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The Day and Night Regency Ball
The Idea
The Day and Night Regency Ball or DnNRB was held at the (pretend) Villa Diodati and hosted by Lord Byron and Mary Shelley.
You can read the Exquisite Corpse horror story that our guests composed at this event here.
Emily says... This party's theme was inspired by the host's and hostess's enjoyment of the book, An Elegant Madness: High Society in Regency England, as well as our appreciation of Romantic poetry and an awful film called Gothic. A "Romantic Poets Party" had been on our great list for a little over a year when we started planning. Further, the "Day and Night" aspects meshes well with our interest in Romanticism and Classicism.
Tyler says... We thought that given the profusion of variety during the Regency, there would be much scope for costuming. People would have the choice of portraying Byron, Austen, Colonial Persons, Other Romantic Poets, and so on. It would wonderful fun. Having two separate aspects, too - light and airy and dark and gothic - would provide more variety. We were in for a surprise.
The Set-Up
The dinner portion of this party is very important, and at this sixth party my cohost and I finally reached the conclusion that it is not wise to assume we will have lots of money in the future. Instead, investing money when we have it in things that will benefit us in the future is much more wise. For this reason, we would be able to have elaborate place settings with burgundy-and-black cloth napkins and small silver picture frames as placecard holders. We also made a conscious and forward-thinking decision to accumulate service for fifty in an eclectic yet harmonious mix of dishes, goblets, and flatware. This would be the most elaborately set table yet.
While we've transformed Hale's Pass into many things in the past, I think that transforming it into the Villa Diodati was the most difficult. A splendid manor in the Italian Style is beyond the means of poor young persons, no matter how many antiques their mummies lend them. Especially in a room the size of the ballroom at Hale's pass. It was my least favourite of all the visions we've presented in that room. It was a wonderful plan, it just didn't pan out well. In my opinion.
The dining area, however, was absolutely wonderful. Given the conclusion we reached that Emily sets out above, we had an absolutely beautiful table, with real linens, beautiful china, glassware, and flatware, some stunning candlesticks and candleabrum, and Menu Cards. Yes, we finally had achieved menu cards, in French, as is proper. And the seating chart for this supper was quite the easiest yet.
I also put together some soundtrack CDs with music fitting the Day and Night themes, and for dancing. This was a really good thing to do and it added much to the ambience.
And we brought extension cords!
Day and Night
The events were divided into "Day" and "Night" sides, with the "Day" the more classical and wholesome, and the "Night" more dark and romantic. The "Day" had light, gay romantic entertainments, with dinner in an outdoor pavilion and games like "Blind Man's Bluff." As guests arrived they were asked to contribute to an "Exquisite Corpse" horror story that would be read later in the night (you can read the resulting story here,) and after dinner those willing learned to dance the Sir Roger de Coverley.
As the set (which happened around nine thirty or so in our part of the world,) Blind Man's Bluff finished outside while I tried to make a croquembouche (it was more of a pile than a tower.) The first indoor activity was a game of "The Rainbow Labyrinth" which had been set up since the night before. After that, dessert was served. And a while after dessert there would be a seance.
Both aspects, really, were a bit of a bust. The guests refused to play light and airy games (for the most part - we had up to 7 people playing Blind Man's Bluff at one point), and weren't very enthusiastic for the Seance, or anything else. This is the first party where we actually heard spoken complaints, drifting out of the darkness. I believe the exact quote was "Why do we always have to play these stupid F****** games."
The Food
However, no one could possibly complain about the food.
This time, we advertised on Craig's List for a pair of experienced waiters or waitresses. We thought we were being so clever, rather than asking our friends to serve. We chose what seemed like the best qualified, corresponded with them for quite some time, and I met them in Tacoma to interview them. The Sabalsas - mother and daughter - while not the most picturesque people, seemed qualified.
Without ever calling, on the day of the Ball, they failed to show up. No e-mail, nothing. If you encounter these people, give them the cut direct. Do not hire them. I can only say that I'm glad I didn't give them half of the money up front, as I had planned on. Saul, Karyl, and Alissa were a great help, jumping in to help serve and wash dishes. We are incredibly grateful.
Appetizers, as usual, were a variety of fruits, cheese and bread. We had strawberries with sugar, honeydew melon, green and red grapes and Swiss and colby jack cheeses. There was also sliced bread with herby butter and olive oil with garlic and vinegar.
For the meal, we served asparagus with cream sauce, pasta (rotini) with pesto, cold roast turkey (as we anticipated having little oven space the day of!) and (hot) ham.
Dessert would be served inside. We had a croquembouche (which did not like its base so was more pyramidal than conical) and two Vaginas Dentata (cake rings filled with and surrounded by strawberries, with whipped cream around the center and almond "teeth" all the way around,) one plain and one chocolate.
Results
We had 32 guests, and for the first time they were all there for dinner. Of course, we started dinner a half hour late because people were still arriving.
People seemed to enjoy themselves, and that is the biggest gauge of a party's success. The table was spectacular, the food was great. The (all-new) games were received... lukewarmly--things were jovial, but few would participate. This theme is much less open-ended than those previous, and while a few people did come in wonderful costumes, a few too many gave up and decided to go for tee shirts and jeans. This saddened the host and hostess. Also, the help was again unreliable, and didn't show up.
What have we learned?
Don't limit the costumes to an obscure time period if you want people to dress up.
We must mention "formal" or people will dress down.
Servants suck. Whether found on craigslist, or through parents or work, they never ever do their job.
In my opinion, people were least entertained at this party than at any other. People did not react well to the games or the festivities, with some point-blank saying that they didn't even know why they came to our functions. Lack of participation was at an all-time high.
On the other hand, dinner was absolutely the best it has ever been, and dessert was fantastic. I enjoyed myself, Emily enjoyed herself, and I think a handful of other people had a good time, too. Perhaps I'm just too pessimistic
You can see a few more pictures from this party at the photobucket album for the event.
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