Victory Ball!

Yes, I got into Regency costuming so that I could attend fancy balls.  I'm not ashamed.

Cheers!

Caution:  This is a picture-intensive post.

The Battle of Craney Island Bicentennial Victory Ball was held at Harbor's Edge Retirement Community, just outside Fort Norfolk.  I wore my finally-finished apron-front gown under my sheer ballgown from my first Regency ball, and Brian the Engineer wore his dinner dress blues uniform.

Pinning on our cockades.  Yes, I got a bit of sun during the day.  :p  

Me and Brian the Engineer.  Doesn't he clean up nice?  

Check out that cheese spread!  

So many pretty dresses!  

Mmmmmm... Champagne!  

We were graced with the presence of Mrs. Madison!  

She gave a short speech welcoming us to the ball.  

We sang Hail Columbia, which was the unofficial national anthem in 1813.  

Stacy Weissner, chair of the Victory Ball Subcommittee, also said a few words of welcome.  

And the dancing began:

Our Dance Master, who taught us the dances and called out the figures

We had the run of the whole first floor of the building, so after some dancing Brian and I wandered and found some photo ops.

Hey look, it's Napoleon!  

And some delicious food!

I was not aware this photo was being taken.  But seriously, the food was fantastic.  

Omg, the desserts!  

This was a cream-filled strawberry on a cookie.  

And yes, it was THAT good.  

Brian was quite happy with his red wine.  

The courtyard was even pretty after the sun went down!  

And Brian found a pool table.  :p  

So intense...  

Yes, he made that shot.  He's got skillz.  

Then we went back to the ballroom for more dancing.  

Devine Comedy provided beautiful period music.  

You can even hear the music in this short video I took of the dancing.  

My hair held up rather nicely.  :)  

I think the Regency Society of Virginia composed about half the attendees at the ball.  :p  

Shoe shot!  

These girls had such pretty hair:

As with all good things, eventually the ball must come to an end.  

Bonus dress pics:

I'm a big fan of this uniform...

This was the best couple shot I could get with my self-timer.  

All in all, I'd say the evening was a success!