Perfect Prom Send-off Invitations for Your Special High Schooler

Prom night is fast approaching and you want to plan an extra-special celebration to honor your high school student in style before the big event. If you’re planning a pre-prom party, you’ll need to let everyone know about it — and prom send-off invitations are the perfect option.

Here, we’ll share top tips on how to create the perfect prom send-off invitations along with some of our favorite designs for inspiration.

What Is a Prom Send-off?

While high school seniors (or juniors) look forward to celebrating prom night with friends, a prom send-off is an increasingly popular pre-game event before the official celebration. It’s often an extravagant party that aims to support students and encourage them to showcase their style, personality, and sense of self as they embark further on their journey into young adulthood.

A prom send-off party is where family members and friends gather to celebrate the student and their closest friends before their high school prom. This joyful trend comes from the heart of the Black community of Chicago, and it has been gaining popularity across the U.S. over the last decade. 

These parties typically take place at home, but you could also rent a party hall or book your high schooler’s favorite restaurant for the get-together instead. It all depends on your budget, how lavish you want the celebration to be, and how big your guest list is.

The prom send-off is a chance to wish your favorite student well, celebrate their hard work and achievements, and give them some good memories to look back on. Decorate with a prom banner, snap some photos in a photo booth, and host the best pre-prom night party ever!

How to Create the Best Prom Send-off Invitations

If you’re hosting a prom send-off, you’ll want a practical yet stylish way to tell everyone about it. Here’s how to create and send fabulous prom send-off invitations for your celebration.

1. Choose the Ideal Invite

Design: Nicole Winn

Invitation Inspiration: Let’s Celebrate Invitation

Naturally, you’ll want to choose a prom invitation or other customizable party invite that’s as unique, fun, and special as your high schooler. At Greenvelope, we have an incredible collection of party invitations that can be turned into prom send-off invites with just a few clicks.

There’s a design for every student and style — whether you’re looking for golden glamor and red carpet vibes or pastel confetti and ice-cream sprinkles. Turn any design into a prom send-off invite by changing the wording to make it your own.

We’re big fans of digital invitations, but you could also send a video invitation, use a printable invitation, or create celebration flyers if you’re hosting a bigger event or don’t need to know the number of attendees in advance.

2. Customize Your Prom Send-off Invitations

Design: Carrie ONeal

Invitation Inspiration: Arched Hat Announcement

Once you’ve found a design you love, it’s time to personalize it! Greenvelope’s online invites are easy to customize — even if it’s a different type of card (like the graduation announcement pictured above). Simply update the message to make the invitation template suit your taste. Play around with color combinations, adjust the fonts to create a new vibe, and add the guest of honor’s school logo or a photo. You can also ask our design team to work their magic for a completely bespoke invitation.

3. Include Your Send-off Party Details

Once you’re happy with the invite’s look and feel, it’s time to fill in all the key details — including the event’s date, time, and location. Let guests know if you’re providing refreshments, and share a dress code or suggested attire if there is one. If you’re using the pre-prom party as an opportunity to collect funds or gifts for the high schooler, you could also share a list of gift ideas on a registry link — or a link to a charity or nonprofit they’d like to support.

4. Gather Your Invite List

Your invite is all ready to go, so it’s time to gather your list of VIP guests and their contact details. With Greenvelope, it’s easy to build your invite list. Import contacts from a spreadsheet, from your email, or your Greenvelope address book. All you need is your guests’ names and email addresses or phone numbers. You can easily send them an email invite, text invitation, or both.

5. Send Your Prom Send-off Party Invitations

Once you finalize your invitation, confirm all the details, and build your must-have prom send-off party guest list, you’re ready to send it.

Use Greenvelope to schedule your party invites for a later date or click “send” as soon as your design is ready. Our platform makes it easy to manage RSVPs and track attendee responses so you can spend more of your time perfecting your pre-prom party plans.

Tips for Creating Your Prom Send-off Invitations

The best prom send-off invitations will match your party atmosphere and focus on celebrating the guest of honor. Here are a few extra DIY tips on creating memorable invitations.

Match the Prom Event Theme

Most senior prom nights have a theme, which can be a great way to come up with a look and feel for your prom send-off invitations. Whether it’s a starry night-style prom, a Paris-themed party, or a Hollywood-themed event, consider the unique styling elements and color schemes that can make planning and customizing your invites even easier.

Use Your Guest of Honor’s Favorite Colors

If there’s no specific prom theme or you don’t want one for your pre-prom party, consider using your student’s favorite colors as inspiration for your invitations or party flyers. Do they love bold, bright colors or do they prefer soft pastel tones? Would they love a rose gold foil effect, or a soft ocean-inspired gradient? Colors provide an excellent opportunity to set the tone before the prom.

Add a Photo

Design: Becky Nimoy Stationery

Invitation Inspiration: Sophisticated Glitter Invitation

While it’s not a must-have, adding a photo of the student can be a great way to make your prom send-off invitations feel even more special. Greenvelope offers a collection of photo invitations with a variety of designs to use for your prom send-off celebration — like the fun glitter invite above. 

Prom Send-off Invitations: 5 of Our Favorites 

With hundreds of party invitations to choose from, there’s something for every personality. And because they’re customizable, you can choose from birthday invitations or business gala invites and transform them into the ultimate prom send-off invitation. Use these fun party invitations to inspire you to create your own pre-prom party invites.

1. Confetti Burst Invitation

Design: Signature Greenvelope

Let everyone know there’s a big bash coming up with this colorful and cheerful confetti-themed invitation. While this is styled as a birthday invite, in a few clicks it becomes a bright and joyful prom send-off invite.

2. French Filigree Invitation

Design: Signature Greenvelope

For a hint of French glamor and style, this delicate invitation is a wonderful match. Use this for a Paris-themed pre-prom celebration, or simply because the guest of honor loves all things elegant.

3. Bold Palm Frond Invitation

Design: Keen Peachy

Hosting a luau-themed party before prom? This palm frond invitation is a great choice! It’s available in a handful of bright color options, or our design team can add your own color scheme if you prefer.

4. Masquerade Mask Invitation

Design: Claudia Owen

If you’re planning a masked pre-prom party, you can’t go wrong with this masquerade prom invitation. It’s the perfect themed invite for a big moment, with rich jewel colors and a luxurious gold foil effect.

5. Disco Night Invitation

Design: Signature Greenvelope

Invite the student’s friends to share a few songs with you before they dance the night away at prom with this disco-inspired invitation. It’s styled as a 30th birthday invitation here, but with a click or two it’s perfect for a prom send-off party.

Party Together with These Prom Send-off Invitation Ideas

A prom send-off party is the perfect way to celebrate and support the guest of honor before the big night. Use this guide to help you create the ultimate prom send-off invitations.

If you’re looking for an invite that’s as unique and special as your high school student, you’ll love our collection of party invitations that come in a variety of themes. In just moments you can turn any invite into the ideal pre-prom party invite for your favorite student who deserves a fantastic send-off!