Top Event Planning Trends — Hot in 2012

2012 Event Trends Revealed

What’s hot and what’s not this year in the event planning industry?  We asked top planners to share which event supplies and party supplies they feel are on fire in 2012.

Old World Vintage Events

As for popular decorations, Ana Skidmore of Two Foot Creative thinks, “the vintage look will still be around, but with a twist.”  Skidmore predicts a more elegant vintage look.  Rather than rustic, with “farms and old books and luggage,” events will probably show a more “old-world vintage.” 

This is a trend mostly seen in weddings, but what weddings start, proms soon follow.  Just think: your prom theme could be An Evening Under the Stars, but then you could give it a Victorian twist, with more antique colors, such as gray, ivory, and gold.

Favors that Promise to be Popular in 2012

Another popular trend is offering party favors that are edible.  Candy bars that are personalized with fun messages and names and personalized candy jars, lollipops, and mint tins are vogue in 2012.

Edible favors are sure to be popular at proms, dances, after-proms, and all sorts of other events this year.  Personalized candy jars are not only a fun way to add a creative decoration to your event, but are also great for keeping your attendees or guests from getting too hungry.  These personalized candy jars are sure to last a long time—the image you choose is printed directly onto the lids of the candy jar.  This could be a favor that is planning-committee-specific—only members of the event planning committee can take these as favors.

Another great idea for favors is personalized photo frames.  You could either choose frames with a personalized message on them or you could choose frames that your friends could sign and leave little notes on, thus adding to the memories from the evening.

 

 

More Hot Decorations for 2012

Choose a variety of backdrops for your prom that will work beautifully with the “old-world vintage” idea.  Rather than simply sticking with a starry backdrop, you could also use a backdrop covered in red roses or a backdrop of Victorian feathered masks.  Any of these, as well as many others, will work with grey, ivory, and gold for decorations.

After you’ve chosen the backdrop around which you’ll decorate, you can move on to colors.  As Skidmore said, grey, ivory, and gold will be popular during the “old-world vintage” trend.  This evokes a more elegant type of event, perfect for prom.  You could use gold fabric for table covers and then focus on ivory and grey as your accent colors. If you run into problems finding grey accents, try focusing on ivory and gold as your two main colors and adding small amounts of black to set off the elegance of the event.  Now, put your newly-learned skills to work and plan an elegant event to remember!

Host a Vintage Themed Prom for Retro Romance

A vintage-themed prom is perfect for mxing classic cool and old-school romance. Vintage is big in fashion right now, which makes it perfect for coordinating with beautiful prom gowns. Stumps Prom has a variety of retro themed prom supplies perfect for coordinating to create a vintage themed prom that’s just your style.

Create a backdrop for your event with the Manhattan At Night Photo Mural. The black and white photo creates an old-school look perfect for setting the mood. The mural measures 8’3” by 13’8” and is great for covering entire walls.

Our As Time Goes By Prom Kit is a great option for creating a complete package that can then be customized with accents for just the vintage look you want to create. The As Time Goes By Theme Prom features beautiful clocks and arches in a beautiful black and white color scheme. The Waltzing Couples Standees add an extra special touch.

We also have 1920’s, 1950’s and 1970’s theme kits if you want your vintage prom to fit with a specific decade.

Accent your prom focal point decorations with items such as old world 1920’s lampposts, top hats and bow tie borders, vintage 1920’s banners, and tons of drapes and swags made from gossamer decorating material. Keep decorations simple but full. Consulting encyclopedias and archives for an idea of specific vintage trends you’re interested in can really help you determine which color schemes and themes you want to capture. Great vintage color schemes include brown and orange, black and red, pink and black and black and brown. Keeping colors subtle such as black and white or sepia tones is another great idea.

Be sure to advise your DJ about your vintage theme in advance, asking him or her to find music to fit with your era. To tie the decorations into the music, place a Record Player Centerpiece on each table. They’re fun and retro!

After deciding on your decorations, choose a memory booklet to help students commemorate their beautiful prom night. For this theme a classic memory booklet placed inside a Top Hat Confetti Booklet Cover is a fantastic choice. Your booklet cover will be imprinted with your custom wording and the inside printed with your custom content.

Finally, top the theme off with a prom favor such as a classic glassware item custom imprinted with your event logo and slogan. For a fun door prize, give out disco ball key tags to tie in to the retro theme.

Check out all of our prom decorations and prom favors for more ideas on how to create your vintage themed prom!