Thanks to a few of my friends, I have some pictures to share from the Regency Romance Ball we attended for Valentine's day. So with their permission, I share these pictures of our fabulous evening with elegant events and wonderful friends.
As each person arrived they had a man (dressed like he was about to preform an Italian opera, and whose voice added to his appearance) announce each couple by name and where they were from. Some people were very creative with these details.
Here is our group shot made by adding all of our single shots together. It was humorous to hear a few of them ask the picture editor to make us, "a little taller" or "a little shorter" than the rest. It was fun to see the results.
I was amazed at how far dance photography has come since the awkward school dance photos of the late 80's and early 90's. No more balloons with a splattered paint canvas back drop and a Polaroid camera my friends. These were done with a green screen. I felt like I was in Hollywood! Once taken you could choose from three shots BEFORE they were printed. I even got to choose the background. Yes photography has come a long way
Aren't they handsome?
Some of us ladies.
The night started with some dancing...
then some delicious food.
The dinning was delectable. Before hand they asked if we had a special diet to please let them know. So I emailed my long list with the side note of "if it's too much work, please let me know so I can eat before hand". I did not have high expectations due to past experiences. To my surprise I received a response that they would indeed cater to my long list of food restrictions. The food was amazing because I did not have to prepare it or clean it up! The best part, I did not feel sick the next day. The table settings were beautiful and complete with real silver. Can you find us toward the end of our group? That's what you get when you arrive fashionably late.
After dinner, to my enjoyment, there was more dancing.
Here are some finalist in the costume contest. Our very own Andrea Flynn is on the far right. She did a wonderful job with the assembly of her dress and bonnet. The fabric she choose, the ruffled collar, and the embellishments she added to her hat made a very elegant ensemble. She also made a vest for her husband to match. I'm not too sure why they second one in made it as a finalist for the "Regency" portion of the costume contest. They did have a contest for other time periods. The lady on the far left won. Her costume was amazing. She probably thought I was crazy because I kept walking by her trying to see details on her dress. She told me that her sister made it for her. The fabric was a pale blue paisley brocade (which I saw here, a wonderful place to buy high quality fabric. Watch for the deal of the day and you can get great fabric for cheaper than Joann's. I'll be watching myself to purchase fabric for next year. Thank you Liz for telling me about them!) trimmed with a gold trim. The outer jacket had a ruffle collar and was made out of cream pin tucked silk, trimmed with a bridal beaded trim. When Betsy noticed her, she said to me "Tina! It's Jane Bennet!". Yes, I said, she is! If my cameras battery hadn't died, I'm sure I would have made an awkward scene.
The night was grand. This will make a Valentine tradition we both enjoy and can afford. In the past Valentine's Day for us has been a little like this:
But alas! Now our Valentine's Day can be a little more like this:
