Today, TOG student ambassador Jennifer is giving you an insight into the Oxford Balls:
The first ever ball I attended was the RAG ball. RAG is Oxford’s raising and giving society and they have many charitable initiatives. This ball was £120 pp and took place at the natural history museum in Oxford. There was an open bar as well as a LOT of food stalls ranging from freshly baked pizza (vegan options too) and curry as well as a lot of sweet and boozy treats. There was also incredible entertainment in the form of acrobatics and face painting as well as live music. All in all, a wonderful ball held in a beautiful venue. I wore a needle and thread black floor length dress which I bought from ASOS (a very good place to get black tie dresses, especially as they have student discount!)
The second ball I attended was the Law society ball £121 (one pound goes to charity); always a very popular one and you have to be very quick in balloting as it is first come first serve. The ball was held at the V&A which made it an unforgettable experience and truly unique. You do have to be a law society member to attend but the membership is very worth it as they have many networking events with free food and alcohol (more to come in a post on law society). There was a three course sit down dinner as well as many delicious canapes. Lots of free flowing alcohol as well of course. To this ball I wore a deep purple dress from Ghost (also another nice place for ball gowns; very good quality and have very timeless pieces meaning that you can wear the dress again and again and accessorise it differently). Ghost is more on the pricey side but a very good hack is to look for Ghost dresses on ASOS or John Lewis as they often have sales! This was hands down the best ball I have been to so far and there was lots of music and dancing which made it all the more enjoyable.
The third ball I attended was in Hilary term and it was another one held by law society! It was held at the banking hall in London. This ball had a ballpit as well as a photobooth and most importantly so much food! As well as a three course dinner and lots of alcohol including the most amazing cocktails, there were mini burgers, mini fish and chips, falafels and many sweet treats. One great thing about the Law soc ball is also that it is sponsored by Law firms and you get a goody bag with lots of stash and everyone got an Easter egg each! To this ball I wore a midi navy lace dress with a tulle skirt which was from ASOS.
Top tips:
Have fun and take friends! Try and go to these balls with your friends it will be much more fun that way but also make new friends!
Moderation- people can tend to get carried away at balls and normally there is an open bar which can lead to excessive drinking.
Take flats- heels look great for photos and are fine for walking around in for a bit but for dancing it’s a good idea to bring flats and also for the walk back to college as well.
The balls are expensive but a more affordable way is to work for half of the ball and get the other half free!