New Year’s Eve is supposed to be a perfect, magical night – a night that sets the stage for the rest of year.
Of course, with expectations like that, it’s not surprising that people get stressed out planning for it, and the night itself can be something of a letdown.
Last year I was super excited for New Year’s Eve. My husband’s parents gave us tickets to the San Francisco Symphony Masquerade Ball, and I had plans to wear a fabulous vintage deco-era fuchsia gown. Pat, my husband, and I would go to the East coast to visit my family for Christmas, but we’d be back in San Francisco a few days before New Year’s. Plenty of time to get ready! Right?
And yet… not. Due to horrible winter weather, our return flight was cancelled and we were stuck in D.C. for three days – rebooked onto an early morning New Year’s Day flight. So heartbreaking! I had never gone to a ball before – and everything turned to rags before I even got to go.
(I should mention that there was a bright side – we got to stay with a friend in D.C. Being stranded in a city isn’t so bad when it means you get to catch up with a good friend!)
Thankfully, the Symphony was understanding, and gave us gift certificates in place of the ball tickets we were unable to use. So we set the gift certificates aside to use for the next year’s ball. And in the meantime, I did some investigation and found the annual Art Deco Preservation Society Ball, which was scheduled for May – so I didn’t have to wait a whole year to wear my fabulous deco-era gown to a ball. :)
Alright, back to this year. As planned, we used our Symphony gift certificates to buy tickets to the New Year’s Eve ball. And since we weren’t traveling this year (after previous transportation debacles, we figured we could use at least one year off!), we had plenty of time to prep. I helped Pat choose a tux (he decided it was time to own one), and we ended up finding a fantastic deal at Jos. A Bank. For Christmas, I bought Pat a vintage Krementz cufflink and tuxedo shirt stud set. And I decided to wear my wedding dress – a vintage 1970s ivory gown that’s perfect for dancing. Of course, because it was a masquerade ball, we picked up a couple of Venetian masks to go with our ensembles.
The evening had a lovely start, with cocktails and live music in the lobby.
With Pat, upon our arrival to Davies Symphony Hall
Cocktail hour was followed by the concert, conducted by Michael Francis. Most of the pieces were waltzes – a perfect way to set the mood for dancing later.
In the concert hall
After the concert, we enjoyed free prosecco (supplied by La Marca) and desserts in the lobby.
Revelers in the lobby of Davies Symphony Hall
And then the most wonderful part – dancing on the concert hall stage to live music played by the Peter Mintun Orchestra.
Dancing with Pat
There was a balloon drop at midnight, followed by more dancing and revelry.
Balloon drop at midnight
Dancing on the Davies Symphony Hall stage
It was, indeed, a magical night – well worth the wait!
Happy New Year!
Wishing you health, wealth, and happiness in the new year!
What I wore:
Dress: vintage 1970s formal gown
Mask: costume Venetian mask, via Fantastico
Necklace: vintage 1950s Coro necklace
Cape: Tulle, via ModCloth
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