I couldn't have asked for better - people were actually pretty good about RSVPing and only one couple we were expecting flaked out, in fact most showed up close to the 8pm start time! People don't realize what a big deal this is until you have a party where everyone is "fashionably late" and you fret and wonder with every tick of the clock "will anyone come?" But boy were they fashionable! Everyone really threw themselves head to toe into their costumes, and I am STILL so impressed!
I've managed to talk a few of them into letting me feature their works on my blog, and I'm working on a few more - each and every one of them was a great example of how to really do Halloween right. Today I'll start by showing you the costume contest winners, who completely blew my socks off.
I probably don't have to say what a hard choice it all was - but I will. I definitely felt flattered that people had put in so much work to attend my party! It reassured me that people really do enjoy and look forward to it enough to spend their time and - let's face it, money - preparing. So one last time, I thank you all, you were inspirational and so talented!
On to the awards:
First, I gave out the award for the "Best Costumed Couple" - it went to newcomers Mike and Mara, as the Duchess (with her pig baby - can you see it?) and the Cook!
There were actually three Duchesses in attendance, and all of their gowns were gorgeous - this was another sign of how seriously people took their costume choices, the Duchess is a lesser known character who doesn't appear in the Disney version of Alice, so not a lot of people know about her scene - but my guests did actual RESEARCH! Several told me that they read the book in anticipation, or re-watched various versions of the films. Impressive!
Next up was the "Best Costume on This Side of the Looking Glass." Despite picking a theme, I knew not everyone would want to draw their costume inspiration from it, and I was perfectly fine with that (as long as they came in SOME sort of a costume!) So I tried to make it clear on the invitations and whenever I spoke to someone, and I wanted to specifically create a category for the non-wonderland costumes to reinforce that. And boy am I glad I did, because there were some GREAT ones! Since it was my party and my perrogative, I gave the award to another team - Holly & Kelly as Marge & Homer Simpson!
How fantastic is that! She actually made the wig herself, it was just fantastic. Kelly spent all night knocking things over with his Homer belly. Doh! :)
Best Wonderland Costume - I have to say it again, because they were ALL impossible choices - this was so hard! Everyone was uber creative and really put thought and work into their costumes, it was the greatest compliment a host could ask for. While there were several people dressed as each character, no two guests interpreted a character in the same way, and every one of them had surprising details.
And speaking of surprising, boy was I shocked when Carin walked into my house WEARING a house!
Giant Alice, with her arms (and legs, were she sitting) spilling out of various windows and doors of the White Rabbit's house - LOVE IT! She "built" the house herself, and every window had a different hilarious character - I'm pretty sure I saw Chuck-E-Cheese and Chuck Norris, with a whole host of others peeking out. When she sat down, she could stick her feet out of the windows and doors too, and she told me she specifically had to engineer it that way because her favorite part of the movie as a child was watching Alice's legs grow down the stairs and out the front door! Gotta love that :)
The last award I gave out was Most Original, and it went to another amazing Alice. Not only was the idea completely unexpected, but the craftsmanship was to die for. The award went to Trish, as Alice Through the Looking Glass:
The photo doesn't do it justice, her looking glass was spectacular - she created the effect of a large framed mirror which she wore as if she was halfway through.
Thanks again, everyone - you definitely deserved your awards and admiration! Hopefully I'll be able to feature a few more of the guests in the coming weeks as well - and you'll see how hard my decisions were to make!
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