Prom night it a night that everyone who attends will remember for the rest of their lives, so actually organising it comes with its own special type of pressure. If you’ve never organised an event of this scale before, it’s easy to be daunted by the prospect, but follow our simple steps, and you’re sure to stay on track.
Get Your Committee Together
The first thing that you need to do when
organising a prom is to get a good committee together. Organising a large event
with so many different aspects isn’t easy, and you shouldn’t try to tackle it
by yourself. Forming a committee means that you can all contribute different
ideas, and it is much easer to split tasks amongst the group. By working
together, you can create a prom that everyone will remember, and it takes the
stress and decision making away from just one person.
Budget
Next, you’ll need to figure out what your
budget is. This is one of the most crucial tasks, as it will help you to
estimate what the cost of tickets needs to be with more accuracy, as well as
what you can reasonably afford. Remember that not all of the money can be
relied upon to come from tickets alone. You will need to put down deposits and pay
for some items in advance, so if you don’t have some money to hand you will
quickly find yourself with cashflow problems. Look into getting sponsorship
from some local companies to help you get the budget that you require. Keeping
accurate records is essential so you know exactly what you have and how much you
need!
Choose the Venue
Once you have your Committee and your Budget
organised, it’s time to find the perfect venue for your prom. There are loads
of prom venues for hire in London, so you should be able to find one that isn’t
too far away from you and fits in with what you can afford. Don’t be afraid to
get a few people from your committee together and view a couple of different
options. Seeing the venue in person is the best way to decide if it is the
right fit for you and your group. Plus, you can ask the manager any questions
you might have and discuss some of the other plans that you have in your mind.
Tell Everyone
With the decision on the venue, comes the
final decision on the date. This should be discussed amongst your committee so
that it doesn’t clash with any other important events, and that it’s on a night
where you’re sure the majority of people will be able to make it. Now is time
to let everyone know about the event and promote it as much as possible. A good
way to do this is with an invite. This can be posted on social media or sent
via email – it doesn’t have to be printed out. Do your best to make sure everyone
has the date in their calendar and release more information about the prom as
and when you confirm different items – this will keep everyone’s interest in it
and ensure that it’s the only topic on people’s lips.
The Food
Food is always an important aspect of any
big event. People expect in to be served on time, for there to be plenty of it,
and most importantly, for it to taste nice. Now, not everyone is going to
expect Gordon Ramsey levels of deliciousness but having a good menu that
everyone is going to enjoy starts the night off well. When you have a group
with full stomachs, the rest of the night is more likely run smoothly. It’s important
that you take all dietary restrictions into consideration and that both you and
the chef have a list of what’s needed. You need to be able to serve food that
your guests are able to eat!
Transport
Deciding how everyone is getting to and from
the venue is something that you and your committee will need to look at.
Typically, a bus is provided at a central location for everyone to depart from.
This makes it easy for everyone to get to the venue, particularly if it is quite
far away. Pricing this and ensuring that it’s taken into account when setting
the cost for the tickets is essential, as transport can be more expensive than
you might think.
Some Added Extras:
It’s always a good idea to have a few
extras on the night to make it really a prom to remember. Of course, this will
be limited by your budget, but there are loads of different things that you can
do to make prom night extra special:
Photobooth
Having a photographer there to capture all of
those special moments is something that all of your guests are going to expect.
But what about all of those more informal snaps? Having a photobooth is great
fun. Filled with props, it is an added layer of entertainment on your night for
everyone to enjoy.
Theme
If you want to make your prom really different,
then why not have it themed? It gives all of the guests something to focus on
when choosing their outfits, and you can decorate your venue to match. If you
go for a particular decade, then all of the music choices are practically made
for you.
Mementos
Having party favours for everyone to take
home at the end of the night is a really great idea. If you have a theme, then
stick to that, but otherwise it really is up to you. Better even than a
photograph, it’s something for all of your guests to hold onto so that they’ll
never forget their prom.
Organising a prom isn’t easy, but if you
plan well, get a good group of people around you, and stay calm, then
everything will fall into place much easier than you think. Soon you’ll have everyone
thanking you for hosting the prom night that dreams are made of.
Definitely! There are many benefits to hiring an external venue for a prom rather than hosting in the school hall. There’s always a temptation for students on school property outside of school hours to sneak into the rest of the school and potentially cause some mischief - especially if they’re just about to move to a new school! Hiring an external venue can also help with the clean-up the next day so it doesn’t disrupt the other students. Plus it adds a real sense of occasion that the attendees will love!
Proms have only recently begun to be standard practice in the UK, having adopted the tradition from the USA. Typically a London prom night will be for secondary school students, either leaving school after their GCSEs in Year 11 at age fifteen to sixteen, or after their A Levels in Year 13 at age seventeen to eighteen. Some primary schools have started throwing a “leavers’ disco” or prom for the ten to eleven year olds who are heading to secondary school after completing Year 6
The cost of a school prom will vary widely, so it’s good to have a budget in mind before you start to plan. If this is the first time your school is organising a prom and they don’t have a set precedent on spend, there’s some quick and easy research you can do to get a ballpark figure. One of the key costs is venue hire, so you can reach out to a selection of different venues and ask them what their standard hire costs are. These may not be accurate to your specific event, but will give you a rough idea to get your budget started.
The purpose of throwing a prom is to celebrate the students who have recently finished their exams and are about to leave the school to start higher education. It’s a fun and memorable way to give them a good send off, and will often start with or include a large assembly or prize giving for the teachers and students to reminisce on their time at the school. In the evening there is a dance, which is the highlight of the event for the students! Most students will get dressed up in black-tie, and some schools decide to allocate a theme for the decorations and entertainment.
The most memorable thing about school prom is spending the evening with your fellow students and celebrating your last weeks at school. However, if your school has the budget or you were able to fundraise lots of money to go out with a bang, there are some fun things that can work really well at prom. Organising a photobooth is perfect as it gives everyone mementos of their evening that they can keep forever. You can make custom props that are relevant to things that have happened over the year - they’ll make a great talking point!