Light the Way

Perfect lighting is key with a theme like Enchanted Forest, and there are multitudes of lighting options available. If candles are allowed, set up Black Forest Candle Stands around your venue. The metal leaves and clear beads are great for accentuating a walkway or illuminating an entrance. The candles give off a nice, softened glow.

What’s a forest without trees? These white lighted trees are seven feet high and will add dimension and beauty to your prom. They can serve not only as lighting, but as incredible scenery in the Enchanted Forest.

Table Decorations

After draping the tables in the gossamer color(s) of your choice, top half of them with the Ivory Decorative Birdcage Centerpiece. It has the look of a real birdcage and can hold either a tealight, votive or LED candle. Dress up the birdcage for your Enchanted Forest theme by adding greenery, flowers or miniature faux birds.

With the other half of the tables, top them in gossamer and then add the Black Forest Centerpiece. This metal candle holder is nearly 10 inches high and can be accessorized with moss or twig garland.

Photo Opportunities

While your Enchanted Forest prom is going to be breathtaking no matter where you look, it’s a good idea to have a focal point where people will want to take pictures. Use four chocolate luminescent square columns as the base for a gazebo. Top it with the gazebo metal topper and decorate with gossamer, ivy, garland and lights. Add color to the gazebo with elegant tissue butterflies, and you’ve got yourself a beautiful meeting place for prom goers who want the perfect backdrop for their pictures.

A Bit of Magic

No Enchanted Forest is complete without a touch of magic. These Fairy Berries will add sparkle to the event by flashing on and off, giving off the light of fireflies. They can be hung by the included hook or used in water.

Memories to Last a Lifetime

Don’t send your guests home empty handed! Since they will be so impressed with the Enchanted Forest theme, they will surely be taking lots of pictures. As a parting gift, give attendees this Enchanted Forest Mod Frame. Have it personalized so they will remember the night for a lifetime!

Vibrant hues of green are a must for a recreation of the Emerald City. Welcome people to the city with a spectacular Emerald City Grand Entrance. Its towering castle doors will stop traffic and make for a perfect photo opportunity.

It’s all about the atmosphere when it comes to creating the famous Emerald City. Take their breath away with the Emerald City Stairway Background. The illusion of stairs leading to the Wizard of Oz can be the focal point of your event. Perfect for pictures and hiding areas of your venue you don’t want seen, this 9-foot-3 tall and 14-feet wide background will make your Emerald City come to life!

Anything goes in the home of the Wizard of Oz, which is what makes it such a special and magical place. Add your own personal touch to the place with different colored lanterns hanging from the ceiling. They can add romantic lighting to the venue and pops of color to the Emerald City. Not everything was green in Oz, so don’t be afraid to step away from your core color.

Another way to add color is on the tables. Gold goes beautifully with green. Cover tables in white, but add sparkles of green and gold confetti for added flare. Don’t forget the importance of ruby red- the color of Dorothy’s famous slippers. Make your food and beverage tables stand out by covering them in a red glitter taffeta fabric. No one will miss the location of the refreshments with a beautiful table covering that will sparkle just like Dorothy’s unforgettable shoes.

Just because the music may be modern, doesn’t mean the dance floor has to take away from the Wizard of Oz theme. Designate your dance space by surrounding it with the very road that led Dorothy to the Emerald City- the yellow brick road. Use the yellow brick road walkway to surround the dance floor. The bright yellow will attract attendees to the best part of the event- the dancing.

Remember your favorite part of the Wizard of Oz? Make it a part of your event! Whether it was the yellow brick road, the rainbow Dorothy sang about, or even the beautiful poppies that put Dorothy and her friends to sleep, you can make it a part of your Wizard of Oz themed party. Go all out and purchase an entire Wizard of Oz Kit, and you’ll have an Emerald City that would make the Wizard himself proud!

Here's Stumps list of the top prom songs through the decades

Music is an important party of the high school prom. When a couple looks back at their prom night, the slow prom songs they danced to usually provide some of the most vibrant memories.

