The 10 Birthday Prom Essentials
A milestone birthday called for a fabulous birthday party without the fabulous high price this year. And what theme could be more fab than prom?! My close friend since middle school, Enna, and I threw a joint prom party in Hawaii. Since I was flying to Hawaii from San Francisco, I needed this party to still be awesome while on a budget.
Here are 10 essential prom-esque components that made it successful without the high price tag:
1. Venue - One of my best friends has a fun bungalow in Kahala by the beach. It’s spacious and somehow keeps the loud sound away from the street.
2. DJ - One of my homeboys, Jon C, kindly provided his DJ service to us. He has great taste in music and a good sense of humor to boot, and he’s always quick to help a sistah in need. If you need a DJ for your wedding in Hawaii, tell him I sent you. Jon C’s Tumblr / Twitter: @jon_ccc
3. Photo studio - You can’t have prom without prom pictures! Enna’s brother has a wedding videography company, Image Creations, and he was kind enough to set up a studio in the den. We had a backdrop and the whole shebang. To make it more fun, we made props like mustaches on sticks. www.imagecreationshawaii.com
4. Pillar - If you’re gonna have a prom pic session, it’s only necessary to have a pillar for your fun and cheesy posing needs. ATTCO, an event equipment company, rents them out in different sizes. We put that pillar to work! Not only was it used for pictures, but it had some play on the dance floor as a dance prop and even as a limbo stick. Don’t sleep on this component.
5. Corsages & boutonnières - These can be pricey, so I got some help from YouTube videos and my aunt to create homemade corsages. With fluffy ribbons, inexpensive flower bouquets (we used small carnations and a few roses), floral wire, and floral tape, it’s definitely achievable. Too bad I didn’t have this idea in high school!
6. Slideshow - During the weeks leading up to the party, I asked attendees to send me high school and/or prom photos. As soon as I flew into Hawaii, I dug up some old memorabilia at my parents’ house and scanned away. I used iPhoto to set up a slideshow on my laptop - which connected to a large HDTV screen - and looped the show throughout the night. (As a side note, I found a page in my Senior yearbook where my now-boyfriend signed. At the time I didn’t really know him except that he was in my middle school homeroom class and shared an English class with me!)
7. Party favors - For one of my actual high school proms we each received engraved souvenir champagne glasses. To play on that, I bought disposable champagne glasses and hot glued colorful sequins for the tacky “bedazzled” effect. Then I printed clear labels to memorialize the event with our theme “Forever Young” and the event date.
8. Prom King & Queen - My cousin, Mariah, created a lovely ballot box for us and embedded a princess crown on it for a royal touch. We passed around ballots for people to vote. Once the King and Queen were revealed, they were invited to the dance floor for the first dance.
9. Guest messages - We had a last minute idea to print out our Senior portraits, stick them in those black paper folders, and have guests sign their yearbook-like notes to us. 
10. Spiked punch - Need I say more?
