Prom Themes – The Unique, Cool and Best Prom Theme Ideas 

Prom Themes – The American-style school is known the world over. Prom themes create a party that mixes fantastic prom dresses and formal tuxedos, with the chance to truly celebrate a milestone and allow people to let loose on the dance floor.

Even if you’re not a teenager looking to slow dance, drink punch, and get crowned prom king or queen, creative prom themes offer an exciting model to base your next event on.

The style of school prom themes are extravagant and iconic; a prom-style event is suited to a wide variety of venues, and it gives guests permission to role-play and lose themselves in a once-in-a-lifetime atmosphere.

At Table Art, we’ve had a lot of experience organising and designing events based on school prom themes and we’re here to give you the ultimate guide to styling your own. Ideas range from glamorous balloon archways to starry-eyed centrepieces and everything in-between.

If you are interested in seeing any of our previous styled events, including prom themes, then you can take a look at our Event Styling gallery. Feel free to get more inspiration from our post on 150 event theming ideas.

Choosing The Venue And Getting Started

The beauty of school prom themes is that they can be held almost anywhere and a lot of what goes into making a successful prom is the ability to turn a school gymnasium into a wondrous ballroom.

The only real musts for school prom themes are a dining area and a space that can be used as a dance floor. For everything else, there are drapes, lighting, and streamers which can be used to create that makeshift ballroom look.

To create a classic prom venue you will want a tunnel entrance or room for a red carpet to give guests the celebrity treatment from the moment they enter.

There are some hallmarks of a school prom theme; they tend to have individual creative ideas running through them. The typical approach is to pick school colours (or perhaps the colours of another organisation) and go for a traditional school formal design but there are many other prom themes to incorporate. The black and white prom theme, 50s prom theme, Casino nights, Moroccan prom theme, 1920’s prom theme, The Winter ball or the infamous Masquerade prom theme. 

Once you know the venue, colours, and atmosphere you want to create, then you can use this to inform the style you will create.

School Prom Decor

If you are going for a school prom event that evokes all the excitement of an American high school sending its students out into the adult world, then you want to opt for staples of school prom decor.

The mainstay is the ceiling drape, often made from a sheer material, which forms a dome and comes together around a chandelier or statement light fitting to create an intimate atmosphere in any venue space. These drapes can be dramatically lit from beneath or laced with twinkling fairy lights.

At Table Art, we’ve created many centrepieces which can use clever lighting displays to make the most of ceiling drapes or put a sophisticated twist on traditional fairy light.

To complete the illusion ceiling drapes create, many parties based on prom themes will use shimmer curtains that can be used to hide doors or walls and will interact playfully with the light around it.

Balloon decorations are a must for any prom theme event. The cinematic approach would be to have a trove of balloons held behind a release net for later in the evening. Swirled balloon arches around the doorway are also a popular choice and it’s easy to use them to continue your colour theme. 

Lighting

If you are going for a traditional school prom venue, then you’ll need to source additional lighting as nothing will quieten a dance floor more than harsh lighting.

Ideally, you want lighting that you can control, to create the atmosphere during dining or dancing and that can be used for spotlighting and matching the colours of your theme.

Our candelabra table centrepieces offer an intimate and ornate light source which won’t intrude on the dance floor and can be controlled using our DMX lighting.

Prom Tables And Table Centrepieces

For most nights based on prom themes, you will want larger tables which can accommodate lots of guests and you need to find the right balance between wedding-style formal decorations with a more carefree school disco vibe. You may give each table a prom name. 

The table centrepiece leaves you with an enormous range of options. You can opt for a twinkling light source or you can choose a sculpture that screams high school abandon such as football boots, reading lamps, or even a disco ball on each table.

For inspiration, you might want to look at some of our other table centrepiece creations.

Making The Classic School Prom Theme Event

Selling a school prom theme event is all about the smaller finishing touches that complete the fantasy.

You might consider using a large punch bowl, decorating the walls with memorabilia from the school’s best sporting team, or a banner celebrating the ‘class of 2018’.

Remember to include a space for people to pose for photographs in their prom dresses and prom tuxedos and if you really want to run with the theme, then you might hire someone to dress as your school or company mascot.

Conclusion: Having The True Prom Theme Event Experience

Whether you’re hosting a school leaver’s event, putting a fun twist on a corporate event with a back-to-school theme, or organising your own school prom – it is sure to be a night people will remember.

Many people mark their prom night up there with weddings, graduations, and christenings as the most memorable events of their life. There’s no reason you can’t take some of this magic for your own.

Try to do plenty of research by checking out some classic school proms in film or exploring some of the fantastic prom creations Pinterest has catalogued.

If you want a school prom theme event that can put a magnificent twist on the classic school formal, then contact us for a consultation or to get our input on your prom design.