After hugely enjoying the Secret Cinema experiences of Star Wars and Moulin Rouge, I was super excited to finally have another one in my calendar – the Secret Bridgerton Ball!
Tim and I watched the show on Netflix when it first came out. While I’ve never been too familiar with the Regency era, I got very into the intrigue and scandal, not to mention the elegance and style of the setting. So when my friend Matty suggested we visit, I couldn’t say no!
Even though it’s not a firm favourite of mine like Moulin Rouge was, I knew that Secret Cinema (SC) would deliver an exceptional experience. Now, part of the experience is that the full details are kept under wraps, so this blog post won’t be spoilering anything major. But here are some spoiler-lite tips to help you get the most from your time at the ball.
1. GO!
The first thing to say is – it is absolutely worth a visit! If you like Bridgerton, you’ll be captivated. If you’re a Secret Cinema fan, I probably don’t need to tell you how good they are. There are still some tickets available for the Secret Bridgerton Ball.
2. Enrol at Lady Whistledown’s Finishing School.
Or in other words, register your attendance. This gives you access to a bunch of exciting information for the event, including dance videos, menus and more. You will also answer some questionnaires to give you your in-world identity, although this was less fleshed out than at the previous SC events I’ve attended.
It does give you styling tips dependent on the “family” you are sorted into: Rabbit, Cat, Stag or Fox. Unlike the Moulin Rouge event, there was no signifier to tie you into a specific plot, and there was no reason a Rabbit couldn’t dress like a Fox, if they preferred.
3. Watch the series.
I can’t tell you how exactly they screen the show. But if you go without having seen the full series, rest assured you will be spoilered for the plot… but not all of it. I’d definitely advise having finished it before going, rather than waiting to experience it for the first time there.
If you first watched it a while ago, it might be worth re-watching in the lead up, to remind yourself of the plot.
4. Get this dress from Asos.com (but accessorise it).
I tried one of the dresses from La Maison du Ton, but I didn’t love it, and struggled to find anything else suitably Regency that wasn’t over £100. Luckily, I came across this one on Asos (and if you search “pleated twist back cap sleeve maxi dress”, you’ll find it in a bunch more colours).
Fair warning – a LOT of the attendees wore the same dress. But you can style it up with your own accessories – I got a belt (no longer available) and the Cat pin from the Maison du Ton website, and bought my lace gloves and fan from Amazon.
5. Try on your full outfit ahead of time (and wear it for a little while).
This is partly to make sure you’re not missing anything, and partly to check for any issues. If I’d done this, I would have realised that my fan wasn’t the best quality, and would keep snagging on my lacy gloves. Maybe I’d have switched to satin gloves, or bought a better fan? Who knows – it was a real faff all throughout the Bridgerton Ball.
6. Don’t forget your dance card.
There is an official dance card on the La Maison du Ton website (which I bought), but you can also make your own on the Finishing School website – it doesn’t matter either way. But definitely don’t forget it! It adds a certain something to your outfit when you sling it around your wrist, and the tasks on the card provide a good starting point for throwing yourself into the festivities of the evening.
7. Look up some hair and makeup tutorials.
I watched this makeup tutorial and this hair tutorial ahead of the day. While I didn’t strictly follow their advice, I took inspiration from them, including buying a new Fenty Beauty Cheeks Out Freestyle Cream Blush in Crush on Cupid (much more Bridgerton than powder blush) and Rimmel London Stay Matte Liquid Lipstick in Blush (a better fit than my normal bright red). I even gave myself a beauty spot!
I ended up running out of time for an elaborate hair do, so I went for a simple plaited bun with flowers and soft curls around my face. Watching the tutorials definitely helped me get to the right sort of headspace.
8. Probably wear flats.
Chances are your dress is long. You’ll be on your feet a lot throughout the evening. There’s a bit of a walk from the tube station. Basically, in my opinion, heels wouldn’t have been worth it.
9. Take a watch.
A Regency pocket watch would be nice, but even if you just slip your regular watch into your bag, you’ll be grateful for it. A lot of the activities are timed, and it is very useful to have a way to keep track of the evening so you don’t neglect anything you’d be disappointed to miss.
10. Do a Covid test.
Our original date for the Secret Bridgerton Ball was in November, but it was pushed to February due to the pandemic. And they’re still taking Covid regs very seriously. You need to do a Covid test within 12 hours of the event, and submit your result on the gov.uk website.
And yes, they do check on the door. I personally would not want to be delayed because I didn’t submit the result or sent home over not doing the test.
11. Re-read the event info before you leave.
I really really REALLY wish I’d done this – it completely slipped my mind. Most importantly, read the “things to bring” section of the Lady Whistledown’s Finishing School website.
12. Order a job lot of keys.
Most significantly, BRING A KEY. Hell, bring twenty keys. But not your house key. You may not leave with it…
It may say that you could bring a secret instead, but keys are the real important ones.
