PROM PLANNING!
A Few Basic Tips to Help You With Your Prom Planning

Prom planning is a term that is used to describe the actual process of setting up a prom. This is typically done by a planning committee or an expert prom planner who is hired by the school to make sure that everything goes smoothly. This article is not meant for the professionals. We have no intention of telling you how to do the job that you are obviously good at if you do it for a living. These tips are meant for those who have not done prom planning in the past. There are certain obstacles that need to be overcome and pitfalls that you can avoid.

The first item on your agenda will be the venue for the prom. Many high schools will have the event in their gymnasium and just get the students involved in the decorating and planning process. This is a great way to teach event planning and is usually good for small schools with limited budgets. Make sure when you set something like this up to check with your local police department to see if a detail for an event of that size is required.

Prom planning for an outside venue is more complicated. Larger schools will book a hotel for the event and that comes with a number of questions that you need to be prepared to answer. Hotels require guarantees for food and beverage and room blocks if you choose to have them available for students. These items must be considered carefully and a point of accountability must be established. Hotels require contracts and someone or some entity needs to be responsible for the financial guarantees and liability issues.

Location is a factor to consider when choosing a hotel. Hotel proms are very popular because you can put the prom, after-prom, and overnight all into one location. It is considered safe and also a lot of fun for the kids who attend. The location of the hotel should be convenient to the school district and also safe if students choose to go outside. Cleanliness and rating for the hotel should also be checked in the prom planning process.

Once the venue has been established at a safe and convenient location, the next step in the prom planning process is to set up entertainment, food, and decorations. The DJ should be someone who comes with references and one that plays music that the students are into. Don’t hire an oldies DJ for a high school prom. You’ll end up with an empty hall. The food can be provided by the hotel or catered if the prom is at the school. Decorations? Form a committee of students and let them do it. They know what they like better than you do.