Love Prom

Continuing with our sage advice, we present to you, 10 things you should never do at prom (you’re welcome). Never… Take wild photos that you will regret. The internet does not forget anything, and your future employers know this. “Losing that 6-figure salary because I thought that photo at prom would be funny is awesome,” said no one, ever. Embarrass Your Friends or Your Date. Requires no explanation, but here’s a reminder anyway: Karma will get you. Worry if someone else is wearing the same prom dress. Once upon a time, a certain blog writer attended a certain prom wearing a certain dress – the exact same dress as at least seven other girls wore. No kidding. There is still video. The thing is, she looked amazing in the dress, and her date could not have cared less. So, now it’s referred to as the “Year of the black velvet dress with the white lace collar,” and we have a good laugh. The only people for whom it was permanently scarring are the people who would not allow themselves to get over it that night. Take a picture with your dress twins and MOVE on. Sit or stand on the […]

We took an informal poll recently and asked those who had been to prom for their top ten lists. We started with the top ten things you should never do before prom, and here is what they had to say: Get sunburned or tan. Not only is it just unhealthy, but unsightly tan lines can absolutely ruin the impression you could have made with your gorgeous prom dress, and peeling while wearing a tux is just a no. Now is not the time to try tanning in a salon or getting a spray tan, either. Anything you do differently with your skin can have unexpected, and often not attractive consequences. Get a new haircut right before prom. The day on which you will take some of your most enduring photos of your youth is not the one you want to remember because the stylist misheard “just take a little off the ends,” as “cut it all, this may be the end!” If you can afford to do a run-through, give yourself a few weeks, at least, and more if you’re experimenting with something more drastic. Or, save the totally new ‘do for after prom. Eat a big or exotic meal. Maybe […]

Apps are the perfect complement to pre- and post-prom party planning! There are so many out there designed to help you make the hard stuff easier. You will go through enough choosing your prom dress, getting your hair and makeup done, and keeping all the necessary details straight at prom. Why not make your associated partiers easier and more fun? Here are just a few of the thousands of apps available that could help you plan your pre-prom and after-party fun. Evite Create and send e-invites to your pre- and post-prom parties with apps like Evite. Online invitations are less expensive than printed versions, easier to manage in terms of sending and RSVP tracking, and are environmentally responsible. OpenTable If your prom is not a dinner event, use OpenTable to find someplace really cool to take your date before the big event. Alternatively, parents, use OpenTable to make a reservation at a restaurant where you can all kick back and relax knowing that most of your prom drama is over! Speaking of food, why not use an app to help with catering your pre-prom party or after party? Many restaurants have apps that fuel the catering side of their businesses, […]

The task of planning a memorable and brilliant prom has been made far less stressful through easy availability of free and low-cost apps. Keep your team organized, streamline tasks and get the latest ideas, all on your laptop, SmartPhone or mobile device. Following are a few apps we would recommend to make turn your prom planning nightmare into a total breeze. Project Management Software: At the heart of it, prom is just a big event with a few dozen moving parts. It’s a project, and there is software to help make it happen. Basecamp is an example of a web-based project management system that has a convenient app for planning anywhere. It’s affordable and easy to use. Assign tasks, monitor progress, share notes and files. You can scan documents like contracts and regulations for the whole team to share. Reminders are automatic, and if someone drops the ball, the team will know and can fix issues before they become major problems. It’s way easier than choosing the perfect prom dress or deciding what hairstyle to wear! Students, faculty and parents alike will appreciate how organized you are, too. Does your school use a file-sharing system like Google Docs or Office […]

