1. The Red Carpet
Of course, the Met Gala wouldn’t be the Met Gala without dozens of celebrities modeling their most creative looks. First, guests walk the red carpet, and it’s always fascinating to see their unique take on certain themes. The live reactions from the fans on social media are just icing on the cake.
2. Tour of the Exhibition
After walking the red carpet, attendees usually go inside for a first look at the new exhibition. And this year, visitors will get a full tour of Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty, which was designed by the famous architect, Tadao Ando.
According to Mike Hartman, who worked as a server at the 2018 event, there’s usually a guide to walk them through the exhibit. He told Insider, "There are escorts guiding them along, but they're allowed to take their time." Another fun fact? The celebs also have access to "personal rooms," where they can change out of their elaborate ensembles or "do fix-ups" in the middle of the event.
3. Cocktail Hour
Wine makes everything better, right? While working the 2018 event (theme: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination), Hartman recalled the guests enjoying happy hour when they got inside. He said, “That year, they went to the Temple of Dendur first to have their cocktail party. I was not part of that team—it was probably about an hour or so."
4. Formal Black-Tie Dinner
After touring the exhibit and sipping a few drinks, the celebrities are seated for a formal dinner at the Petrie Court—and there’s a lot of preparation that goes into it, according to party planner Eaddy Kiernan.
She told Vogue, “We really try to think very carefully about who’s sitting next to each other. Our ideal pairing would maybe be two people who we think will just get on like a house on fire but who may not even realize that they have a lot in common. So, with each person, we really do take time to think, ‘What will they talk about?’ We try and think a lot about sight lines and where people have sat in the past. And we try to make sure someone isn’t staring into the eyes of a former flame.” Makes total sense.
5. Entertainment
Guests can expect to see at least one performance when they attend the Met Gala. (This tradition has been around since 2010.) Although we don’t know who is performing this year, past artists include Bruno Mars, Rihanna, Katy Perry and Justin Bieber.