When you ask for advice on having a sweet sixteen, one of the first things to mind is a celebration. After all, this is your sixteen-year-old daughter turning sixteen, and you should fill the party with lots of fun and excitement.
The best way to make sure that this happens for your daughter is to plan. A little fore planning will go a long way to ensuring that your daughter enjoys her sweet sixteen parties to the fullest. Do not forget how these traditions started and
the origin of sweet sixteen celebrations to ensure that you fully understand how to make things work.
Sweet Sixteen Traditions
While both young ladies and young men celebrate their Sweet 16 nowadays, sweet sixteen traditions like the shoe ceremony, the father-son dance, gift exchange, last words, and lighting up six candles are generally reserved for young girls.
Light Up Sixteen Candles
As a sign of preparation for the big day, lighting up six candles as a symbol of blessing the day ahead is a popular option for many brides and grooms. The first candle represents the celebrant's parents, the second candle will represent the siblings, and if there are none, it will honour the grandparents, aunts, uncles, or an exceptional teacher. The third, fourth, fifth, sixth candles will represent the rest of the family members, while the remaining ones will be for the friends.
Father-Daughter Dance
It is a must before the ceremony becomes festive for the father and daughter to share a dance. The first will present his daughter to the guests and give some speech and messages before dancing. In his remarks, he will talk about his daughter's journey and mention how proud he is of her and any memory that reminds him of her childhood. A particular song must be chosen to commemorate the father-daughter dance.
Shoe Ceremony
The celebrant, specifically the girl, walks together with her date wearing a pair of slippers or flat shoes. Her father and another significant male in the celebrant's life (uncle, grandfather, godfather) will carry the tiara and the shoes. The celebrant will sit in the chair, take off her slippers, and then put on her new pair of heels. Then the father will then place the crown into the head of the celebrant.
Passing of Gifts
Turning 16 also means that the celebrant will receive heirloom gifts from the family members, like treasured items that the family gifts. These heirloom gifts could be a piece of jewellery, a bible that they adore a lot, and other unique items that the family keeps. Apart from the heirloom items, different gifts are also given to the celebrant. The other family members and guests will plan and look for sweet
16th birthday present ideas to give to the celebrant.
Create a Unique and Memorable Celebration
When it comes to creating your own unique sweet sixteen themes, you must select a theme that suits the personality and interests of the child involved. For example, if the daughter loves the colour pink, then don't have her at a pink-themed wedding.
If she loves the fairy tale theme, then selecting a lavender theme or even one that features unicorns and horses may be a good idea. Be sure to include the child's interest in choosing the theme for the big day, though, so that you do not end up with something that doesn't wholly fit who she is and what she wants for her big day.
