MPHS Prom Review

After much preparation and chaos, I made it to Miami Palmetto Senior High School's Prom of 2015...and I survived!

The day started off with coffee. And lots of it. I had stayed up the night before until 4 am driving around my friend because her prom dress never came in. This was absolute mayhem. thank goodness a friend of ours pulled through to let her borrow a dress. Then, I began getting my bag ready for the following day. One thing led to another and boom... it was 4 am.

Once I woke up and finished doing my laundry and getting my beach bag together, I went to my hair and makeup appointment. this was running late and they wrote my appointment down incorrectly causing us not to have a bug enough time block. Eeek! Thankfully my hair dresser, Olena, pulled through and gave my the waterfall braids and curls I was hoping for. Next, Sara did my makeup. This was the first time ever getting my makeup done. But it was so much fun! I had never worn fake eyelashes before and they felt like caterpillars on my eyelid but they were fun.

after this, it was straight to my house where my friend and I got ready together. Shoes, jewelry, lip gloss, clutch, mints. check! check! check! Before we knew it, the boys arrived in the limo with their parents.

from there, it was pictures, champagne, laughs, and nervous smiles. But everyone was enjoying themselves. the boys were looking dapper and the girls were looking classy.

Once we were done mingling, we got into the limo and were off. Our limo driver was crazy taking insane turns and awful driving but it was fun. I only spilled my drink on myself once. and the radio was old and crappy but oh well.

Then, we arrived at prom. The administration greeted us making sure that we had our tickets and IDs. As  we walked out of the elevator, ticket booths, nice decor, and jungle Island's lemurs and alligators greeted us too. I wanted to take a picture with the lemur but my boyfriend said no.. Oh well.

as we walked in, the music was soft so that people could mingle and everyone was walking around. We greeted our friends with everyone looking beautiful and handsome as ever. Next, the boys grabbed some food but said it was not good at all, so no one ate in the venue.

Music, dancing, cupid shuffles and jumping is what the dance floor consisted of. All the girl's feet hurt but it was worth it.

Overall, Prom was nothing spectacular but just a good time with friends.

At 11 o'clock, we all left to the hotel. On the way to dropping our friend off, our limo driver was trying to turn into her hotel. In this process, our driver hit a wall and dented the side of the limo along with scratching it. That is definitely one for the books.

The night went on, we went to our hotels and everyone fell asleep before we even thought about an after party. It was a night well spent that had us well spent.

We waited for our ride to pick us up at the beach the next day and laid out in the sun.

Many laughs lots of dancing, and lots of sleep to catch up on after that weekend. But the hurt feet and dark circles under our eyes were worth it.

How Low Can You Go?

When Dress shopping for Prom, many things are influencing and judging what you wear. But I say go against it.

Schools these days are becoming more and more strict on dress codes for the dresses girls can wear to their high school proms. They say that girls can't wear strapless, open back, low cut, cleavage showing, midriff, or too short dresses. But many times, the girls had no clue!

Some schools require the girls to send in pictures now so they can approve their dresses in advance. But here is where the big debate hits.

Who has the right to say what a girl can and cannot wear? Prom is expensive enough with the dress and the alterations. So much time and money goes into shopping and fittings, and hoping that that dress online -looks just as good in person. And now there is this?

Girls should have the right to wear whatever they desire. I know there are certain guidelines that should be in place yes; make sure your butt isn't hanging out and that I can't see your whole chest, yes I agree. Of course a school wants to be represented by classy young woman. But really? An open back?

It takes girls a lot to have the guts and courage to wear some of the dresses that are on the market today. Society today is always having the "Who wore it best?" idea in their head and these young girls are hoping they look good on their night to remember. Why would you limit them to their dress?

In my humble opinion, I find many of these rules to be ridiculous.

Who is going to go nuts if I can see a girl's back? It is just a back and a spine and some should blades. No big whoop.

Who cares if there are cut outs on their sides that show a little skin?

Who cares if they have a strapless dress that shows their nice collar bones?

I am pretty sure many of us don't.

These schools are too worried about they way they think we will look at each other in perverted ways. In reality, we don't do that as teenagers. We look at that girl and think she is beautiful. We love how the open back looks and thinks that other girl looks very classy with the strapless gown.

Girls, although you may not be able to go against your school guidelines, I challenge you to. Don't let them tell you what you can and cannot wear. Do what it takes to be able to wear your dress loud and proud.

Picture That

Before Prom, Everyone Takes the Usual "Prom Pic"

So make sure you get these photos! You will want to remember the night.

There are multiple photos you will want to take as the night begins. First, take the famous, corsage and Boutonniere picture.

This is when the girl pins the boys boutonniere on his lapel. However, there are also times when the mother pins it on too.  Always a cute photo.

It is also nice to get a photo of the guy giving his girl her corsage.


Up next, there are the famous date photos. Close ups, hand on hip, hand not on hip, in front of each other, side by side, clutch/ no clutch. You name it. Make sure to take plenty of these with your date. Gotta make sure it's Instagram worthy of course.

Group Photos! Everyone loves Group photos so make sure to take a variety with all your friends. Whether it's family, all girls, all boys, dates, friends, make sure to take multiple from different angles and different combinations so that everyone is happy. 

Make it a Night to Remember

Everyone wants their Prom night to be one for the books.

