Next week we will be sending out a great Poster for your Notice Board to let you know when the all important Prom Committee Meeting is to be held.

Let us know when you see it on your notice board and you will be entered into a competition for itunes vouchers!

Spread the word!

Prom Fayre

Albrighton Hall Hotel and Spa, in Shrewsbury held their first Prom Fayre on October 20th. The evening was a great success with over 50 local girls modeling an amazing array of prom dresses from Jessica’s Bridal in Frankwell and Shropshire Designer Grace Barby of Grace and Glory.

Viv Kelly Dance school also performed 2 routines one in amazing funky tights from Thighs the Limit based in Mardol, Shrewsbury. There were lots of exhibitors with a great choice of accessories and jewellery from Masque Boutique, MeMe Mode and Solo Jewellery all local independent companies.

The boys weren’t left out as 2 local boys modeled suits from Skopes a new menswear concession located in House of Fraser.Local hairdresser Claire Greenhow was on hand not only to do all the models hair but also continued to show the audience lots of great prom hairstyles.

Brian Fisher Photography and Malcolm Whittall local cartoonist,amused us all.The atmosphere was extremely party-like with one of the suites dressed as an actual prom night,complete with helium balloons supplied by the Giant Party shop,disco, fantastic lighting, a lifesize James Bond model and even giant Oscars, supplied by Solid Gold entertainment.

Get me to the Prom on time!

 The theme didn’t just stop inside the hotel, there were vehicles from 2XL Limousines and a Vintage bus from Bolton's, and even a Red London double decker. 

 The raffle raised over £170 for the Breast Cancer Campaign, first prize was a Prom dress,which was won by a lady who booked her Summer ball at the Albrighton Hall Hotel on the evening,she was absolutely delighted.

Fiona Clarke, Business Development Co-Ordinator for the hotel said “ We really wanted to showcase all the local talent we have and give the teenagers some inspiration, the girls had a fabulous time and looked fantastic,the feedback has been so positive, I was even asked if I would do another one this year, we will definitely be making it an annual event, so date for your diary 19th October 2012.”

For more information contact Fiona 01939 291732

Hello,
I organised my 6th form leavers prom last June and used your website for advice. It was very helpful so thought I'd mention some things I think you could add as a sort of thank you
Personally, I'd love to see a "6th form/ college prom" section. There are just as many of these as there are proms for after GCSEs, in my area at least, but the main difference is that most people are over 18. The biggest problem I had was that there was a mix, with 2 months worth being under 18. Obviously everyone wanted a bar but many venues rejected us straight out as they refused to have a mix. One club accepted us and I told them around 16% would be minors. On the night it turned out many guys had brought girls in the year below as +1s. This led to around 30% being under 18 and the club stopped letting them in. This led to a huge fiasco outside and I had to get the owner there as the manager was no help. The owner showed up in a land rover with what looked like personal security… a bit mafia esq! After a while of shouting from both sides and pretty intense bargaining, he offered to hire in extra bouncers and split the club into two areas, one of which under 18s couldn't go.

This happened because I failed to get a written contract of all their terms and conditions. I had written confirmation of our booking but nothing about their policy on what happened. I understood that under 18s were a problem but his verbal agreement that it would be workable and us paying extra for more bouncers (which he didn't actually provide until it all went to hell) convinced me it would be fine.   Check out venue tips here

Anyway, this is a long winded story of how my prom went wrong and I think it would be great if you had a page stressing the importance of drinking laws and the rules and tips on how to play it safe.

My advice would be:
1) When taking tickets, calculate exactly how many under 18s there are going to be.
2) Make it perfectly clear how many there will be and keep the venue informed throughout the ticket sales process.
3) If the club give strict numbers of minors, don't sell under 18 +1 tickets until everyone else has had a chance to buy them. That way, under 18s in the leaving year have priority.
4) Get a written signed contract stating the venues backup plans, i.e., what has to happen for everyone to be kicked out/stop letting people in?

That was my main issue and one that I think other 6th form prom teams would find very useful.

Another small issue I had was with photographers. The school IT guy also runs a photography company and he quoted us £350 to show up and take set shots with a screen where students would have to pay around £10 online for prints  and an extra £700 for someone to take roaming photos and give them to us on a disk to put on the Facebook group.
I thought that was way too much so I paid them for the set shots but hired a friend with my mums SLR camera for £100 to take the roaming photos and give them to me. This was fine until the professional guy found out and got angry at me threatening to take me to court over it… clearly not a very nice guy if he was willing to take money from students. Anyway, perhaps making it clear that photographers don't like to have other companies there as well would be helpful.

