6 Things To Remember When Planning An Unforgettable Sorority Formal

It’s the event of the semester. People are nonstop asking you if you have booked a venue yet. Do we have a sorority formal theme? Who can everyone bring to the formal? What about all the rules? And the classic -

“Can my boyfriend from another school come?!”. 

A million people are coming at you and you are feeling the pressure to make formal the best night of everyone’s life. 

Take a deep breath. I got your back. Here are six important things to keep in mind when planning this special night.

1. Budget 

The biggest thing when it comes to budget is to get input from your chapter to understand where everyone would like to allocate the budget. Some might want to prioritize good food, some might want coach buses compared to school buses. Long story short, make sure to base your budget on what your chapter wants. 

2. Venue 

People did not get all dressed up just for it to go unnoticed! Pick a venue that has several photo opportunities so there are plenty of Instagram-worthy shots. Something to look out for could be a rooftop venue or one with large mirrors for those infamous mirror selfies. 

3. Playlist

In order to make everyone happy with the music choices of the night, send out a Google form a couple of weeks in advance so everyone can make their song requests ahead of time and eventually create the most epic playlist catered to your sorority. 

You can even create a collaborative Spotify playlist. Just make one and share the link with your attendees so they can add their own songs and voila! You’re definitely playing songs people love.

4. Choosing a Theme 

Choose a theme that is vague and can go along with a lot of dresses that fit the style of the girls in your house. Go check out our blog posts on themes if you are in need of inspiration or browse our design gallery for a theme.

If you are really stuck, two themes that never fail are Vegas and the 1920s. Both these themes are simply glitz and glam which is what people already were looking to do!

5. Photos 

One thing that really stood out to a lot of chapters was having a photographer on site to get those candid moments on the dancefloor with your sisters. Another way to get some memorial shots could be a photo booth full of fun props for you and your date and friends to take some photos.

Another way to get great photos is to use disposable cameras! Scatter them throughout the venue when setting up, and leave them for the guests to use. When it’s time to clean up, save the cameras to get developed, and then you’ll have plenty of cute dispos from the party.

6. Dates

The best route to go when allowing certain dates is to be simply open to anyone. All members should be able to bring any special someone in their lives to make this night the best it can be. To make bringing guests an easy process, send out a form weeks in advance so people can say who they are bringing and avoid all confusion. You can combine this with your playlist form to keep it all in one place.

There you have it! After taking in these five components, your Formal planning should be smooth sailing from here on out. Happy planning!