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School formals are a milestone event, a night that will be forever remembered. Planning and executing an unforgettable night means being prepared. Learn about how to put together the best school formal with this guide, with information about event venues, themes, catering, entertainment and styling. Simplify your planning with tips and inspiring ideas. Have your school formal run smoothly and celebrate away to mark the end of an era.
Set the Budget and Timeline
It is essential to start planning early. Plan 6-12 months in advance to ensure you secure the best venue, catering, styling, and entertainment at the best rates.
Have a clear budget you can stick to. The budget should include a detailed breakdown of the event’s needs, including venue, catering, styling, and entertainment.
Save 10-15% of your budget as contingency—unexpected emergencies and costs that will inevitably pop up.
Tip: Host a fundraiser, raffle or ticket sales as a way to support the cost of the school formal.
Decide on the Formal Committee or Organisers
Create a formal committee ‘A Star’ team. Teachers and/or parents should back up the formal committee. The committee members should be excited about planning the school formal and trustworthy in their work and ethics. With the troops rallied, it’s time to flesh out the plan and delegate roles.
Roles to delegate:
- Ticketing
- Styling
- Fundraising
- Booking vendors (e.g., DJ, live band, photographer, and photo booth)
- Promotions
The school formal committee should be meeting regularly to help with smoother processes, collaboration and execution.
Choose the Right Venue
The selected venue will set the tone for the school formal. Choose a venue that aligns with your formal theme, ideal location and event capacity. Most students, teachers and parents choose to hold their school formal in a professional venue, such as a ballroom. Professional venues, such as those at Navarra Venues, offer an all-inclusive, one-stop shop service. Book your venue, catering, styling and entertainment in one place.
Other options include a school hall, a community centre and a hotel ballroom.
Tip: Look out for a fun dance floor, catering options, AV additions provided, and transportation links when selecting your venue.
Pick a Theme to Bring the Event to Life
Having a school formal theme adds another element of creativity and excitement to the event. A theme will enpire your decorations, invitations and outfits, aligning all the event elements for a smooth, seamless execution. Get creative when thinking about themes and how you can bring the school formal to life.
Theme ideas:
- Masquerade
- Hollywood Glam
- Enchanted Garden
- Black Tie Luxe
- Under the Stars
- All White Party
Plan the Menu and Drinks
Food is the centre of every event. Catering options for the night include a buffet, seated dinner, canapés, or live stations. Think about which options best align with your event.
- A buffet is a relaxed and fun choice, and typically more budget friendly. People can add as much or as little food as they want.
- A seated dinner is a formal, elegant option, offering a pre-selected menu of substantial dishes.
- Canapés are fantastic for mingling; they provide a light meal. Canapés on arrival are also perfect for adding extra elegance and formality to seated dinners.
- Live stations add an interactive and exciting element to the event – a perfect add-on for any event.
The event menu must include dietary considerations for those with restrictions, allowing everyone to participate and have fun. Gather the dietary restrictions with your RSVP responses. Confirm numbers and dietary restrictions with your caterer at least four to six weeks in advance of your event.
Don’t forget to add drink options! For under-18 events, provide mocktails and non-alcoholic beverages.
Organise Entertainment and Activities
Keep the atmosphere alive with fun entertainment.
Entertainment Ideas:
- Music: DJ and/or live band
- Photobooth
- Photographer
- Award presentation
- Games: dance freeze
- Magician
All the students at the school formal will want to remember this event forever. Make sure the best moments are captured by a photographer or videographer on the night.
Styling and Décor Tips
Styling and decor add sparkle to the event, setting the stage for a great event. The school’s formal styling and decor should match your event theme.
Here are some ideas:
- Balloons
- Floral arrangements and centrepieces
- LED signage
- Themed backdrop or photowall
- Room lighting, e.g fairy lights or coloured lighting
- Luxury table settings such as black tablecloths and gold cutlery.
The formal can be as simple or extravagant as you want.
If you have the budget and really want to create impact, book an event stylist. Luxe By Navarra works alongside you as a stylist, florist and coordinator from event idea to execution. The process is simple and seamless, and the end result will be show stopping.
Invitations, Tickets, and Promotion
Once you know your event date, venue and theme, it’s time to start sending out invitations, promoting the event and selling tickets!
Send digital invitations to everyone via school email. Print posters to hang around the school. Make announcements at assemblies. Post information on the school bulletin boards and social media.
Your invitation should include:
- Event date, time and location
- Theme and dress code
- RSVP and deadline
- Special notes: dietary requirements and transportation information
Send invitations out as early as possible to allow enough time to capture accurate guest numbers for catering and seating plans.
Have a clear ticketing system to keep the school’s formal team accountable.
Run Sheet and Logistics for the Night
Before the event date arrives, put together a rough runsheet of the night you can share with all collaborators.
Your runsheet should include:
- setup
- arrival time
- photos
- dinner
- entertainment
- awards
- dancing
- clean-up.
Assign organisational roles on the night for MC, ticketing and vendor liaison.
Tip: Book security for safety.
Make It a Night to Remember
The school formal is a big moment in schooling and a night about having fun and creating memories. Make sure you have the best school formal by being prepared and building a strong team for support.
Navarra Venues is a professional event company with five iconic and unique venues offering event planning expertise.
Reach out to Navarra Venues using the banner below to start planning your perfect school formal.
