Saint Mary’s students will travel into a realm of charm and sophistication upon stepping into the Black and White Formal on Friday.
“Of course, the first place we looked was Pinterest for inspiration ... when we saw the black and white theme, everything looked so elegant and classy,” junior and planning committee president Emily Beam said. “We figured it would be easy to accomplish with a small budget and nice venue.”
The formal will take place right across the street from Saint Mary’s in the ballroom of the Hilton Garden Inn.
“Our formal takes place at the Hilton Garden Inn ballroom for safety reasons,” Beam said. “If we wanted to go anywhere off campus, we would have to arrange a bus service which all students would be required to take.”
Freshman Rose Stackhouse said she is looking forward to the location this year because it seems very convenient.
This year, the dances were split up into underclassmen and upperclassmen so that more people could attend. The expected attendance is around 800 people, consisting of only first and second years.
“It is sad we cannot have as many people because it is considered a fire hazard in the ballroom,” senior Joanna Collins said. “But there will always be more events that people can enjoy from Student Government Association and the Student’s Activities Board.”
At the dance, students can look forward to a wide variety of appetizer-based foods like mini-hot dogs, cupcakes and other finger foods.
“There will be caprese pipettes, bacon-wrapped Brussel sprouts with maple and sesame, buffalo chicken with brioche, chips and salsa, mini cupcakes and phyllo cups with strawberry, brie and honey,” Beam said.
There will also be a photo booth company there to provide pictures for the attendees to remember the night, Collins said.
Being the president of the planning committee, Beam said a lot goes into the actual planning of the night, so the committee is hoping everything goes well and that students should expect a night of fun.
“So much work goes into being on committee and it often goes unrecognized,” Beam said. “This include[s] security, venue, picking the date, picking the theme and balancing the budget.”
Music will be provided by a DJ group called the “Green Twins” which consists of two Notre Dame students — Ryan and Connor Green.
Stackhouse said that she is excited to attend the dance.
“I have never been to a college formal before, so I’m looking forward to seeing what it is all about,” she said.
