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. Tickets typically range from $30,000 for a single ticket to $275,000 for a table.

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 spherical wall of crystals, which paid homage to the "Karl Lagerfeld: A Line Of Beauty" theme.

The year before, a large spiral-staircase sculpture was erected in the middle of the room, inspired by the night's "In America: An Anthology of Fashion" theme.

However, the museum's 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."

Last year, 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."

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 Rihanna, Florence and the Machine, and Lady Gaga.

In 2023, Lizzo took to the Met Gala stage — and a table — to perform energetic hits like "Good as Hell" and "Truth Hurts" for the crowd of celebrity attendees.

It's not unusual for Met Gala performers to pull out all the stops to create a memorable number.

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 "Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion" and will feature about 250 items drawn from the Costume Institute's permanent collection, spanning 400 years of garment history, Vogue reported.

The exhibit will open to the public on May 10 and run until September 2, 2024.