13. Wrap up warm.
There are free lockers to store everything you don’t need for the evening – your coat, hat and scarf; flats if you decided to wear heels; even your handbag if you don’t feel like carrying it. You can also access the lockers at any point during the Bridgerton Ball (though you may find yourself too busy to bother).
14. Have a few drinks before hand.
The drinks aren’t exactly cheap. So have a glass of wine while you get ready, or a can of cocktail on the train. You’ll arrive feeling a little bit more prepared to step out of your comfort zone and immerse yourself in the event…
15. Get there by 17:30 (Sundays).
Or 19:00 on Tuesday-Friday, 14:30 for the Saturday matinee and 19:30 for Saturday evening. This is when the first BIG THING starts, so don’t miss it like we did.
16. Do the photo opp at the start.
However, despite arriving at the venue at 17:30, we decided to grab a photo at the photo spot just outside the proper entrance. Although this means that we did miss the first big thing, I’m really glad that we got some nice photos of us in our dresses with fresh hair and makeup, rather than waiting til the end.
17. Explore the whole area first.
There is a LOT to find here. There are multiple side rooms, and there’s actually quite a full calendar of activities – the times for which are well signposted around the event. Before you get any food or join in any activities – maybe before getting a drink, even – head into each of the rooms and get the lay of the land.
You could do it more organically, but you might find that you’ve missed out on something you were excited about.
18. Ask everyone questions.
If I could give one piece of advice, it would be this. Talk to everyone, and ask them tons of questions! And I don’t just mean the actors – talk to other attendees, ask them what they’ve done, where they’ve been, any cool things they’ve discovered. There is so much going on that it is easy to miss out on things, so get chatting.
19. Find the Lady Whistledowns.
There are three over the course of the evening. I think the third one is the most interesting… but I shan’t say more.
20. Seek out the actors.
Some of my favourite moments of the evening were my interactions with the actors – Phoebe, Eloise, one of the Featherington sisters, and of course the Queen! If in doubt of what to say, take inspiration from the TV show. You can congratulate them on any exciting news, share ideas or even spread rumours of your own!
21. Don’t miss the big moments in the ballroom.
There is a list of timings for the dances at the Secret Bridgerton Ball. Make sure you’re in the ballroom just before those for the dramatic elements. Initially I wasn’t sure about them, but they really added to the experience and I am very pleased that I didn’t miss any of them (other than the first, which we arrived too late for).
22. Be bold during the dances.
Many of the dance routines require a four, so if you’ve in a two then you might need to find another pair to get the full experience. Just throw yourself out there and ask the first people you see – they really won’t say no!
23. Choose your drink timings.
The best time to get a drink is immediately after a dance ends. This is because the dances often need use of hands, fans and flourishes, so you don’t really want to be holding a drink while on the dancefloor! Take the opportunity immediately after one dance ends to grab a beverage, and then go do your exploring. You should have enough time.
24. Eat smartly.
The above advice holds for getting food too: when you’re hungry, get your food straight after a dance ends, so you’re not trying to chow down on raclette while dancing the Rolling Roundel. The even smarter plan may be to eat before you arrive – the food is nice but not mind-blowing, so unless you’re starving, maybe give the food outlets a miss.
25. Don’t worry if you miss something.
There are a million things going on. I know I missed a lot of the cool things on offer, but that didn’t mean I was bored – I was just doing something else interesting! I don’t think it’s possible to do everything during the evening, so just focus on the exciting things you did manage to do and don’t fret about the many things you may have missed.
26. Take risks.
The more you put into this experience, the more you will get out of it. Go up on stage, say yes to strangers, draw attention, say unexpected things to characters… I did multiple things that I wouldn’t normally do, and I didn’t regret a single one of them.
27. If you want to go for gold…
Or should I say diamond? Well, although I didn’t make the cut, I sought some advice from Claire, one of the Diamonds of the Evening. Her best tip is simply to “get stuck in”. You will need a certain number of keys to even be eligible (no word on whether you can simply bring enough with you from home), so seek out the Dance Master when you think you have enough. And from there, just “have fun, chat to characters and have a go at everything”. She also hoped that her stunning dress might have caught the Queen’s eye, since she made it herself!
28. Grab your phone.
For what I believe is the first time ever, at the Secret Bridgerton Ball, you get your phone back before the end of the evening! Just wait for that finale scene from the TV show (you won’t miss it), and then spy out a crew member to unlock your phone case! Did you wonder how I’d managed to get my pics? In fact, I have even more, but I want you to discover some of it for yourself…
29. Prepare for the genre-shift for the afterparty.
I get it – Regency balls were the equivalent to modern nightclubs. But I wasn’t a fan when the modern pop music started playing. I took the opportunity to wander round with my phone, get some fun snaps and head off. But if you fancy bopping your heart out in Regency garb to Sweet Child O’ Mine, more power to you!
In conclusion, go to the Secret Bridgerton Ball!
There are still tickets available, and it is running until the end of March. Honestly, I’m kind of tempted to go again…
Have you attended the Secret Bridgerton Ball? What secrets did you discover?