Stumps Prom has been America’s source for prom supplies since 1926. Over the decades, Stumps has compiled a list of the top prom songs of all-time. Click to listen to these top prom songs. See the prom songs list below to find out if your high school prom song made the list of the most popular ballads of that decade:

Top Prom Songs of the 1920′s
Rhapsody in Blue – George Gershwin
My Man – Fanny Brice
Makin’ Whoopee – Eddie Cantor
I Wanna Be Loved By You – Helen Kane
My Blue Heaven – Gene Austin
Moonlight and Roses – Whiting and Donaldson
Stardust – Hoagy Carmichael
Ain’t She Sweet – Annette Hanshaw
Among My Souvenirs – Nicholls and Leslie
I Can’t Give You Anything But Love – Blackbirds

Top Prom Songs of the 1930′s
Over the Rainbow – Judy Garland
Moonlight Serenade – Glenn Miller
Pennies From Heaven – Bing Crosby
Thanks for the Memory – Bob Hope
In The Mood – Glenn Miller
Mood Indigo – Duke Ellington
Sing, Sing, Sing – Benny Goodman
Cross Road Blues – Robert Johnson
Honeysuckle Rose – Fats Waller
God Bless America – Kate Smith

Top Prom Songs of the 1940′s
I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry – Hank Williams
Take the A Train – Duke Ellington
Lovesick Blues – Hank Williams
Sentimental Journey – Les Brown
You Made Me Love You – Harry James & His Orchestra
Adios – Xavier Cugat
Crusing Down the River – Frankie Carle & His Orchestra
Again – Doris Day
Some Enchanted Evening – Ezio Pinza
I’ve Got My Love to Keep Me Warm – Les Brown & His Orchestra

Top Prom Songs of the 1950′s
Love Me Tender – Elvis Presley
Earth Angel – Penguins
Teen Angel – Mark Dinning
Little Darlin’ – The Diamonds
Only You – The Platters
Whatever Will Be Will Be – Doris Day
Diana – Paul Anka
Put Your Head On My Shoulder – Paul Anka
Venus – Frankie Avalon
April Love – Pat Boone

Top Prom Songs of the 1960′s
I Got You Babe – Sonny & Cher
And I Love Her – Beatles
Theme From a Summer Place – Percy Faith
Unchained Melody – Righteous Brothers
To Sir With Love – Lulu
Will You Love Me Tomorrow – The Shirelles
My Way – Frank Sinatra
Young Girl – Gary Puckett & The Union Gap
He’s So Fine – The Chiffons
Happy Together – The Turtles

Top Prom Songs of the 1970′s
Baby I Love Your Way – Peter Frampton
I Go Crazy – Paul Davis
Always & Forever – Heatwave
I Wanna Make it With You – Bread
Colour My World – Chicago
Stairway to Heaven – Led Zeppelin
Wonderful Tonight – Eric Clapton
Dream On – Aerosmith
Do That To me One More Time – Captain & Tennille
Fooled Around & Fell In Love – Elvin Bishop

Top Prom Songs of the 1980′s
Every Breath You Take – The Police
Crazy For You – Madonna
Take My Breath Away – Berlin
I Want To Know What Love Is – Foreigner
Faithfully – Journey
The Rose – Bette Midler
Lady in Red – Chris de Burgh
Babe – Styx
Almost Paradise – Ann Wilson & Mike Reno
I’ve Had the Time of My Life – Bill Medley & Jennifer Warnes

Top Prom Songs of the 1990′s
My Heart Will Go On – Celine Dion
I Will Always Love You – Whitney Houston
I Don’t Wanna Miss a Thing – Aerosmith
I’ll Make Love to You – Boyz II Men
I Swear – All-4-One
Can’t Help Falling In Love – UB40
Everything I Do I Do it For You – Bryan Adams
Save the Best For Last – Vanessa Williams
One Sweet Day – Mariah Carey & Boyz II Men
More Than Words – Extreme

Top Prom Songs of the 2000′s
Shape of My Heart – Backstreet Boys
You Sang to Me – Marc Anthony
Take My Breath Away – Jessica Simpson
You and Me – Lifehouse
With You – Chris Brown
Here in Your Arms – Hello Goodbye
We Belong Together – Mariah Carey
A Moment Like This – Kelly Clarkson
Hero – Enrique Inglesias
Beautiful – Christine Aguileira

Listen to these top prom songs.
What song reminds you of your high school prom night?