Other than that, things that worked well:
1) I took £350 cash with me to buy rounds of 50 shots, line them along the bar and get everyone there to take them all at once. Didn't end up doing this annoyingly, due to the under 18 nightmare!
2) Phoning taxi companies and getting lots of discount cards to put on the door and telling them when the prom ended.
3) Buying bottle openers with the school name on it (people loved this)

Anyway, sorry for the long email! Just thought my experiences might be of use!

Kind Regards,

Steve

View details here ( www.ukpromshow.co.uk)  with a list of exhibitors, links to exhibitor’s web sites. Directions to the venues and also a page to register for free tickets.

Admission is FOC & guests will be greeted with a complimentary non alcohol cocktail & an A5 Prom Brochure.

Whether taking place at a local hotel or country club, or even at the school itself, the sight of stretched limos, classic cars, buses, fire engines horse drawn carriages, tractors with trailers and even helicopters, bringing beautifully dressed young ladies and handsomely dressed young men is becoming all the more common.  For most of the guests the glittering ball gown or new suits or hired tux are obviously not their usual attire – and it shows, as they awkwardly settle into the evening.  The flash of cameras is continuous as groups of friends and classmates, with whom they have shared the highs and lows, come together to celebrate, experiencing a rite of passage in surroundings worthy of such an event  - it’s the school Prom. 

In the last six years, this high school import from the U.S. has become a major focus of activity alongside year 11 examinations and the decisions relating to the students’ futures. 

The Prom is often largely organised by the students themselves, overseen by a senior member of staff.  Not only is it a major focus for the students, it has also become of commercial importance for local traders and service providers. In some parts of the U.K. there are now prom fairs where local providers offer schools and their students presentations on how they can assist in making the Prom night one to remember.  Venues, caterers, dress and suit hire companies, entertainment artists/discos, novelty transport, make-up specialists , decorations and event photographers will all be on hand to help make it a night to remember.  It’s rapidly becoming big business. 

Brian Fisher, an event photographer and an ex-teacher of social ethics in a number of Shropshire schools, finds this new love of the prom very interesting.  He firmly believes that this new experience can be of great value socially for the local teenagers.  Organising the event in a safe environment, at venues outside of their normal experience is a positive learning experience, whilst the formal wear also helps them to enter the world of adulthood.  For some, this form of celebration will become a regular thing as they journey through life, for others though, this will be a special experience to be treasured by them and their family.  As a photographer and an ex-teacher secondary school teacher, Brian has become very conscious that some businesses see The Prom as a means of making a good income from vulnerable teenagers and their families.  However, he also recognises that it’s a great opportunity for local companies to display the quality of their services and products. This way, as they become independent adults, the teenagers will return to develop relationships with these businesses as they celebrate other family, business or social events throughout their lives. As a photographer who takes, prints and sells the prom photographs on the night, I have gained future bookings for weddings, family portraits, social events etc. 

I would hope that other businesses would see the Prom in such a way, by reducing their prices, offering first class service, offering free advice to prom organisers and hopefully making The Prom an event which everyone can enjoy. 

For more information about Brian Fisher, take a look at his web site www.shropshirephotographer.co.uk 

Or view his advertisement opposite this post.

 If you can think of anything you would like us to include – let us know at the end of this post.

Brian Fisher Photography… Prom business going great…resulting I believe from a quality product for a sensible low price. …

So if you are looking for prom business why not join us.  Contact jean@thepromorganiser.co.uk

If you're looking forward to your school prom, you're in the right place!

In case you're new around here, let me tell you about some of the things we talked about last academic year and what we have lined up for this year.

And I'll also tell you about our juicy monthly prize draw on Facebook.

Before that though, don't forget to download your FREE prom organiser e-book by clicking on the link at the top, or the button over there on the right or just by clicking here. You go ahead, I can wait.

So, what can you read right here, right now to get you up to speed on all things prom-tacular?

Posts for prom committee peeps

From whether you're the right kind of person to be on a prom committee to the nuts and bolts of what the people on a prom committee actually do, this is the section you need to read if you want to be right in the thick of organising your school prom.

See all the prom committee posts

Fundraising and finance for proms

Not the most fun or glamorous part I know, but still important. Find posts on prom budgets, cashflow and how to manage it all in the prom finance section.

Organising the prom

Once you've got the committee and money plans all sorted, it's time to think about your prom theme, key people like your prom photographer and how to entertain your prom guests.

Enjoying your school prom

Let's face it, there are some bits that you might be worried about, such as the whole getting a prom date thing. Well, we've already given ten romantic ways to ask someone to be your prom date, wondered whether you even need a prom date anyway and given some tips on how NOT to get a prom date. No doubt there will be more to come…

See all of the "Enjoying your prom" posts.

Looking fab for your prom

And how could we have a prom blog without advice on how to look your most gorgeous on the night?

