The Phantom of the Opera Debut Theme

I met Joanne, the celebrant, through her mom, Elsa, when I was planning Dennis' 40th surprise birthday party last year (2009).

Upon realizing that I am an event planner, Elsa immediately hired me as a full coordinator for Joanne's Debut party. For those who are not aware of Filipino traditions, debut party is like the Quinceañera or Sweet 16 celebration in the Philippines, except it's celebrated when a girl turns 18 years old. I can still remember my own debut party in Manila. It was very stressful yet memorable! :) I had my cotillion de honor and we danced the traditional waltz. I even remember changing my gowns at least 5x, can you imagine?? It was one spectacular night with friends and family.

When I found out that Joanne wants to have the "Phantom of the Opera" as her party theme, a lot of things and ideas came into my mind. I started with her red & gold Venetian mask. It actually took me a week to find the perfect mask for the birthday girl. Luckily, I found the winner on eBay. As a final touch, I decided to add a red artificial flower on it to accentuate the look.

Since this is my first debut project, I wanted to use my skills and creativity to make it as fabulous as possible! So I decided to conduct a photo shoot with my good friends, Tomas and Agne Skaringa, on Valentine's Day. Tomas is a European professional photographer who specializes in fashion and portrait photography. Together with his wife, Agne, a professional model and a make-up artist, these two can just deliver nothing but excellent portfolio.

Two things that I have learned about graphic designs: simplicity and consistency. Here are the lay-outs that I made for Joanne's invites and stationery:

The Save-the-Date Magnet Card

The Formal Invitation

The Thank You Card

The Program Card

The Table Number





The Photo Guest Book

As an event designer, I have prepared these initial lay-outs for her presidential table. This is basically the GOAL:

OPTION A w/Mask Backdrop

OPTION B w/Fire Place

I truly believe that this will be one GRAND event if executed well. I have exactly 23 days left to make this work. I can't wait! :)