Please note this is only my idea, but since your daughter would like such a large party, I feel she and possibly her friends should help. You might form a small committee and get at least ideas and help. Travel agencies might help with old posters, and other information.
Please don't let it get out of control. Be honest with your daughter and let her know if the expenses are getting more than you wish to spend. Have a great time and I wish her Happy Birthday.

Not sure why she doesn't want flowers, if her idea is 'romantic Europe' - flowers would be central to much of that feel. I would check with the banquet hall about restrictions on candles - many places do not allow open flames on the tables due to fire code, so your candles must be contained in some way.

Here's one idea. Use a glass pillar candle hurricane as in the link.

glass hurrican

Make a base for it by taking a terra cotta flower pot saucer that is large enough to hold the glass hurricane. Use a terra cotta flower pot, turned upside down, to act as the pedestal base. Usually the pot will be one size down from the saucer size. Paint them black, then dry brush with bronze and florentine gold craft paints, especially on the rims of the saucer and bottom rim of the flowerpot (now upside down as base). Use silicone adhesive to glue saucer to bottom of flower pot.

Get some vellum from the craft store, likely in the scrapbooking department. Measure it so that you can create a piece of vellum that will wrap around the outside of the hurricane, covering it completely top to bottom. Search on your computer for graphics that represents each city, and print them in black on the vellum. Add the name of the city in a pretty font, perhaps some other words or names of places as well. Wrap this around the outside of the hurricane. WHen you place the pillar candle inside (white, unscented), the light will shine through the vellum and make a beautiful glow. You could add some gold curliques or paint right along the top and bottom edges of the vellum using a gold paint pen to make a more elegant finish. You can rent round mirrors ( or the banquet hall may have them) to put under the pedestal to reflect the light even more.

Despite your daughter not wanting flowers, I would think about buying some of the pretty faux garland that is out there now for the holidays, perhaps with some white roses or magnolias in it and some frosted gold glitter, to encircle the base of the pedestal.

And I agree with marie - your daughter seems very clear on what she does and doesn't want. She is old enough to understand a budget, and should also be willing to help do the work to make the party happen and save money where possible.

I guess I should be glad that I have boys, and that those kinds of parties aren't done in our area! LOL

Hope she has a wonderful birthday, and that the party is everything she has dreamed of all these years!

Les917's ideas sound great and very dramatic. Those candles would look great with the vellum on them.

If not flowers, how about some topiary trees made with ivy. You could use those as the centerpiece, add some candles in glass votives and trail some more ivy around them on the table?

Or instead of the candles (or in addition to) you could print out pics of landmarks from various European cities and put them in frames and set them on the tables.

Good luck with the party--I'm sure it will turn out great.

She has had her heart set on this party for a long time. In our area many of the kids have had Bar and Bat Mitzvah parties. She feels like she missed out on that, as there is no Christian equivalent! She will be confirmed this year too, in a way this is like a combination party for both occasions. Her friends have helped out all along with support and ideas. My daughter is a great organizer so much of the work had already been done by her. You should see her pulling out her file folders on the caterer, entertainment, etc., and her checklists!

les917, I love your ideas! I will check with the banquet hall about the candles. I was thinking some kind of hurricane sleeve but had not gone beyond that point. Wow! The vellum is like a translucent paper, right? And you can put it right into the printer like any other paper? I don't have a color printer, only black, but I can figure out something! Maybe a watercolor wash on the inside surface of the paper.

The base ideas from flowerpots are great too. I wanted some kind of pedestal but was stuck there too. I agree on the garland. That could be just the perfect touch!

Thanks SO much!

I wouldn't worry about printing on the vellum in color. I think sticking with black on the creamy vellum will be elegant and sophisticated, especially if you add touches of gold edging on the vellum with the paint pen, gold and bronze paint drybrushed on the pedestal, touches of gold in the garland along with the creamy colored flowers which will echo the vellum.

How about fruit topiaries? even something like this, but shaped like a heart. :)