With Prom comes a formal atmosphere. Girls are in formal dresses, boys are in formal tuxedos and tables are in formal settings. All of those forks and plates can be confusing and there can be some pressure to look like you know what you’re doing.

These tips will help you make it through table etiquette looking like a pro.

1. Take the napkin off of the table and unfold it until it is folded in half. The fold should be facing your stomach when the napkin is placed in your lap.
2. There should be a bread plate and a water glass at the upper corners of your plate. Your bread plate is on the left; your water glass is on the right. To remember this, you can curl your pointer fingers in towards your thumbs on both hands to make a lowercase “d” with your right hand and a lowercase “b” with your left. This is especially important for round tables because if one person reaches for the wrong bread plate or water glass, the entire table will be thrown off.
3. There will either be pads of butter in a bowl or some sort of pressed butter on a plate in the center of the table. The person sitting directly in front of the plate/bowl will take a pad of butter with their butter knife (the knife farthest to the right of the plate) and place it on their bread plate and pass the plate/bowl to their right. Each person is expected to take a pad of butter, even if they are not planning on using it.
4. If the butter is wrapped in paper, simply unwrap it, fold the paper up as small as possible and slip it underneath the bread plate. Trash should never be visible on the table cloth..
5. The bread plate serves for more than just bread and butter. If you use any utensil, it is considered dirty and should not be replaced on the table cloth. Instead, it should be set down on the bread plate. For example, if you use a spoon to put sugar in your water, the spoon cannot be put back down on the table cloth. It should be placed on the bread plate.
6. When the first course arrives, wait until everyone at the table has been served. Sometimes, a host will tell you when it is appropriate to begin eating, but usually waiting until the last person is served is appropriate.
7. Always use the utensils from the outside-in. The fork farthest left should be used first and the knife farthest right should be used first (typically, the farthest knife has already been used as the bread knife, so use the second in).
8. After you finish the first course, put your fork and knife across the center of the plate diagonally. This tells the server that it is fine to take your plate. If you’re just resting and planning on returning to this course, place your utensils on the outside rims of the plate. Remember: never put your used utensils back on the table cloth. The server will clear your utensils and your plate before bringing the next course.
9. The following courses will play out like the first. If you need a steak knife, the server will bring it with the steak. After the courses, the waiter will clear the table of everything but your dessert fork and water glass.
10. When everyone at the table has been served with their dessert, begin and enjoy. Place your fork back on the dessert place when you are finished.