So, make sure you do everything in order to REMEMBER IT

We as teenagers always hear the usual, "Don't fall into peer pressure", "Make good choices", "If *insert name here* jumped off a bridge, would you do it too?".


Well Mom, if every other mother didn't use that line, would it have any purpose?
…probably not.

Anyways, prom is full of exciting things, people, parties, and fun. But there are many things you should watch out for.

When you go to prom, the night starts with the picture house. This picture house can often turn into the definition of "pre-gaming"

Pre-gaming, in simple terms, is partying before the party.

At the picture house, you may find hors d'oeuvres, finger foods, lots of frantic family members…and booze. From beer to champagne to wine, they all may be at the picture house. Now I'm not saying you have to stay away entirely, it's prom. Your parents are giving you alcohol to celebrate. So have some! Just know your limits.

So you go to the picture house, you go to the prom, have a good time, and now you're faced with
THE AFTER PARTY. What now?

We all know how these work; the big house, list you have to be on, big price tag, booze and short dresses all around. But be wary, because this is possibly the scariest part of the night.

Have a plan.

Go to the party with a friend and try to use the buddy system. Know your limit on drinking and make sure to "party responsibly". Keep your hand over your drink so that no one can put anything in it. -The simple stuff. Most people think because the party consists of people from your own school, that nothing will happen…well think again.

 Don't Forget! If you get a limo, you don't have to worry about driving home! or get an Uber

Your prom night is supposed to be one to remember. In that case, be careful, party responsibly, so that you CAN remember it.

Remember kids, when partying: Always stays classy, never trashy, and a little bit sassy.

Ka - Ching!

As we all know, Prom can be a very expensive day,

So, make sure to plan everything out so that you know how much your exactly spending on the big day.

Before anything else happens, there are the tickets. and usually when there is one, theres another. THis costs around 150$ together.

For starters, theres the dress/ tux. This can range between 150$ to 500$ or above and beyond if you're really risky.

Then, there are all the accessories. Socks, shoes, heels, jewelry, corsage, boutonniere, tie, etc. All of this can be another 100$ to 200$…or more.

Next, you have the post pre prom activities. You have makeup, hair, pictures, nails. This can call for up to 300$.

How are you going to get to prom? Or the after parties? Or dinner? There goes 400$ for a 10 hour limo service.

Once prom is all over, your after parties have come to an end, and you are ready to crash, it's most likely 3 AM and you're on South Beach in no mood to drive. This is where the hotel expense comes in. Now you drop another 200$.

If you don't account for any other expenses, this is what your total will come out to: 1,750$
Some of you may be freaking out at this point. We are all freaking out at this point. 
But don't forget there are short cuts. You can buy a dress from a friend, drive your self to prom, skip the hotel, or get a group of friends so you all chip in.

No matter how much money you spend at prom, make sure it's an enjoyable night. Because at the end, that's all that matters.

Now What?

You've just been asked to Prom...Now what?

Don't start freaking out yet, prom should be fun and exciting. Yes you have a lot of preperation to do, but it will all be worth it.

First thing to do? Get your outfit.

Dress Code

• Get your outfit! I can't stress it enough You may think that you can wait until the last minute to get your dress or suit, but think again. When it comes to getting your suit or dress, you need to do it right. 
• First make sure it follows the dress code. 
• Then get all of the tailoring you need such as hemming your dress or getting your suit fitted.
•  Then, accessorize. Get your shoes, socks, tie, and jewelry.

Ladies and gents, don't forget about your date. You need to get them a corsage/ boutonniere that will match their outfit. Plus, usually dates match up. If her dress is red, his tie should be red.

Once you get your outfit, everything will fall into place. Your hair and makeup appointments will now have more direction, your date will be able to complete their look, and you'll be relieved.

*Ladies- check to see if your school has a social media page to post dresses. many schools do this so that no one is wearing the same dress. Also, keep on the look out for the prom theme. This way you know what style dress to get. 

I'm Just Asking

When it comes to asking someone to be your date to prom, there are a lot of ways it can go. Some people say go big or go home, other people say to ask in a more private, intimate manner. However you may want to ask, figure it out and stick to it.

If you want to go BIG:

• Make sure you have your plan early. You don't want anyone to steal your thunder; or your girl.
• Get help. Ask his/her friends about your date-to-be's schedule and day that way you can coordinate accordingly.
• Make it so that they can't say no. For most girls, whenever they are asked in front of a big crowd with obvious signs of lots of hard work, they will almost always say yes.
• Have fun. It's okay if you get nervous, shaky, or red. It's normal. Just make sure you commit to the plan.

If you want to go Small:

• Like stated above, make your plan early and ask for help from friends.
• When you go private, you want to make it as cute as possible. Try to think of  a plan specific to that person.
• Some people make posters that have sayings related to their date's sport and go to their practice, others go to their homes and bring balloons or flowers.
• The key is to make it mushy gushy cute. When its an intimate promposal, you want to show the person that you know them and their interests.

Side-note: If you have been dating the person you want to prompose to, you can either go big or small. If you go big, they will be flattered that there is still spark in the relationship. If you go small, they will feel loved and cared for.

If you and your significant other don't feel you need to go the whole 9 yards to make a promposal, that is always fine as well. You have been dating so it is usually assumed that you two are going together.

Most importantly, when promposing to someone, have fun. Be goofy and crazy and don't be afraid to go out of your comfort zone. You only get one chance.