There is an app for pretty much everything these days, so it makes sense that they could theoretically revolutionize the whole prom planning experience. We have searched far and wide for the best apps for prom and found so many that we find it necessary to create a series. To kick off that series, we begin with something fun – the best hair and makeup apps for prom. Prom hair and makeup apps fall into a handful of categories, each with their own special personalities and sometimes twisted results. These are some of the big names in mobile technology to help you design your prom look. Virtual Makeovers Not sure whether you should choose cool tones or warm earthy shades of makeup to complement your prom dress? Try a virtual makeover app. Some of the most popular include YouCam Makeup Magic, L’Oreal Makeup Genius and Sephora Makeup & Skincare. These apps allow you to try out different color combinations and finishes on photos of you so you don’t have to spend one whole evening applying and removing layer after layer of real makeup samples. With virtual makeovers you can feel free to go wild with any color combination imaginable, without […]

A question that comes up frequently when people seek advice about planning proms is should you invite or allow a student to act as DJ? There are pros and cons to offering this important role to a student, and you should consider both carefully before making a final decision. Pros On the pro side, inviting a talented student DJ to take the musical helm at your prom can be empowering. Perhaps you have access to someone who plans to make DJ’ing a career. Opening up an opportunity to do a high-profile event like a prom can help launch the future profession of a student who could go on to make a lucrative living by emceeing and providing the music for special events. Additionally, high school students are certainly some of the most gifted users of technology anywhere. You know if you can’t get something techy in a classroom working, the best thing to do is ask a student for help. There is no doubt that there are many high school students out there who have superior skills setting up and calibrating audio equipment who could be very useful to your prom committee. Student DJs are also most likely to be […]

Don’t you hate when your parents say the words, “worst-case scenario”? I mean, really. Who wants to focus on the worst-case anything? It’s far more fun to plan for the best and the good times. That said, the reason they give such warnings is, well, sometimes bad stuff does happen, and it really is best to be prepared. One prom situation that you rarely see discussed is what to do if you break up with your prom date just before prom? Ouch, right? There are a lot of issues that might arise is this unfortunate relationship issue catches up with you, from what to do with your gorgeous prom dress to who takes the financial hit. Some of these sticky situations might include: What should do if you share a big group of friends? Who do you spend time with? Do you have to make them choose between you and your ex? Sharing “custody” of your mutual friends is tough with or without prom, but it makes the prom especially complicated. One easy answer is no, you don’t have to make them choose between the two of you. You may have to negotiate when each of you will hang out […]

Social media has opened up our world to new possibilities – information at your fingertips, ideas galore, and videos that practically turn you into an expert hairstylist, cosmetologist or nuclear physicist (Disclaimer – clearly YouTube cannot really turn you into ANY of those things!). However, it has also created an unrealistic universe in which we are all held up to Pinterest and Insta-Perfect standards. The #nofilter movement maybe even makes it worse. At least before #nofilter we could blame the filters for making everyone else’s lives look perfect when we knew in our heart of hearts that ours were so not. Reality Check It’s time that we engage in one huge reality check. No one is perfect. No one has everything. While she may look great in her perfect prom dress, she might be insecure about her braces, or her dancing, or maybe her family’s finances. While he sprang for the most expensive limousine he could find, he might be struggling with graduating on time or his parents might be facing divorce. You simply can’t judge the perfection of a person’s life against pictures on an Insta account or the size of his or her promposal. Love without The Bells […]

While it’s true that the ladies and their epic prom dresses get a lot of the attention and focus leading up to the big day, guys are equally as important to the equation! And from the looks of the Facebook pages of men who attended their proms 20 and 30 years ago, the memories last just as long for men as they do for women. Nostalgia doesn’t discriminate. That said, don’t men deserve to have the best time, look their best, feel their best and be as prepared as much as women do? So, while these pampering tips might not have been on your radar before today, we highly recommend you consider them as you prepare for your amazing prom experience! Have a Facial We know teens can be plagued by acne and skin issues, so great skincare is one of the best ways you can possibly prepare for prom. Salons are no longer the exclusive territory of women – many feature a whole menu of options for guys too. And once you’ve been treated with kid gloves, you’ll be addicted for life. You can start with a dermatologist or at a reputable spa, just make sure you do so […]