Photos show what it's really like inside the Met Gala

The Met Gala is held at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.

The event is invite-only. The cost of a Met Gala ticket typically ranges from $30,000 to $75,000.

What actually goes on inside the event is kept under wraps until the night is over, as celebrities are prohibited from posting photos or videos from inside the event on social media, The New York Times reported.

However, officially released photos from past Met Galas offer a look at the decorations and atmosphere inside the event.

Last year's art installation featured a large sculpture of a moss-covered tree, inspired by the "Sleeping Beauties" theme.

The year before, guests were greeted by a spherical wall of crystals, which paid homage to the "Karl Lagerfeld: A Line Of Beauty" theme.

However, art installations in the Met's American Wing remain untouched and available for guests to view throughout the night.

It featured ambient purple lighting, white flowers, and large-scale light projections.

The decorations change from year to year. In 2023, they heavily featured red flowers and roses to honor the night's theme, "In America: An Anthology of Fashion."

The lighting created a canopy-like effect that reflected the ethereal "Sleeping Beauties" theme.

In 2023, the tables were decorated with white tablecloths, crystal goblets, bright-fuchsia floral centerpieces, and towering candelabras.

The event's guest list is meticulously curated by Vogue editor in chief Anna Wintour, but the actual seating chart is designed by Vogue contributing editor Eaddy Kiernan.

Vogue reported that making the seating chart takes months.

"We really try to think very carefully about who's sitting next to each other," Kiernan told Vogue. "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."

Vogue reported that Chef Kwame Onwuachi, the owner of Tatiana in Manhattan and Dōgon in Washington, DC, will prepare the Met Gala dinner this year.

In the photo above, Vanessa Hudgens, Lea Michele, Kerry Washington, and Paris Hilton can be seen dancing at the 2023 Met Gala.

The performer is a surprise each year. Past Met Gala performers have included superstars like Lizzo, Rihanna, Florence and the Machine, and Lady Gaga.

In 2024, Ariana Grande performed some of her biggest hits, "Once Upon a Dream" from Disney's "Sleeping Beauty," and a duet of "When You Believe" with her "Wicked" costar Cynthia Erivo.

Grammy winner Jon Batiste took to the floor alongside hired band members at the 2022 Met Gala.

Dancers dressed in 1920s-inspired costumes, inspired by the night's Gilded Age theme, also performed.

Some celebrities have even met their future flames at the exclusive event. Taylor Swift and Joe Alwyn, who dated for six years, reportedly met at the 2016 Met Gala.

"It's fun for meeting the five people you've always wanted to meet in your life," Marcus Wainwright, a cofounder of Rag & Bone who has attended multiple Met Galas, told The New York Times in 2016. "It gives you some sort of permission because you got in the front door."

This year, the Costume Institute's exhibition is titled "Superfine: Tailoring Black Style."

The exhibition is inspired by the 2009 book "Slaves to Fashion: Black Dandyism and the Styling of Black Diasporic Identity" by Monica L. Miller and will examine "the indelible style of Black dandies, from the 18th century through to the present day," Vogue reported.

The exhibit will open to the public on May 10 and run until October 26, 2025.