Superheroes Theme
The movie industry produced several big box office superhero flicks in 2011 including: X-Men: First Class, The Green Hornet, Thor, Green Lantern, Captain America. Swoop in and save the day with a comic superhero theme for your Homecoming event this year. One scene these comics have in common is a cityscape. There are three great city scenes to create a superhero atmosphere including: Times Square theme kit, still of the night theme kit, and gangster gala theme kit. Another approach to pack a powerful punch into a superhero theme is by accenting with bright colors and cool lighting. There are plenty of props, balloons, and lighting effects to help you build the Homecoming adventure that you seek.

Glowing Galactic Space Theme
2011 marks the end of the space shuttle program but not the end of space exploration; celebrate this long era of U.S. space exploration with a cool galactic glowing blacklight explosion kit. Easily transform any room with glow star gossamer, blacklight panels and columns, as well as lots of glow necklaces and LED lights to generate a modern space age Homecoming motif.

Tiki Tropical Paradise Theme
Bring a touch of tropics to your Homecoming event with a tiki tropical paradise theme. Start the decorating off with an ornate tiki island kit to set the mood for your event. Add realistic tiki hut decorations to the mix with a tiki bar, LED candle, and a gossamer palm tree. Don’t forget the tiki lantern garland and tiki tabletop decorations to complete the theme!

80’s Flashback Theme
Turn back the clock and rock it out with the music of the 1980’s, not to mention the big hair, long shirts, leggings, and tall boots for both guys and gals. Start the head banging off with an explosion of colors, shapes, and patterns in the rockin’ eighties extravaganza kit. Decorate with mega signature 80’s colors such as yellow, turquoise, hot pink, and black.

Carnival Theme
Carnivals and amusement parks are invariably packed with thrilling rides, bold colors, flashing lights, and screaming teenagers. Recreate this wild and crazy experience with the carnival of lights kit for your Homecoming event. Give them a grand carnival entrance through a fun archway, and then add the bright glitter columns, along with the ferris wheel standee and the carousel horse to your bag of decorating tricks. Give the carnival guests a chance to divulge the future and snap a previously unforeseen picture behind the fortune teller photo stand in.

Swank Productions Specializes in Event Planning

Maya Kalman, award-winning event planner, CEO, and Founder of Swank Productions in New York casts an eagle’s eye to every detail.

With contagious enthusiasm, she bolsters brides, decorating committees, and event coordinators with encouragement. She knows limited budgets can squeeze options when decorating for events.  Committees often face decorating obstacles in large banquet facilities, yards, gymnasiums, and cafeterias.

Overcoming Event Decorating Obstacles With Focal Points

“I really like to create focal points within a room. You can work within your budget to accomplish this task. Think creatively. From the entrance, focus your guests’ eyes and attention to what you do want them to see. Tunnel them there.”

Decorating Essentials for Large Rooms & Venues

Kalman suggests using:

• Event Lights
• Fake Walls
• Fringe Curtains
• Fabrics
• Murals

“Turn off the lights by bleachers or lockers and drape fabric from the ceiling. With the help of fake walls, props, or fringe you can block off unsightly areas and steer guests to tables and other locations that you’ve creatively decorated. Make those areas especially interesting.”

Large Rooms with Decorating “Pop“

Event Backgrounds & Fabrics Create Fake Walls

Stumps Party sells large props, room setters, and other event decorations to help your committee decorate large event spaces.

With creativity, lighting, colors, and pop, your event will impress even the most discerning of guests.  Share your event decorating successes with us.  How did you overcome decorating obstacles in large venues?