPDATE: Here are pictures from the Costume Party .
