Here’s how to Plan a Date Party Everyone Will Love
There’s something incredibly magical about dressing up, grabbing a partner, arriving at a beautiful venue, and spending the night dancing with people you love to songs you love. These are the pictures you find on your Snapchat memories that make you go, ‘Remember when..’!
Date parties/mixers can be incredible and a lot of them are great because of the preparations that happened weeks before the event. That venue that seemed beautiful, the props you took silly pictures with, and the music you loved were all part of the plan! If you are preparing for an upcoming date party, you’ve stopped by the right place. Here is a quick checklist to help you absolutely nail it. Use them to plan a fun date party everyone loves.
Figure out what has been done
Date parties can be anything. A typical date party has a venue, drinks, and music but that’s not how it always is! Date parties can be by a bonfire in the woods or at the beach or an 80s’ dance party at a roller skate rink. Ask around, look online, and figure out what your seniors or other young people in your area have done. This will help you understand what venue options you have, what people loved, what was a major letdown, and you can go from there. A little research never hurt anybody!
Get a headcount as soon as the date is final
A lot of venues (if you’re thinking of getting one) will have a limit on the number of people who can be present in a space, so this is very important. Make sure to account for members and their dates! We recommend rounding up 10-15 people just to be safe.
An easy way to do this is to create a short and sweet RSVP form. Add the date of the mixer/date party on the description and the deadline to fill out the form. Ask them their name, email, contact number, and if they’re coming.
Plan your venue months in advance
Formals, mixers, and date parties are planned by sorority Social Chairs. In your hunt for the venue, treat former Social Chairs from your chapter, or a different chapter at your schools as a resource for possible venue options. Have a few in mind, and once you get an accurate headcount of the people attending, you can refine your list of potential venues to fit within their rules regarding the number of people. In some college towns, popular venues book fast, so once you have a date on the books, contact the venue as soon as you can.
If it’s going to be outside, check the weather for the day and plan accordingly. More on that below!
Pick a theme early
As you're close to nailing your headcount and venue, you want to also get close to finalizing a theme. A date party without a theme is totally fine but a theme can add a lot of fun and character to it.
A great way to do a theme that’s unique but still fun for everyone is to remix an existing popular theme. For example, the popular theme ‘Dynamic Duos’ can be made more specific as, ‘Iconic Celebrity Duos’. Some themes are evergreen and work regardless of the year it is. For example, dressing up as a pop culture reference that lives in your head rent-free. Once you establish a theme, start thinking of the dress code.
Decide if it's a dry event or not
Some sororities offer a bar tab for members 21 and above. This would require extra budgeting as well as planning because, in this circumstance, those able to drink would need a wristband to show they have been granted permission by their sorority to drink at this event and use the bar tab.
Wristbands are a great way to organize this, and they can be purchased on Amazon or in person at stores like Party City.
Determine if you need to hire people and their services
A photographer? A DJ? Catering or a huge order from Chic-Fil-A? Lifeguard for a pool party? Nature guide for the woods?
Figure out who you need and start looking for people you can hire. It’s important you have all your people hired early as it affects your budget and you don’t have to scramble at the last minute.
Get the decor right with a specific task list
Based on your theme and how you’re envisioning the event - list out everything you’d need to get it all right. Nothing’s worse than an ‘Oh Shit!’ a day before the event!
For example: Let’s say you want a photobooth! Think: what do I need for an awesome photo booth? Tables, background flag, custom sunglasses, balloons - list out exactly what you need, decide who’s getting it and by when, and you're all set!
Create a collaborative playlist
Don’t have a DJ and Bryan from Econ is gonna play good music for ya'll? Include a question asking people to write down what their favorite dance music is on the RSVP form and hand it to him after review.
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! Either way, you’re making sure you’re playing songs people love.
Make it interesting
The date parties you’ll talk about years from now will be the ones that Social Chairs made sure you did. Aside from having a theme and a dress code you can do other smaller things to make it memorable. Here are 2 ideas we love:
- 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!
- Make merch. Merch that’s not just a shirt! Yeah, custom shirts with your theme on the back are fun but they’re definitely overdone. Consider making glasses with your theme on the side or a cute hat with your org letters and theme location embroidered! You can do bottles, cups, stickers, and more. Browse them all here.
Tell your attendees everything they need to know
Remember how you collected people’s contact information? It’s time we use it! Send out everything they’d need to know: The venue and theme, date, time, dress code, whether there will be alcohol, the food situation, the parking situation, the activities, the DJ (if she’s very cool) and anything else they’d need to know. There are many free and cheap mass text message tools out there that can do the job quickly and easily for you.
And that’s it! These tips should help you get started and will provide guidance within your sorority when it comes to planning the next event! Every house has a different approach to planning, but these five points will present a strong foundation for your next formal.