Rhodes Ball 2014: The Ritz Blitz

Phew! After months of planning, more emails than I care to count (or think about), and hours of organization and crafts and assembly and setup, last night was the 2014 rendition of Rhodes House's annual Rhodes Ball. I was on the ball committee with some pretty amazing people, since I figured it'd be a fun way to get my personal streak of OCD out while taking on a new event planning challenge and meeting new friends in the Rhodes community. We settled on a roaring twenties theme for our "Ritz Blitz," and I helped handle decor organization/planning, which involved (among other things):

• Figuring out how many items we needed for each of our table centerpieces -- which taught me that it is possible to buy feathers in bulk, that Amazon really does sell everything, and that expenses for even small items add up very quickly

• Tracking down where to get a giant Eiffel Tower replica for a reasonable price

• Looking up vintage book covers/quotes when we (I mean, mostly I -- book nerd here) decided that each of the dinner tables would be a classic piece of literature written in the twenties, I admit probably one of the most fun parts of the entire shindig!

• Making a giant flashing light display for dinner, which read "Paris is a moveable feast" (source of the quote?: obvious, in my opinion, even though a few people asked -- HELLO look up your lit references)

• Crafting a giant pair of the eyes of Dr. T.J. Eckleburg, which did watch the dancers quite intently all night from the far end of the marquee/dance floor

• Brushing up on my twenties slang and purchasing vintage casino and alcohol advertisements

In short, I have learned that there is nothing too ridiculous for a Google search, and that working with other similarly organization-obsessed people can be great fun. I will also never take the design details of any party, social function, or event for granted ever again. Even the color of the art-deco wallpaper we used for the table runners took a lot of time!

And the ball itself? A roaring success, as I might put it, and one of the most memorable nights of my entire year at Oxford. We entered the speakeasy, sipped champagne and took photos with vintage cars, then were chased by the prohibition police inside for dinner, where we feasted in Parisian style, then swung back out to the dance floor when Mr. Gatsby (aka one of the Rhodes House porters) made his spectacular entrance, and then danced the rest of the night away. Here's me and a few of my friends in our ball-gown getup:

After cleaning up this morning, cross that one off the list! What a great way to mark my first ball at Oxford. (Even if Bill Clinton did not come... he had been in town along with Hillary to see Chelsea's Oxford graduation ceremony for her DPhil, and had been sighted by a few of my friends, but despite receiving an invitation from Rhodes House he decided to spend his evening doing other things, alas.)