School Prom Decoration Case Study
A school prom is a significant and important celebration, not just for the students but also for the teachers who have seen the pupils change and grow as people throughout the 5 years of Secondary School.
Graduation is an exciting time. It’s the end of School and a celebration of friendships formed, of good times, memories made, and amazing experiences. It’s also a time for new beginnings, the start of a new chapter in life which will be filled with dreams, wonder and challenges. So, the school prom is the time to let your hair down and party the night away with your friends.
Countless hours will be spent on dress and suit fittings, and maybe a super car booked to arrive in style. So, it’s important that a great venue is chosen and then styled to maximise the budget. A DJ and catering will be booked and then thoughts should turn to event décor.
We had the absolute pleasure of decorating the Mayo Wynne Baxter Lounge at Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club’s American Express Stadium for Beacon Academy’s Year 11 Prom.
The students asked us to come up with a tropical summer paradise theme. With Summer finally here and the cool vibes of Brighton beach just a stone’s throw away we agreed that the theme would work perfectly.
How Did We Style The Prom?
When we decorate a venue there’s a lot to think about to make the most of the space and deliver an amazing experience for the attendees. We carry out a site visit and then we spend time brainstorming to come up with the perfect design. We put together a mood board and start to experiment with props and decorations in our workshop. Then many hours and changes later it all comes together, the making starts and finally the party decorations are ready to go.
On arrival students and staff were met by a Beacon Class of 2024 table plan. Gold pillars decorated with tropical flowers and foliage, artificial parrots, surfboards and driftwood decorations framed the stage. Each table had a beautiful balloon centrepiece, and the star of the show was a stunning ‘Let’s Party’ tropical selfie wall. The whole year group had a photo in the main stand and every child now has pictures on their phones they will cherish forever and plaster all over Instagram and Tik Tok!
Planning Your Prom
The idea of a school prom is an alien idea to generation X but to millennials and generation Z it’s very real and planning early is key. Just like Halloween, Black Friday and other American staples the school prom and Sweet 16 have made their way across the pond and are now very much a part of our social calendar in the UK.
The first step is to form a prom committee, usually made up of a range of students, the Head of Year 11 and the school’s Marketing and Communications Manager.
Once your committee is established, the first thing you will need to set is your budget. Before you make any of the more exciting decisions, such as choosing your decorations, or entertainment, you need to know what money is available to spend. Understanding your budget helps you narrow down the options and ensure you make the right decision.
The venue will be your biggest cost and the best venues can already be booked well in advance, so this is an important step to take if you haven’t already done so.
The committee can then divide tasks between them and set about researching and booking a DJ, logistics, catering and decorations.
Decorating Your Prom
This is your chance to make your prom extra special and a memorable one for the students. First you need to decide on a theme. This will be chosen by the prom committee and should consider all the students attending. Maybe you choose a disco theme complete with colourful lights and disco balls, or a tropical setting with palm trees, pineapples and mocktails, or even a casino with roulette wheels and beautiful glass centrepieces filled with playing cards, poker chips and dice.
Whatever your choice you then need to consider the space you have at the venue. Can you create a stunning entrance to greet everyone on arrival, is there a stage to decorate, can you hang lights or decorations from overhead beams, table centrepieces are a must. This is your chance to get creative and often a students first taste of a big event so it has to be special.
If your budget allows, then a professional events and installation company will help you deliver and create the ultimate prom setting.
At Noble and Whyte we’re taking bookings for proms. Please contact us for further information.
