The Arrival

The first people I talked to about coming to help me with this party was Randy and Lindsay. I knew I would be too busy to get all of the pictures we would like and that I didn't have the skill to get good ones in low light. What I didn't know when I asked them to come was what a sacrifice it would be. But they were here and I am so grateful! Most of the pictures of Tersa's party were taken by Randy. What a relief to give that responsibility to someone else!

Tersa really wanted Mardi to wear this dress of hers. Mardi was uncomfortable with the idea that she would have to wear Tersa's heels with it!!! The heels she wears are wedges and she is uncomfortable in other types. But, she didn't break anything and she looked beautiful! Hannah spent a good deal of time on Mardi's hair and also did some make-up for on her.

Though she never really said much about the party, unless I asked specific questions, Tersa seemed to enjoy the red carpet walk and transportation by limo quite a bit! No she's not much of a ham! I have to say though some of the way she stepped out of herself that night was surprising to me.

The Awards

I thought it might be fun to invite family members to help out with the girls 16th birthday parties. I started with mine and Joel's sisters. I didn't expect that everyone would be able to come, I just wanted to invite them and let them decide and work it out. Cami was the hostess for the awards and ended up singing for them 1/2 way through too. She did a fabulous job and the girls loved her!

As Cami read the nominees for each category, the girls would stand. Each was nominated for at least two categories and each guest won an award. (Yes I had to do some tweaking.) Then the girls would come forward to claim their award. They totally got into it. They pretended to cry or be total snobs about winning. Some were at a bit of a loss as to what to do, but each girl gave a speech!! That would NOT have happened if the boys had been here!

The winner of the Best Director Award (the person who is the bossiest or directs everyone in what to do) is....Tersa Barber!

And the winner of the Best Director of a Documentary Award (the person who knows what is going on in everyone's lives) goes to....Mardi Barber!

The Pictures

Tersa said that she would like to have prom-like pictures taken at the party. I knew that Randy would be busy so I asked a guy in our ward if he would be interested in taking them. The following pictures were taken by Anthony Vidal with the assistance of his wife Sarah. They said it was a lot of fun and the girls were in great moods. Eventually I am going to find a Hollywood background to put up behind these pictures, but for now, this is it.

Are they my girls or what?

The Set-Up

This was a great staging area for the Award Ceremony. Gotta love the church for having a podium like this in the Primary room!

The buffet table was in a corner to the right and that is the only part of the room decor you can't see in this picture. The room has two sets of lights. We kept one set off and used the christmas lights in the trees to give some ambiance.

We ordered these place card frames. It showed the girls where they were to sit and they will be able to put a picture in it. They were a nice touch.

In black and gold, the tables looked very elegant.

The Food

We decided that a buffet could be elegant depending upon what food was served and how it was presented. We were right.

Sparkling cider in champagne flutes were a must for Tersa. That and Mandy's fruit dip. Everything else was left up to us to decide on. Mandy took over the food for me and I was so grateful!! There was cheese and dip for the crackers and Leann got a fondue recipe for the sweets.