Behind The White Picket Fence

The Food

One of the inherent problems in being both photographer and hostess (and in this case make-up artist and stylist) is that it's hard to do them simultaneously. I did not get nearly as many pictures of the party details as I would have liked, by the time I got around to photographing the food table things had already been devoured. ( I'm not complaining, I like it when people like my food) I thought the dessert buffet was amazing, it was delicious and beautiful. I had to modify my original design when the party got moved inside because of the different table size, but I was happy with the result. I went with a white theme for the food; white chocolate brownies, white chocolate cookies, vanilla cupcakes, meringues, cake-pops, and at Dagny's request, rice krispie treats. It turned out to be monochromatic and I liked the way it looked. I spray painted some paper-mache letters as table decorations, used some leftover ribbon as a table runner, and I thought the effect was elegant but still fun.

The Backdrops

I had a vision of all the prom pictures being taken in our backyard in front of gorgeous ribbon backdrops. When it rained I thought we wouldn't be able to use my ribbons, but Steve knew how much time I had spent making them so he made it his job to come up with a way to use them indoors. (that was no easy task, one of them was 20' long) I was happy that we got to use them but they didn't have the same effect inside as they would have outside with light filtering through them. I'm still pretty proud of the way they turned out, I think they are beautiful. I used organza, tulle, and satin ribbon in varying widths in shades of silver and white. I tried various ways of hanging them on the rope and finally just decided to hand sew each ribbon on. ( there are easier and less time consuming ways to do something like this but I liked the very finished, polished look I got from sewing. If I did this for a more casual party I would just tie them) I cut all the ribbons into 6' lengths, then I laid them out in order and sewed away. I used invisible thread so I wouldn't have to be careful of my stitches, it took awhile but I was very pleased with the results.

The Props

I don't know who first came up with the idea of comic photo props, but I think they are genius. The props are fun and people love them. If you have ever tried to take pictures of a roomful of awkward teenagers you can see how props could be helpful. I made mustaches, lips, glasses, bow ties, ties, tiara's, a monocle, and a Brian Wilson beard. (which was everyone's favorite) Some of things I found templates for, others I freehanded but all of them were made out of my paper scrap stash. I cut the word PROM out of thick sparkle paper and I thought those made some of the best pictures of the night. I found some unpainted, wood frames at Michael's, spraypainted them silver and they were perfect size and weight for people to hold and frame themselves. I made a cute sign to explain the props and displayed them in French pails.

The Decorations

The decorations were the hardest to change from outdoor to indoor. I made enough tissue paper pom-pom's to cover every tree in both the front and backyard. (in case your wondering how many pom-pom's that is, it's a lot) I was going to cover the the tree's, porch ceiling, and top of the fence with balloons, pom's, and fairy lights. I'm not going to lie, it would have been magical. What I ended up doing was using about 1/4 of the pom's and some balloons and hung them from doorways and along one ceiling. I covered the floor with the rest of the balloons and didn't even bother trying to use the fairy lights. I had lots of help blowing up balloons (thanks, Dagny and Austin) but I was on my own for the pom-pom's, which are not difficult to make, only tedious. I made them way ahead of time so the day before the party I just fluffed them and hung them. (that was the one good things about the indoor party, we could do all the decorating the day before) Inside or out, balloons and tissue paper make good party decorations.

Bonus Pics -

The Morning After

Rainy, wet, cold, miserable...

I think that just about describes the weather on prom day.

That kind of weather is not a good thing for hair or outdoor parties. Both of which are a big deal on prom day. A good party planner always has a Plan B, and for me that meant moving the amazing outdoor party I had planned indoors. Plan B is never as good as Plan A, but you work with what you have. The loss of the outdoors was really only a big disappointment to me, I saw the party that could have been and I was a bit sad. Everyone at the party had no idea that it should have been anything other than what it was, and they thought it was awesome. Hooray for Plan B! The kids loved all the photo props and had an endless amount of fun playing with them. The food and decorations (which I will blog about separately) were admired and enjoyed, everyone had a great time, so in the end the rain didn't ruin anyone's prom. ( or hair )