Planning a Student Ball

Planning a student ball is always a huge undertaking for anyone but for someone who has never even organised a simple dinner party it can be a daunting prospect and should not be undertaken lightly. To run a successful ball you will need to be focused, organised, decisive and forceful. Planning any student ball is hard work, stressful, frustrating as well as exceedingly time consuming. In addition to this, university tradition dictates that the majority of balls are placed just after exam time, so you have your revision to contend with as well. If all of this hasn’t put you off running a ball, go for it and do it with style!

The Committee
It is important to have help when planning a ball and willing helpers are the best ones! There are few benefits to being on the ball committee, very rarely does your budget stretch to free tickets, and as for the classic “it’ll look good on your CV” – I’m not sure ‘party planner extraordinaire’ will assist me in my quest to become a doctor, for instance.

A small army of helpers is necessary and each helper can have his or her own ‘section’ of the ball to investigate. There are some necessary responsibilities for individuals to take up, namely treasurer, sponsorship and chairman. The treasurer has the unenviable task of budgets and spreadsheets. He needs to liase with the union financial department who will be underwriting the entire expense, usually begrudgingly, and attend meetings in order to get the budget passed.

It is a good idea to have a few people dealing with sponsorship as this is a colossal task. These guys need to have broad shoulders and a very persuasive manner. Because this is a mission as opposed to a task, a section below has been devoted to tips for this. Finally the Chairman – this person needs to be good at delegating and at taking final responsibility for everything that happens.

Venue For a Ball
The first thing to do is to set the date of the ball and then choose the venue according to your date, which can be flexible.

There are many different and glamorous venues from which to host your ball and choosing one over another depends on a variety of factors, though the major one of these is money.

It is also important to remember the reason for the ball – a Christmas ball in a marquee with a beach theme may be seen by some a little unusual, a graduation ball in a venue too small to hold all the graduates is also a bad idea.

It is also important to think of practical issues when you visit a venue. Is it easy to get to and is it easy to get away from? Is there a separate place for a drinks reception, should you want one, Are there enough loos? A kitchen? Is there a dance floor?

A friend of mine recently went to a Christmas ball on a boat on the Thames – very promising she thought but then changed her mind when her brand new spike heels kept getting caught in the metal mesh flooring and the men also had trouble in getting down the nautical style stairs into the loos.

Hotels
These tend to be the best option for a formal occasion and often work out as the best value for money. Everything is already at the venue and many hotels offer ‘packages’ of drinks reception, 3 course meal with coffee and half a bottle of wine per person. If you are a little strapped for cash remember a buffet works out cheaper.

The downside to this is drinks prices – investigate bar prices first. Bringing in your own booze will result in a corkage charge but this is often negotiable with the hotel. Also, many hotels are not willing to decorate a room to a theme and this then falls to your responsibility – both putting up and removing the decorations.

It is also important to look out for any hidden extra costs – read the contract very closely and get union lawyers to look over it. It is not the ball committee’s responsibility to sign it and the finance director of the union has this honour.

Marquees
These are often used for summer balls on the university sports grounds and have the major bonus of outside space.

They are expensive but stay in situ for a few days and it is often possible to share the cost with another university and each have a ball on separate nights.

Decorations should last 2 nights and kitchens which need to be brought in separately may be a little cheaper. Some caterers will do a special deal if they are contracted to do both events.

You can bring in your union bar and so the drinks prices will be reasonable and the union will profit from this – remember to check the license though!

The great thing about marquees is that you have an outside space where you can have fireworks, fairground rides and food vans – it is such fun to eat crepes while crashing around in the dodgems. Again check the transport situation; it may be necessary to hire buses to move people around.

Other Venues
Check out what your university has to offer. Having a ball in the quad or refectory is a very easy and cheap option, though sometimes not the most exciting. An alternative venue, such as a club (not as formal) or dining hall e.g.: Somerset House can work out as very expensive – you are essentially paying for the name, and many have restrictions on hours and music volume.

Food
A buffet is cheaper than plated service, which is cheaper than silver service. Always have a vegetarian option available and ensure that you know special food requirements well in advance.

Budget
This needs to be done, and cleared, through the union incredibly early. Leave a contingency on the bottom of around 10% of the total cost of the event, to cover any hidden extras which always pop up. If you are savvy, you can use this to cover your ticket prices. Work with the union finance bods – they will help you and, despite their outward appearance, aren’t there to thwart you at every step. They just know that they are the ones signing the cheque. Be nice to them.

Contract
This is another area which involves close work with the union. Read it, check it, get it signed. Enough said.

Sponsorship
You want it, you need it and you are going to have to work jolly hard to get it. There are 3 ways in which it can come to you. The best is cold hard cash, the second is actually paying for something at the ball (such as the entertainment) and the last, and perhaps most useless way, is to give a raffle prize or freebies for the night.

Go for the cash if you can get it. Of course, when cheques are written you are obliged to feature them in a programme for the ball, the bigger the cheque, the bigger the advert – simple.

The sponsorship process goes like this:

List all possibilities for companies who might give you a little bit of money, be brave and list absolutely everybody.

Submit this list to the union and have it handed back with the majority of companies crossed out because they compete with union funded companies – eg: I cannot ask gyms for money as there is a union gym.

Find out names of people within the company to write to and send about a million letters off to all the companies. Make the letters relevant to the company – I once wrote to a very well known clothes company asking for sponsorship for a ball. I said that they had been asked because everyone at the university needed clothes and they did do a lovely range of ball dresses perfect for such an occasion. The result – a cheque, lovely, thank you very much.

