The Great Gatsby Prom Theme Planning Guide

It is officially 2026. We are roughly one hundred years removed from the actual Roaring Twenties, yet the allure of Jay Gatsby's mansion parties hasn't faded a bit.

In fact, it hit harder than ever. There is something about the excess, the glitter, and the slight edge of mystery that makes this theme the undisputed king of prom nights.

But let’s be real for a second. Everyone has seen a Gatsby party done wrong. You know the one—cheap plastic fedoras, sad streamers, and a playlist that doesn't match the vibe. That is not what we are doing here. We are aiming for West Egg opulence, not a budget costume party.

This guide is your committee's manifesto. We are breaking down exactly how to pull off a night that feels expensive, looks cinematic, and keeps people talking until graduation. We are talking about transforming a boring venue into a jazz age palace and curating a vibe that feels authentic to the era while still banging for a modern crowd.

Get your notebooks out.

Establishing the Visual Identity: The Palette

The first mistake committees make is thinking strictly in terms of yellow and black. That reads like a bumblebee, not a billionaire. The actual palette you need to create luxury involves texture as much as color.

You want Onyx Black, Champagne Gold, and Deep Emerald Green. If you want to add a fourth accent, go with a Metallic Silver or a deep Pearl White. Avoid bright yellow at all costs.

When you are sourcing materials, pay attention to the finish. Matte black tablecloths make gold centerpieces pop way more than shiny plastic tablecloths do.

The gold needs to be metallic or glittery, never flat. Emerald green works best in velvet textures—think drapes, photo backdrops, or lounge furniture covers. This specific combination triggers a psychological association with wealth and vintage glamour.

It sets the stage before anyone even walks through the door. For the graphics and signage, stick to sharp, geometric Art Deco patterns. The fan shape, sunbursts, and rigid vertical lines are your best friends here.

Venue Transformation and Layout Strategy

Unless your school has the budget to rent a literal historic ballroom, you are likely working with a hotel conference room, a local event hall, or the school gym. The challenge is hiding the modern architecture. In the 20s, everything was about verticality and grandeur. You need to draw the eye upward.

If you are in a gym with bleachers, do not just leave them there. You have to drape them. Renting pipe and drape systems in black or white is non-negotiable if you want to kill the "high school gym" vibe.

Lighting is the single most important factor in transforming a space. Overhead fluorescent lights are the enemy.

They need to be off. Instead, use uplighting around the perimeter of the room in amber or warm white. This washes the walls in a golden glow that mimics candlelight and vintage bulbs.

If you have the funds, a gobo light projecting Art Deco patterns onto the dance floor or the ceiling adds massive production value for a relatively low cost. Create zones within the room.

Gatsby parties were chaotic but they had pockets of intimacy. Set up a "lounge area" away from the speakers with rented vintage-style couches or even just high-top tables with intense centerpiece detailing.

The Invitation and Ticketing Hype

Your marketing starts the second the tickets go on sale. A digital flyer posted to Instagram Stories is fine for a reminder, but the initial invite needs to feel like a golden ticket.

Use heavy sans-serif fonts combined with intricate Art Deco display fonts. Names like "Metropolis" or "Park Lane" are good font choices to hunt down. The wording should be slightly formal but exciting. Instead of "Prom 2026," try "The West Egg Gala" or "A Little Party Never Killed Nobody."

For the actual tickets, physical keepsakes are making a comeback. A heavy cardstock ticket with gold foil stamping is something students will actually keep in their memory boxes. However, for entry management, you obviously want a digital QR code system.

The hack here is to have the physical ticket be the "souvenir" and the digital code be the entry pass.

Launch a teaser campaign on TikTok using strictly audio from the 2013 movie or electro-swing tracks. Show snippets of the planning process, like a pile of gold feathers or a sneak peek of the venue layout, to build anticipation.

Decor Details: Beyond Balloons

Standard latex balloon arches look cheap for this specific theme. If you must use balloons, they need to be organic garlands mixing varying sizes of black, chrome gold, and clear balloons filled with confetti. But try to look beyond latex.

Ostrich feathers are the holy grail of Gatsby decor. Tall, slender vases (Eiffel Tower vases are the industry term) filled with cascading white or black ostrich feathers scream 1920s flapper era. They are tall enough that they don't block conversation across the table but large enough to fill the visual space of a high-ceiling room.

