When Whit and crew decided to take me up on my offer to help with prom dinner, they all came over one Sunday afternoon to plan everything out by the pool.
I sat there with my laptop pulling pricing for different catering options while they debated ideas, made lists and checked them twice. It actually ended up being really collaborative and ensured the evening felt like their vision. (John and his friends were much more in the “just handle it for us” camp. 😂)
I mentioned in my last post that I reused as much as possible from my 50th birthday party, and I truly planned ahead hoping I could use it again for something exactly like this. It ended up being the perfect way to create a beautiful evening while still keeping the budget very reasonable for the kids.
We had 17 seated for dinner after photos, and they chose Maggiano’s catering along with cupcakes for dessert. I surprised them with a dirty soda bar, which ended up being one of the biggest hits of the night.
Earlier in the week, I had an empty frame sitting in my office staring at me, and suddenly it dawned on me to put it to use. I whipped up a quick graphic, sent it to Walgreens, and had it printed within the hour. We tied it onto the back gate, and it ended up being the perfect little welcome moment as guests arrived.
For the photo area, I reused the black sequin curtain backdrop from my birthday party, along with leftover balloons, and it worked perfectly with the black-and-white theme. When we designed this outdoor space, I truly had no idea how many milestones and happy things we’d celebrate here.
In the courtyard, we lined up our three folding tables end-to-end and dressed them with one tablecloth from my stash plus two rented linens. I reused the black sequin runners from my party and pulled the eight white chairs from the cabana, so we only needed to rent nine more.
I used julep cups from my collection filled with white flowers alongside my white LED lamps. Funny story… I had co-hosted a bridal shower the weekend before and basically babysat those flowers for seven full days hoping they’d survive until prom. Every single day I was trimming stems, changing water, soaking hydrangeas… honestly a full-time job. But somehow it worked, and they were still beautiful for the dinner. (In fact, many are still alive today….)
We already had leftover napkins and cutlery from previous entertaining, and I made and printed menus at home just for fun. I originally planned to use black bow plastic cups, but the weather was windy, and I knew they’d blow straight across the yard, so I pivoted to real glassware from my cabinets instead. Honestly, I think it elevated everything even more.
I also love filling those simple IKEA bottles with water and scattering them across the tables for gatherings like this. Altogether, it felt elegant, festive and polished for a group of teenagers heading to prom.
Off to the side, I set up a smaller table with cupcakes displayed on silver pedestal stands, along with a water dispenser and cups for the parents to enjoy during photos.
A true highlight of the evening was the dirty soda bar. I often use the buffet table from the porch as a serving station or bar setup, and had actually used it the weekend before for a bridal shower spritz bar. I wanted something similar for prom that still felt fun and festive but teen-friendly, and the dirty soda bar was absolutely the answer. I’ll share more details on that setup soon. I even reused the large poster I had printed for the bridal shower.
In the pool, I floated the white swan and oversized white balls I always use for parties, which tied everything together so well once the lights came on at dusk.
We’ve now used Maggiano’s Little Italy catering three or four times in recent years, and they truly do a fantastic job. They deliver, set everything up, and when it’s all said and done, it’s surprisingly affordable for a group this size. We had them arrange everything in the kitchen buffet-style, which made the flow of the evening really easy.
Another funny win… the balloons from the bridal shower the weekend before were still attached to the ceiling inside our entertaining spaces and somehow survived all the way through prom too.
The kids lingered around the table for hours under the twinkle lights as the sun set, talking and laughing through dinner. It really was picture perfect.
Once the parents headed out, Honey and I snuck into the living room so the kids could enjoy the evening without adults hovering, just like they would have if they’d gone to a restaurant.
And as for prom itself… they had a marvelous evening. Every photo I’ve seen since has been full of huge smiles and happy faces. Exactly what you hope for.
Sources
- LED Table Lamps
- Bow paper straws
- Photo Wall Supplies: Black curtain
- Balloons: white & black
- Ribbon: here | here | here | here
- Sequin runners
- Cake plates
- Forks
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