Quinceañera timeline for the day: a sample run of show

A common quinceañera day starts with hair and makeup in the morning, has the Mass in the early afternoon and the party in the evening. The sample below has a 2:00 PM Mass and a party from 6:00 PM to midnight, with the person in charge of each moment.

What does a quinceañera day look like, hour by hour?

Most quince days follow the same order: getting ready, the Mass, photos, a break, then the party with its traditions. This sample has a 2:00 PM Mass and a party from 6:00 PM to midnight. Move the times to fit your church and the hours in your hall contract.

The order of the traditions comes from the guide to quinceañera traditions, which explains each moment and the items it needs.

How much time should you leave between the Mass and the party?

Leave a few hours between the end of the Mass and the time the hall opens. The break covers photos at the church, the drive and a rest for her and the court.

Put both times on the invitation, so guests know when the Mass starts and when the hall opens. Guests who skip the Mass will come straight to the hall, so the doors have to be open by the time on the card.

What happens in the morning?

The morning is for getting her ready and getting the hall ready. Two different people should be in charge of those two jobs.

1. Start hair and makeup early enough to finish an hour before you leave for the church.
2. Have her eat a real meal before she gets into her dress.
3. Book the getting-ready photos for the last half hour, once she's dressed.
4. Send the decorations, the items table and the cake topper to the hall with someone who isn't getting dressed.
5. Pack a bag for the day with safety pins, a sewing kit, flat shoes, snacks, water and phone chargers.

Who should be in charge on the day?

Pick one point person who isn't her mom or dad. Her parents will be in the photos, greeting guests and dancing, so they can't also answer the caterer.

• The point person holds the run of show, every vendor's phone number and the tip envelopes.
• The DJ announces each moment and says every name in the grand entrance.
• The hall coordinator handles the room, the tables and the end time.
• The choreographer lines up the court for the waltz and the surprise dance.
• One padrino or relative watches the items table with her heels, the tiara, the doll and the toast glasses.
• One parent from the court keeps track of the damas and chambelanes, since most of them are minors who need rides home.

Put a chair, her heels, the tiara and the doll on one small table near the dance floor before dinner. Nobody has to run to the car in the middle of the program.

What goes in a run of show?

A run of show lists every moment of the party in order. For each moment, it says the time, what happens, who's in charge, the song and the people or items it needs.

Send it in writing to the DJ, the hall, the photographer and the choreographer about a week before the quince. Each vendor then works from the same copy. Add a note on how to say any name that's easy to get wrong.

The free printable planner has a page for her day's program, with columns for the time, the moment, who's in charge and the song.

How do you keep the party on time?

Keep dinner on time, because every tradition after it waits on dinner. Then leave a few spare minutes between the big moments.

1. Check the end time in your hall contract, and ask what the hall charges if the party runs late.
2. Start the grand entrance at the time on the run of show, even if a few guests are still parking.
3. Ask the caterer how long dinner service takes for your guest count.
4. Give the DJ the final song mix for the surprise dance on a flash drive and by email.
5. Cut the cake before the late dancing, while every guest is still in the room.

How should the night end?

End with a last song and a send-off, then a plan for who takes what home. Decide the cleanup jobs before the day, because the hall usually wants the room back at a set time.

• Choose who takes home the gifts, the leftover cake and her items from the traditions.
• Return anything rented to the hall or the vendor that same night, if that's the deal.
• Hand each vendor their tip envelope before they leave.
• Check the room for phones, jackets and the court's shoes.

The run of show in the free Su Quince planner lists each moment with its people, its items and its song, and the calendar holds the date of every rehearsal and fitting before the day.