So you want to party like Marie Antoinette
If I’m being honest, the Masked Ball at Versailles was where our nomadic journey started. I didn’t know it yet, but the decision to put that party on the 2018 Bucket List was the first spark of us leaving home, jobs and family behind.
Originally, I used it as a reason for a brief vacation — a spring fling to kick off the summer and feel gorgeous before the next phase of life began. After one of my best friends Linnea enthusiastically said, “Yes!” to joining in on my crazy idea, we roughly fleshed out a two week trip a year in advance. Our concept: kick it off with the party in Versailles and end in Vienna, its 18th-century cultural capital twin.
Eight months later, I realized I needed more than just a short affair with Europe. I needed a retreat from everything. So while the party was an excuse to initially plan, the reason underneath it all was a deep need to take a break. Thus, Hares On Holiday was born and the party became a crown jewel against the larger backdrop of a six month adventure. But like all crown jewels, they deserve their own special spotlight and naturally, I’d love to help others know how to get in on this incredible shindig so here is how we ended up partying like French aristocracy on June 23rd, 2018.
#MarieAntoinetteIsMySpiritAnimal
There, I said it. I love France, I love small finger foods, I love champagne, I love feeling opulent, and if we’re honest, I don’t mind spending my hard earned money on these things. So when I discovered the Grand Masked Ball party in Versailles through a gaming influencer named ShannonZKiller, I immediately swooned with envy. A lover of all things pink, Anglo-Saxon and beautiful, Shannon is a powerhouse in the Twitch scene and after three years of seeing her in gorgeous dresses at various balls around Europe, I finally decided to figure out a way to get myself into one of these parties. Thanks to my French and the few English-speaking bloggers kind enough to post their own experiences, one of my best friend’s Linnea and I made it happen for us and my husband after a year of planning and let me tell you, it was worth it.
What is This and Can I Go?
The annual Grand Masked Ball of Versailles is held inside the Versailles Orangerie gardens in June. It’s an evening not for the faint of feet, nor pocket books, but it’s a damn good time. The party kicks off at 11:30pm following the the fireworks display at the end of the Versailles Fountain and Musical Garden’s show (entry is included with the price of your party ticket). After the final sparks fade, the Orangerie is opened and the music and champagne starts pumping.
Each year’s production is themed and choreographed by Hakim Ghorab and in the center of the party, dancers and performers create elaborate numbers every 30 minutes or so until 5:30am. That’s when those guests who haven’t succumbed to sleep or champagne comas are served a French breakfast in the Garden Amphitheater where Louis XV used to put on his own garden balls.
Every attendee is required to wear an authentic looking 18th-century outfit and mask to keep the ambiance in the spirit of things so there’s eye candy no matter where you look amidst the strobes and laser lights. Costumes range from the cheap and sufficient to the elaborate and authentic.
It’s a decadent affair as only the French really know how to do, but make no mistake, it’s also about as close to a rave as I’ve ever gotten.
Game Planning
As with anything that involves me and planning, there was immediately a planning document created. (Insert obligatory “You can take the project manager out of her day job,” joke here.) We were a full year out, but a trans-Atlantic flight and all night party were not going to be a fly by the seat of our pants situation.
Getting In
The first challenge was tickets, which we determined through some sleuthing on Facebook and the Versailles website, went on sale in November. There are three levels:
- Basic entry — get in and have fun!
- VIP — includes two champagne drinks and a VIP area with free food
- Extravagant — includes all you can drink and eat, a reserved table for you and your companions, free parking, and some other perks
Ultimately, we determined that while the reserved table included with the Extravagant ticket seemed a great way to ensure feet stayed happy, we also needed to use some of that cash to get ourselves over there and be appropriately costumed. When the tickets went on sale in November, we settled on VIP and crossed our fingers there would be enough free seating over the course of the night. (Spoiler: VIP, so worth!)
A Palace of Our Own
We quickly threw out the idea of commuting to the party from Paris. The concept of taking an RER C train in a huge dress with panniers was stressful just thinking about, let alone doing it after dancing all night. We opted to stay in Versailles close to the palace to preserve our feet and beauty sleep. There are a variety of hotels nearby, but we chose Airbnb namely due to price and convenience. A month or two before the party, there were still quite a few just steps from the palace at reasonable rates, and I hit the reserve button with confidence future-me would be grateful avoiding the 40 minutes between Paris and Versailles the morning after.
What to Wear
The most important part of the equation!
Both my friend and I were admittedly very particular about our costumes. We wanted to both look and feel historically accurate. I quickly talked my friend out of sewing our own panniers and making corsets, knowing that dragging costumes onto a flight and across Europe was out of the question for me. (This didn’t stop her from packing an entire shoebox full of hair supplies and making pannier pockets of course!)
That meant looking for a costume store that offered quality costumes for less than our first borns. Luckily, the Versailles Palace knows not everyone has their own Fairy Godmother so on their website they provide a list of costume stores in Paris that cater to attendees — some even offering 10% off for ticket holders. Making our way through the list, we emailed five of them and after an extensive flurry of emails with each, selected Les Vertugadins. Not only do they make beautiful movie-quality costumes, they also work with the local Disneyland costume department so we felt confident they knew their stuff.