One of our most popular posts is about choosing the best prom dress design for your body shape, and there is also one about rather fabulous corsage bracelets too.

That leads me rather neatly onto what's coming soon: the first will be a post about which colour suits you best, and I'll be doing a series on different prom themes to help you with some ideas.

Is there anything you want to know about? If you have a prom related question, simply drop me a line and let me know.

Facebook

We hang out on Facebook too, come and join us and you'll automatically be entered into a monthly prize draw for iTunes vouchers (or vouchers for something else if you don't have an iPod). Find us on Facebook here and click on "like" at the top – we'd love to get to know you.

And don't forget your e-book!

Happy new school year!

Em x

The Prom Organiser wordsmith

Why do we all do it? Because it's a great laugh, you get to take the pictures away and keep them forever afterwards, right? Imagine if you could do that whilst dressed up in your prom outfits. Even better, imagine that it has a background much more interesting than plain white, blue or grey – a backdrop designed to tie in with your prom theme even! Sound cool? Well, that's exactly what a rather brilliant company called Pergola Photo does: fun photo booths that you can have at your prom with decorated backdrops to go with your prom theme.

I interviewed the lovely Deborah who is the bright spark behind this idea to get the low-down on the Pergola "Fun booths" so you can learn all you need to know.

Prom Organiser: Your photo booths are a great idea – how do you sum up what you provide to people in a nutshell?

Deborah from Pergola: A Pergola "Fun Booth" is just like a passport photo booth but more luxurious, able to be decorated and using the latest state-of-the-art digital technology. The booth offers novel and lasting entertainment, quickly producing superb portraits that guests will enjoy and keep forever. The pictures provide happy memories and appealing souvenirs of their prom night.

Prom Organiser: Can the booths be decorated in any way by the prom committee?

Deborah from Pergola: Yes, but they should consult us first so they are fully aware of the specifications of the booth. We like to see a booth as a blank canvas, like a theatre set that can be decorated to match whichever prom theme they like.

The decor can be something simple or more exotic, a lavish beach hut with reeds and bamboo, butterflies and cockatiels, or the Taj Mahal booth design, to give a couple of examples.

Prom Organiser: Does a member of your company come to set everything up?

Deborah from Pergola: Yes, at least 2 people come to set it up and then stay for the rest of evening to help out.

Prom Organiser: How long does the setting up take?

Deborah from Pergola: This depends on where the Booth will be situated within a venue.  Usually a total of between 1 to 1 ½ hours but we like to allow two.

Prom Organiser: Do the booths replace traditional photographers?

Deborah from Pergola: We are entertainment – NOT photography. If a prom was strapped for cash they could be an alternative but the pictures produced are a very different style to the ones provided by professional photographers. The photo booth pictures are very informal and private.

Prom Organiser: Tell me about the wristpic bands (again, another brilliant idea!)

Deborah from Pergola: These are USB memory sticks on a wrist band. Guests can use them to take their pictures home to load onto Facebook. It's on a wristband because prom dresses don't come with pockets! They cost around £5.00 each.

Prom Organiser: What is the funniest picture you've seen taken in one of your booths?

Deborah from Pergola: Hmmm, I daren't say!  Some rather risqué pictures have been taken that we have been requested to delete afterwards.

Prom Organiser: Are the pictures stored over the evening so reprints can be ordered?

Deborah from Pergola: Yes, we keep the images for some time after the event.  We don't display them on the Internet as we respect the privacy of individual guests, however, a DVD containing all the images is sent to the Host/Organiser.

As for reprints, we have a unique feature called the Concierge Desk. The photo concierge desk produces reprints and enlargements on the night itself, so there's no waiting around afterwards. Typically these are 4" x 6" but we can do 6" x 9" enlargements if anyone wants them.

Prom Organiser: What can be done with the pictures afterwards (thinking about prom year books, personalised T-shirts etc – do you help with any of those?)

Deborah from Pergola: Absolutely! We have a section on our website dedicated to school year books for example, we can also do mugs, key fobs and all sorts of digital take-home items. There are loads of ideas on our website.

Prom Organiser: If a prom committee is interested in hiring a booth, how do they do this? What is the booking process? (i.e. call, deposit, payment before/after event?)

Deborah from Pergola: We like to talk to the prom organiser or prom committee representative first in order to get the full details, e.g. number of guests, timings, décor etc.  After which, I will send a confirmatory email giving prices and what they will get for their money. We require a 50% deposit with the balance being paid at least 4 weeks before the event.

So there you have it – what a great idea! Pergola Photo has loads of experience and have provided their booths to huge events and weddings as well as proms, so you don't have to worry about getting in touch. Have fun!