Thank everybody for the cheques – very kind, I will be sure to ensure that everybody knows that your kitchen equipment is far superior to any other and those that refuse, ring up and charm the money out of them.

It is surprising how many companies do not realise the potential of advertising at a student ball and need to be reminded that we are a source of impressionable buyers. Make sure you do keep your promise of an advert in a programme.

Entertainment
It is possible to offer a two-tiered ticket scheme: one ticket to include dinner, the other to just be an after dinner ticket with entry after the meal is done. The advantage of this is that there is a cheaper option and also some hotels are able to accommodate a certain number of diners but with some table re-jigging can then admit further guests.

This is also great if the ball falls on a religious day or Saturday because the Sabbath is out by the time “after-dinner” starts. However, this does mean that you have to have super after-dinner entertainment. A band and a DJ are good starts.

The type of music is totally dependent on the evening but generally there are three types of band – tribute bands, original bands with their own songs and cover bands with a selection of classics from many artists. I have found cover bands to be the most popular; you may even find a student band at your university.

It is possible to book DJs through the union and they often work out as much cheaper than hiring one through an agency - very much cheaper. It is usual to provide the band and DJ with a hot meal and some drinks – make sure you budget for this.

The bands need to arrive before the event starts to set up and do sound checks – they may also need a PA system and lights provided if they do not have their own. This is another expense you may have to foot the bill for. Other indoor entertainments include casinos, arcade games, giant Scaletrix – some hotels will offer you a separate room for these at no extra cost. If you are lucky enough to have the space, gyroscopes, bucking broncos, fly walls etc. go down well.

Get a catalogue from any entertainment agency, choose what you want, and see where the best deal is. A company may even sponsor an entertainment – a certain herbal pick-me-up drink is always interested in the bucking bronco as good advertising. Fairground rides if you have the space are definite crowd pleasers.

Photographers are an excellent addition to a ball. They are often free and charge for the photographs. Some can turn the photos out by the end of the evening but many will drop them off to the union bar for collection the next day. It is advisable to have a photographer who is experienced at university balls.

Give him a corner and he’s happy and always in demand. I once caught a fresher at his first Christmas ball having a photograph done of him all dressed up and smart but all on his own – just for his Mum, how sweet!

Security
I always like to have my own security at the venue. Some hotels are not concerned, some like one security man per 50 guests. Again ask the union to use their security firm, this is the most reasonable and often these chaps know the students so know when and when not to intervene.

Personally, I much prefer being chucked out at the end of an evening by someone I actually know. These guys need at least half an hour at the venue prior to the event to check things out. If you are using wristbands (another sponsorship opportunity) this helps the security and stops stray people gatecrashing your ball. However, if you are the only event at the venue that night, they can be a little unnecessary.

Publicity & Ticket Sales
Make sure you publicise your ball – and do this early or people will make other plans. Posters, mail outs, lecture announcements and make sure it sounds as good as it will be. Ensure you let people know when and where the tickets will be sold., how much they will cost, who to make the cheque payable too and when the ball will be. When selling tickets for dinner have a table plan and ask diners to choose which table they wish to sit at.

This will then need to be typed out and put up at the venue. It is a good idea to display tables and their numbers but do another list of guests, listed alphabetically with their table numbers. Put a few of these around. Remember that you, the ball committee, do need to be there so make sure you don’t forget to get your own tickets!

Programmes
Programmes for balls usually include a plan of the evenings activities, a list of the ball committee – sometimes accompanied by a ‘we hope you enjoy yourself’ note and practical information such as bus routes home. The rest of this booklet is filled with the adverts from those ever so kind sponsors, it is vital not to omit this information.

Cloakroom
Most venues do not charge you for this and have specific cloakrooms for specific event rooms. It is, however, important to have one.

Day of the Ball
The ball committee are usually at the venue way before the actual event starts to supervise the setting out of the tables and the arrival of the entertainers, who need to set up. Count the tables, the one time I forgot to do this we were two tables short and the guests on tables 28 and 31 got terribly confused and asked me. I was convinced that they had had too much champagne, told them not to be ridiculous and marched off to find the missing tables. Not my most embarrassing moment, but definitely in the top 10!

Ensure the staging and dance floor are in the position you specified and make sure you have appropriate spaces for all your entertainers. Remember, also that you need a table near the entrance to collect tickets and, if necessary, to give people their wristbands.

Night of the Ball
You do need to remain sober for the first section of the evening. If anyone is making a speech it is important to make them feel welcome and look after them for the evening. You also need to make yourself known to the event co-ordinator for the venue, as the first point of contact should anything go wrong.

Remember that if things go wrong from your point of view, he is also your first point of contact and can perform magical tasks such as conjuring up 2 tables from the middle of no-where, and later on in the evening they are quite good at conjuring up drinks for a certain ball committee. That is a definite perk of the job.

You also need to look after the band and entertainment staff. Get to know the security men as well, they are very useful at the end of the night and depending on the security men, some girls may see this as a perk as well!

After the Ball
Many venues and caterers are paid in installments, a certain percentage at 3 monthly intervals and then the final lot in the fortnight following the event. This is to cover any extra costs that may be incurred. Watch out for these and check the bill thoroughly. A hotel once tried to charge a university for rooms which the students had already paid for.

So now the event has happened and you are basking in the glory of being the one who co-ordinated that glorious event. One of two thoughts will be echoing around your mind. The sensible ones among us will be thinking ‘never again’ but those who have the bug, who love every frustration and those who love parties in general will already be thinking towards the next one, forgetting the blood, sweat and tears and just planning the next extraordinary extravaganza.

This article was kindly written by Charity Koo a medical student who has been involved in the running of several student balls.