Want to know how you can host your own regency era ball? Below is my complete guide to throwing a regency-era ball even Jane Austen would love!
Have you ever imagined yourself in the ballroom of a Jane Austen film or book? I certainly have! Unfortunately, attending a large-scale regency event isn’t always an option. And in the words of our favorite Lizzy Bennet;
“Perhaps by and by I may observe that private balls are much pleasanter than public ones.”
As a devout Jane Austen and all things romantic fan, I am giving you all the tips and tricks you’ll need to dream, organise, and host your own regency era ball.
I’ll share with you everything I did when hosting my ball, including choosing location, time, decor, printables, food, costumes, games, dances, and photo inspo. I hope to inspire and help you as you plan your regency era ball.
This post is all about how to host a regency era ball which even Jane Austen would want to attend!
Hosting an Amazing Regency Era Ball
1. Where and When To Hold a Ball
Where:
In regency times very rarely did a home boast a dedicated ballroom. Instead when a ball was being held all the furniture would be removed from the main room and the carpets would be rolled away to make way for the party.
If you’re anything like me you don’t have a grand ballroom just waiting to be used in your house. But maybe you are fortunate enough to live in a historic home with a large room which you could clear for the occasion. That would be perfect!
I came across this lovely heritage building in my hometown. I hired the largest room as it had huge bay windows, a mantlepiece, and plenty of room to dance.
What to look for when choosing a venue:
- Plenty of space for dancing
- History essence
- Mantlepiece or/and bay windows
- Minimal decor
- Pretty exterior (if you want photos outside)
- High ceilings (if possible, these give a far grander and larger feeling to the space)
When:
Historically balls commonly began at 8 pm going through to the early hours of the morning.
I chose to book the room from 5:30-10 pm. This gave us time for half an hour each to set up and clean up, plus a whole ball in between.
It’s up to you how long you would like your ball to be.
2. Regency Decorations:
Historically the main decorations of a ball would have been the room’s natural features, mirrors, and candles for light. Because this is so minimalistic it makes decorating easy! no need for a massive balloon garland and elaborate streamers!
Candles were important as their source of light back then. If you want the authentic feel I would recommend candles as your staple decor.
Unfortunately due to my venue’s restrictions, I couldn’t use candles at the ball. Thankfully the room had a beautiful chandelier with soft lighting. So it felt perfectly fine without the candles.
Mirrors were also key back in the day, not only for their elegance but because they would bounce the candlelight around the room. Whether you are using candles or not mirrors are timeless and have many advantages to them.
Your guests will also need somewhere to sit throughout the night. We used a few vintage chairs, an armchair, and an antique-looking sofa we found at an op shop for cheap. Ideally, you would have seats you can use, but the next best option would be to hire them.
We used a lovely wooden guéridon trolley for our food and drinks, which was great for decoration and functionality. I also used a few small and medium coffee tables to give people places to put their drinks. This also made the sofa area feel more cozy with a ‘drawing room’ feel to it.
Lastly to add a few smaller details we bought antique books in baskets, cute plates, and flowers, to be placed around the room. This gave it a more decorated feel while still being simple to set up and down.
Key decoration components:
- Candles
- Mirrors
- Seating
- Small Tables
- Food & drinks table or trolley
- Books, Baskets, vases etc…
3. Invitations and Programs
It was a luxury back then to have your stationery printed by the local printer. Most invitations were carefully written using ink and quill and delivered by hand.
If you are a cursive pro this would be a very authentic way to do your invitations!
I didn’t have the time or skill to do this. Instead, I’ve created a printable invitation and evening program specifically for a regency era ball which you are welcome to use too!
I recommend printing on the highest-quality paper possible. For my programs, I actually had them printed on watercolor paper, which gave them a very expensive feel.
Invitations:
Make sure to send out your invitations as soon as you know when and where your ball is being held. No one’s going to want to miss this event!
For the link to my invitaions designed for a regency ball, check out my etsy listing.
Programs:
I love a program as it leaves no guesswork as to when things are happening, what’s to come, and most importantly…
They are great souvenirs for your guests!
I will explain more about all the events in the program I created in the following sections. Of course the games and events are completely up to you so edit the template to whatever you need.
Keep an eye out for these programs as they will be coming soon!
4. Menu:
To keep our budget as tight as possible we opted out of including any meal. Instead, we served refreshments such as Grapetise (sparkling grape juice), a few chocolate options, and grapes.
These were perfect finger treats to enjoy throughout the evening. Do keep in mind, that the ladies will likely be wearing gloves and therefore clean nibbles would be much appreciated by them I’m sure.
And don’t forget things like cutlery, glasses, napkins, and cute plates for serving.
5. Costumes:
Costumes are a massive component of your ball!
If you are keen to save money on these you’ll probably want to make or upcycle the costumes yourself. To do this the skills you’ll need are: some basic sewing knowledge and imagination! (and a bit of time.)
All of these costumes I either made from scratch or were upcycled. It was quite a mission but so rewarding to see everyone so confident and comfortable in their costumes.
I have plenty I could share on this topic! To read more about the details of each outfit, how much they cost and how they were made, read my post The 7 Best Jane Austen Costume Ideas You Can DIY.
6: Games & Activities:
If you’ve had a look at the program for the ball you’ll have seen we played a few games, presented performances and dances. This is the event itself!
Now is when everyone relaxes and begins to settle into this dream-like environment you’ve created.
Charades:
This is a classic that everyone knows and loves. By simply using a list of Regency-themed prompts the game fits perfectly with the theme.
We chose to play reverse charades. This means 1 person on the team takes turns guessing what the rest of the team is silently acting out. Reverse Charades is fantastic as it’s not one person feeling nervous about acting in front of everyone alone.
I’ve created a free PDF download of the prompts we used for this game.
Portrait Artist:
This was so fun and had us all in absolute fits of laughter! I’m afraid most of us weren’t as skilled as the “accomplished young women” of Jane’s books who could draw portraits so well.
What You’ll Need:
- paper
- pencils
- seat
- timer
How to Play:
- Every player should be given a pencil and enough paper to draw each guest. I would recommend devising A4s into quarters.
- Guests take turns posing in a chosen seat for the other guests to quickly sketch them.
- Set the timer for 3-5 minutes. The time will go faster.
- At the end of the timer, players take turns presenting their sketches to the model and rest of the group.
The Performances:
Gone are the days of sitting in the parlor after a smashing 4-course meal to be entertained with the pianoforte, duet, or perhaps a ballad.
As you may have noticed in my printable programs, we allocated time to what we called “Theatricals.”
This is not a necessity, however, does add an air of authenticity to the evening. All the guests had fair warning to prepare some short form of entertainment which was in fitting with the evening.
We enjoyed 2 piano pieces, a sermon inspired by the iconic ‘Mr. Collins”, a cello piece, 2 young ladies preform a few scenes from Pride and Prejudice, and a ballad.
Everyone truly proved themselves to be greatly accomplished!
7. Music & Dances:
The winning highlight of everyone’s evening of course were the dances. The traditional country dances are so different from what we see today, but such great fun to figure out! Almost like another game set to music.
When searching for music, I’d recommend making a playlist on whatever music service you use of scores from Jane Austen films and famous artists of that era.
More Inspiration:
I hope this post has inspired you to organise your own ball, whether that’s in the theme of Briderton, Victorian ball or indeed Jane Austen, I hope some of what I’ve shared can be a help to you.
Below I will include a few more of my favorite photos of the most delightful ball I have ever attended.
Wow – why wasn’t I invited to this event??? Looks amazing!