Forget You’re in a Tent. Decorate Elegantly for Outdoor Events

Summertime means outdoor parties, barbecues, and bonfires. If you’re planning a summer wedding or a more elegant graduation party, maybe even an outdoor prom, you’re challenged with decorating in a tent. With the right decorations and the proper planning, you can make it so your guests completely forget that they’re in a tent! With a few tips and tricks, your decorations can be elegant enough to make your venue seem like an outdoor wonderland, not a party under a tent.

Table Settings Make a Difference Outdoors

If you have tables under your tent for your summer event, you’ll want to use them as a decorating tool. By covering your tables with a white cloth and a shimmery strip of gossamer as a table runner, you’ll create a light, airy feeling for your summer event. A centerpiece for your tables will play a huge role in creating an elegant event, also. Depending on your theme, you could choose a centerpiece that will fit with the theme. You could also simply choose an elegant centerpiece that will go with any theme, such as a candelabra. When the sun begins to set, switching to candlelight versus bright LED lights or no lights will make your event that much more elegant. Also, the candlelight reflecting off a shimmery gossamer fabric will create an interesting effect.

Don’t forget about the chairs that will go with your tables. Seeing just a simple folding chair doesn’t say elegance. You can use folding chairs for your event, but look into chair covers. You could just use a ribbon or you could use a complete chair cover and a ribbon.

Hide the Tent

As you’re preparing your decorations, try to find a way to disguise the tent you’re decorating. Try wrapping the tent poles with shimmery silver iridescent chiffon. If you decide to use candles when the sun sets, the candlelight will reflect off the chiffon. You could also station a bunch of balloons at each of the four corners of the tent, as a way to disguise the corner tent poles.

If you want to disguise the poles running along the top of the tent, try twining garlands and flowers around them. Or you could do a combination of chiffon, garlands, and flowers. Another good option is hanging decorations from those poles, such as an ivory floral topiary.

Remember, summer outings don’t have to be all fun and no elegance. Even if you’re using a tent for your event, the decorations and the table settings can help you create an elegant sure-to-be-remembered event. Centerpieces and chair covers are a way to help guests forget about the tent, but if you want to disguise the tent, shimmery, flowing fabrics are the way to go. As you plan your elegant summer event, choose fabrics and other decorations that will set your colors off perfectly—create an event that your guests will remember for a long time!

Keep the Royalty, but Make New Prom Court Traditions

Prom season is in full swing.  Unfortunately, the glitz and glamour of this special night frequently comes with drama and fighting among students.  The quest to become prom royalty often leads to poor behavior from teens in an effort to win a popularity contest.  This is one area where the beginning of new traditions could be a valuable tool in making your school’s prom more successful than ever.

This could be a great opportunity to help students learn real life skills that could help them when applying for colleges or jobs.  Instead of a popularity contest, select candidates based on pre-determined criteria and a series of interviews. Create challenges to encourage students to conduct themselves in a professional manner and develop marketable skills.  Get creative and think outside of the box!  There are a ton of fun and educational ways to make the quest for prom royalty a growing experience for young professionals.   This would be an especially great way to add practical skills to the resume of young people who often have a difficult time gaining experience. Encourage students to focus on education by setting a minimum GPA requirement for the candidates.  By mimicking the college application process you can start students thinking about the steps sooner rather than later.

Community service is a great way to build the resume of young people.  Set a minimum requirement for volunteer hours and have the candidates present an essay or multimedia project on their experiences.  This will help to build public speaking skills as well as help students learn how to put together a professional project.  Get the A/V department involved by taping speeches and interviews.  They can edit them and broadcast to the school.  Students can also learn great skills by creating quality video projects. Have students make practical, applicable plans on how they can solve a prominent social problem within the school.  Schedule debates during which candidates can present their plans and discuss social issues and potential resolutions in a constructive way.  By guiding the conversation and making it a positive discourse students will learn to be tolerant of opinions different than their own and to work through problems in a constructive way instead of arguing.

Social Media is more than just a way for teens to communicate with one another.  The development of this branch of marketing has opened vast opportunities for networking.  This is also an area where teens struggle with what information is appropriate to share.  Have them create accounts to spread their ideas and further their campaign using social media.  A short compilation of the data gained from their social media experience could be a great tool in college applications as well as applying for jobs and internships. This video is a great example of using technology to promote your candidates.  If you would like your prom’s campaign to take on a more professional feel, encourage students to be more serious.

Let’s re-write the meaning of prom and use this as a jumping off opportunity for a more positive and productive prom experience.  Our high quality prom court items will offer a fantastic reward for the winners of these coveted prizes.  Students will truly appreciate the meaning behind their crowns when they have had such a positive experience and put such hard work into earning them.  Reward their hard work by welcoming them with a walk down our luxurious red carpet.  Make them feel really special by going all out with our robes and royal scepters.  Our wide selection of tiaras and crowns will allow you to choose the perfect finish to your royal ceremony!

High End Favors in Demand for 2013 Proms

While a simple, plastic picture frame may have once sufficed for a prom favor, Stumps, a national prom and party supplier since 1926, has discovered that high-end favors are back in demand for 2013 proms.

From swag bags to personalized glassware, high schools are choosing high-end favors. Most want their prom guests to go home with more than just memories. These personalized, high-end favors are kept for lifetimes.

The most popular high-end prom favors for 2013 include:

Personalized Glassware

Vases and mugs donning the prom’s theme and year are common favors in 2013. Not only do they make for great centerpieces at the prom, but because they are glass, they have staying power long after the event is over.

Candles

Candles are also popular personalized favors. Like vases and mugs, candles work double-duty by providing a decoration at the prom and at home for months after the dance.  Both wax and gel candles are a very popular favor for 2013. Whether or not they are lit, they still make for an eye-catching favor.

Travel Mugs

Students love bringing their favorite lattes to class the week after the prom in their personalized travel mugs. They will remember the special night in the future each time they pull out their travel mug from prom. This high-end favor is popular because it’s made of plastic or stainless steel and less likely to break.

Swag Bags

Bags filled with different themed favors are some of the most popular in the country.  Swag Bags typically contain anywhere from three to ten favors. While some are simply candy and a picture frame, others are loaded with keepsakes like candles, sunglasses, mint tins, and key chains.  Many are personalized with the prom theme name or school picture.

 

About Stumps Party:

Since 1926, Stumps Party’s prom catalogs have been welcomed by teachers and prom committees in schools throughout the United States. Those catalogs are now online at StumpsParty.com. With more than 35,000 products, Stumps offers every item that schools need for this year’s prom. For prom decorations and favors, visit StumpsParty.com.