String lights are another major asset. Draping strings of bistro lights or fairy lights across the ceiling lowers the visual ceiling height and makes the space feel more intimate.

For photo ops, you need specific set pieces. A 2D cutout of a yellow Rolls Royce is classic. A "Green Light" at the end of a dock setup is a deep cut that fans of the book will appreciate. Another massive win is a shimmering wall made of gold sequins. These "shimmer walls" move with the air and look incredible in Flash photography and TikTok videos.

The Dress Code and Fashion Guide

You cannot force students to dress a certain way, but you can heavily influence it through your promo material. If the committee members dress on-theme for the promo videos, the student body will follow suit. For this theme, encourage "Black Tie Creative." This gives guys the license to wear white tuxedo jackets (very Gatsby) or velvet blazers.

For the girls, it is all about beadwork, fringe, and headpieces. You want to steer people away from neon colors or floral prints, which clash with the Art Deco aesthetic.

Create a "Lookbook" on your class Instagram page. Post collages of outfit inspiration. Show how to accessorize a modern dress with 20s-inspired jewelry or hair waves. The more you visualize it for them, the more likely they are to show up looking like they belong in the Buchanan living room.

This creates a cohesive look for the event photos that makes the whole night look like a movie set.

The Playlist: Electro-Swing Meets Top 40

Music is tricky with a period theme. You cannot play 1920s jazz for four hours; the dance floor will be empty within twenty minutes. The solution is a strategic mix.

The first hour (dinner or arrival) should be strictly "Electro-Swing" or jazz covers of modern pop songs. Think of the style of Postmodern Jukebox. Hearing a jazz version of a Drake or Taylor Swift song is a fun easter egg that bridges the gap between the theme and modern taste.

Once the dance floor opens properly, you switch to high-energy modern hits, but you can still pepper in tracks that fit the vibe. "A Little Party Never Killed Nobody" by Fergie is mandatory. It is the anthem of this theme.

Hip-hop and Trap tracks with heavy brass or saxophone samples also fit the energy perfectly. Instruct your DJ to avoid country or slow acoustic pop unless it’s a specific slow dance set. The energy needs to be frantic, fast, and loud, mimicking the chaotic parties of the Jazz Age.

Menu and Mocktails

Food presentation matters more than the actual food. You could serve chicken nuggets, but if you serve them on silver platters with gold doilies, they fit the theme. Focus on "finger foods" and hors d'oeuvres rather than a heavy sit-down meal if possible. Sliders, mac and cheese bites, and stuffed mushrooms work well. The dessert table is where you can really flex.

Gold-dusted macarons, cake pops with pearl sprinkles, and chocolate-dipped strawberries look lavish.

For drinks, you need a "Prohibition Bar" (serving mocktails, obviously). Serve sparkling cider in plastic champagne flutes—the shape of the glass changes how people act. It makes them feel fancy.

Create signature drinks with names like " The Daisy," "The Old Sport," or "West Egg Fizz." A Shirley Temple with extra cherries fits right in. If you can rent a chocolate fountain, do it. It is excessive, messy, and exactly the kind of thing Gatsby would have had.

Budgeting Hacks for the Committee

Look, opulence is expensive. If your ticket sales aren't covering the cost of giant feather centerpieces, you need to get crafty. Instead of real ostrich feathers, which can cost a fortune, use pampas grass sprayed gold or make geometric centerpieces out of cardstock and gold spray paint. Spray paint is your savior. You can buy cheap glass vases from the dollar store, tape off Art Deco patterns, spray them gold, and put a tea light inside. It looks high-end in low light.

Another save is the photo booth. Professional booths are pricey. Instead, buy a ring light, a tablet stand, and a high-quality sequin backdrop.

Set up a free app that creates GIFs, and you have a DIY booth that creates content just as good as the rental companies. Spend your money on the DJ and the lighting. Those are the two things you cannot DIY. Bad sound and bright lights kill the party faster than cheap decor ever will.

The Final Check

Planning a Gatsby prom is about balancing history with hype. You are selling a fantasy of a time that was wild, dangerous, and incredibly stylish.

Every decision, from the font on the ticket to the color of the napkins, contributes to that fantasy. Don't let the stress of logistics kill the fun. When the doors open and the amber lights hit the sequins, and that first bass-heavy jazz track drops, you will know the effort was worth it.

Now go make some history.

Check out some of other theme ideas here.