That Time We Partied All Night Louis XVI & Marie Antoinette Style

That's right.  An all-night party (11:30pm till dawn).  At the Chateau of Versailles.  Period costumes and masks mandatory.  Basically, we partied like Louis XVI & Marie Antoinette would have partied if they lived in today's times.

After several of our friends went to last year's masquerade ball at Versailles and raved and raved about it, we knew it was on our "must-do" list for this year.  We'd been prepping for it for a while now...ordering tickets and reserving costumes months in advance.

Dragging our boxes of costumes halfway across Paris was totally worth it!

Finally, the day arrived!  I was so excited I could barely contain my excitement, and thus my attempted nap during the day was quite unsuccessful.  The costumes were donned, the wigs and masks perfected, and it was time to get the party started!

Our plan had been to meet at the Champs de Mars for some sweet photos with La Tour Eiffel before hopping on the train to Versailles for more photos in front of the palace.  But, lovely Paris weather put a damper on that.  Instead, several of us met at our apartment for some photos (I mean, the backdrop is almost the same as the Eiffel Tower, no?) and some laughs and cake (happy early birthday, Lillian!) before heading out on the train.

Tourists and locals alike were enthralled by our get-ups.  Many asked us what was going on and several even took pictures with us.  When we arrived at Versailles it was already dark (and still raining), but we still managed to get some good photos in front of the Chateau.  And by we, I mean Val, who brought her nice camera and rocked her photog skills for the couples.  Thanks, Val!

Our ball tickets also got us into the fountain and fireworks show, which is happens every weekend in the summer.  However, the rain put a bit of a damper on things, shortened the show, and the girls tried their best to hold their dresses high off the muddy ground.  When Skee & Michelle lost their tickets for the ball, we thought this night could be on the verge of going terribly wrong.

L'Orangerie where the ball took place

But, as soon as we entered the ball (and that whole lost ticket thing was no problem!), things changed for the better.  The scene was incredible.  So incredible that I have a hard time putting it into words.  Not only was everyone dressed in just amazing costumes, but there were performers everywhere.

After picking our chins up off the floor (and exploring what it's like to be up on stage), we settled in to a little corner near the main stage for the night.  Our group was about 20 people, so we held down a pretty solid section of the dance floor.

About every 30 minutes, a new entertainer came to the main stage, and it was fantastic.  Everything from singing and dancing, to a laser magician, and a skate park.  I mean, there was definitely no way to get bored at this party...always something to check out!

In between performers, a DJ played music for dancing.  Everything from pop to oldies, to Super Mario Brothers.  And dance we did...by the end of the night we were dripping in sweat (and my wig definitely ended up on the floor).  Things got pretty crazy by the end of the night, partially due to tiredness, but definitely not due to the fact that we were super classy and brought some bagged wine to the party. :)

Wig-eating seemed to be a popular activity...

Or, if you're like Nick and Skee, in between performances, you can "accidentally" end up in the changing and staging area for the performers when you're really trying to go to the bathrooms.  They both claim they were so deep in conversation that they didn't realize where they were until they were halfway down the hallway and seeing costumes flying.  Yeah, okay, we'll go with that reason! ;)

There was also a bonfire in the gardens outside, but because of the rain, it was hard to spend much time outside.  When 6am rolled around, we stumbled outside and were excited we made it until dawn!  Although some of our group stayed an hour or so later, we were so exhausted we started the 20 minute walk back to the train station with Skee & Michelle and John & Mallory.  This video pretty much encompasses our exhaustion at this point (although Michelle is still very awake!)

We made it till sunrise!  And we are sweaty and exhausted!

Arriving back at our apartment at 7:30am, we promptly fell into bed and slept for the next 5 hours.  Totally worth it.  Louis & Marie definitely would've been proud!

**There are so many more photos from the night, and thanks for Val & Skee/Michelle for sharing theirs!