A couple of months in advance we sent them our measurements along with a list of our favorites from their website so they could get a sense of our individual style. After a Skype appointment with their liaison in English, I had three costumes reserved including jewelry and fitting appointments for individual tailoring. A couple of weeks prior to the party, my husband and I stood inside their huge costume warehouse on cloud nine as they noted minor adjustments they would need to make to ensure our comfort for 8 hours. All for 170€.
No 18th-century costume is complete without the mile-high hair however and, I must admit, this is where Linnea’s perfectionism shone. For months prior to her flight, she studied Youtube videos and practiced on her waist length hair. While touring the Scottish Highlands, I got countless email updates on her diligent trials and errors, including fabrication of hair ornaments and debates in the lace aisle of craft stores. Where there is a will, there’s a way and in the end, her practice paid off with our lofty hair and beautiful accessories. Although you can wear a wig (and we saw many who did), avoiding the complication of having it come off or cause excess heat was well worth it in addition to feeling, you know, gorgeous.
Not to be overlooked were our feet. High heels never entered our mind and if it’s on yours, I’d quickly tell you your party will be over by 2am. We watched plenty of women stumbling or limping home early due to their poor choices. Our flats and short wedge heels served well and with dress hems to the ground, no one would have seen if we’d worn sneakers.
And what about our belongings? When my friend arrived in Versailles, she revealed the sewing project she’d been working on: pannier pockets!
These babies were a lifesaver. Not only did they hold our phones and IDs, but also allowed us to sneak in some cheap beverages under our skirts. If you’ve got a sewing machine and a will, you’ll save yourself a pretty penny inside and avoid carrying around a purse the entire night. My husband was grateful to avoid being saddled with stuff, particularly since his costume pockets were microscopic.
With all of our groundwork laid out months in advance, the day of the party was made a relative breeze. We had picked up our costumes from Les Vertugadins the day before and spent the evening enjoying crepes at La Crêperie Sarrasine in Versailles. To maximize our sleep schedule for the next day, we stayed up late watching Queer Eye Season 2 and putting our hair in overnight curlers.
Waking up late the next day, we lounged, enjoying macaroons and rosé before launching into our hair assembly and makeup.
My husband was Mr. Patient and fetched takeout for us to ensure we had a solid meal before the escapade. Before we knew it, we were running late to the Fountain Show so we darted through the streets in our dresses in order to catch the sunset over the gardens.
Let Them Eat Cake
Walking the gardens with everyone dressed in period style was incredible and I highly recommend being on time to the Fountain Show at 8:30pm to ensure you get to enjoy the experience (one of my regrets if I had to name one was being late to this portion of the affair). The fireworks display was a treat and we enjoyed chatting with tourists who thought we had dressed up simply for the Fountain Show. Was fun to say, “Oh no, this is just the start.”
Soon enough, we were funneled into the party and the show kicked off.
If you want to see the full effect, definitely check out my friend Linnea’s fabulous vlog of our adventure because words won’t capture the spectacle. DJ Michael Canitrot played a great set in-between dance performances of Pirates and Privateers doing battle on the deck of a ship, the Hare and the Tortoise racing in a reenactment of classic fables, a Circus Troupe dancing in perfect sync, and then this weird Ice Cream number we still aren’t sure about. We danced our feet off, spun in glee in our dresses, and generally felt like kings and queens.
Our VIP tickets were definitely worth the extra money and I highly recommend splurging to get them or the Extravagant tickets. All night a delicious spread of food was replenished with a variety of treats to keep us fueled — everything from tiny cakes, breads and cheeses, and other unidentified delicious nibbles. The bar was simplified by a token system to avoid cash and card delays, made even easier by the VIP area having their own bar.
A private entrance into the VIP area of the party from the gardens let us slip in and out so we could get fresh air, sneak sips of smuggled goods, and lounge on the grass.
Giant pillow-covered lounges inside let our feet catch a break before hitting the dance floor again and we may or may not have snuck in a nap or two. Outside a huge bonfire roared all night for those lucky enough to find chairs and it created a special air of mystery underneath the stars. The view of the Orangerie Garden was magic, particularly given the reflecting pools. The brilliance of Louis XV and his army of gardeners and architects was on full display and although I’ve visited Versailles numerous times, I found myself entranced again at the new aspect unveiled before us.
Morning came soon enough and after enjoying a quick cup of coffee and croissant, the three of us stole across the street to the Swiss Lake to capture photos of our costumes in the early morning light.
As we posed and preened in the sunrise, we could still hear the bass throbbing from the Palace amid cheers from attendees.
We toddled home on aching feet, reveling in our memories of a night to remember and swirling in our dresses one last time before taking out the 100 bobby pins in our hair and curling up to sleep the day away.
Even looking back now a couple of weeks and several countries later, the evening at Versailles was worth all of the planning and effort. It just goes to show, if you want something, sometimes you really can make it happen.
Bucket list, check.
Hope this inspires you and if you have any questions, feel free to hit me up in the comments below. Follow me on Instagram for more travel updates — we’re in Slovakia right now and we’ll be in the Baltics soon! Till then, ciao!
