My son is going to prom.
Do you all have tips or advice to share?

What about dinner, do the kids eat before or after these days?

Corsage - how soon should we buy one? Best place to store it after purchase, freezer or refrigerator?
Should my son buy the boutonniere when he buys the corsage, or is this something his date buys? I understand tradition, but not sure what is standard nowadays.

What about pictures, is this a split cost or should he bring enough to purchase for both of them?

What are your thoughts on a limo? We're not planning on renting one, but I am interested in hearing your thoughts using them (pro or con)

Any way to keep the costs down?

Anything else I should be considering here?

Thanks!

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l/ l/ l/
Dont go through life,
GROW through life

Real eyes...realize...real lies.

My son went to one prom last Saturday night, and is going to his junior prom this coming Saturday.

The first one he went with a girl from another school, "just friends" as she needed a date and I work with her mother. He paid for his own ticket ($25), bought her a wrist corsage ($22.50) and paid for her dinner as well (around $40 for both of them). I guess I should say that I paid for this - not him, as he only works part-time. He has his own tux so we didn't have to rent one.

You should order the corsage at least one week in advance. The florists get really busy at prom time, with everyone wanting to pick up on the same day. We picked up his order around noon and put the box in the refrigerator until he left that evening. The girl should be getting a boutinnere for your son. You can go much cheaper on the corsage - just let them know what you want to spend. I think when he went to a dance last year we spent under $15 for the wrist corsage and it had two rosebuds in it. The one he ordered this year was from a different place and it had more "bling" - some jewels set in the flowers, sparkley crap all over it, etc.

They went out for dinner before. If they are going as friends, I think they should each pay their own dinner; if it is a date then I guess I am old fashioned but I think the boy should pay.

Pictures? No idea. They don't do that around here. I would assume each person would pay for their own picture order.

Limo - absolutely not. For a wedding - yes. For a high school prom - no way. My son is taking ye olde mini van.

This coming weekend he is going to his junior prom with a different girl, someone he is actually interested in dating. I am buying the tickets ($25 per couple), the wrist corsage ($22.50), and giving him $50 for dinner.

I think the girls have a more of an outlay than boys, what with the dress, shoes, hair, etc.

I'm just happy he is going, because he didn't want to go for the longest time and suddenly decided to ask this girl two weeks ago. I was afraid he would regret it if he didn't go when all his friends are going. So I am happy to pay for it, and I feel it's not an outrageous amount for a special night.

It totally depends on your area.
On Long Island everything is a big todo!
My daughter went to one prom here with a friend and so was able to skip the limo and lots of other costs.
Then she went to one in PA .... no limo because the driving age is lower, prom was 1/3 of the price ($35 each), afterprom was included and was amazing fun (at the high school all kinds of food, games, hypnotist, games of chance, etc.). She bought the flower for him (around $10) and he bought a wrist corsage for her. They did not go to dinner first because prom began rather early. No professional photographers were offered. Everyone just met up at one house and parents took pictures. She had the most amazing time.

Here on LI kids take limos or party buses, they don't do a dinner (again because prom starts early), the prom is at least $100 a ticket, and afterprom is not included but many kids take the limo to NYC to a comedy club or even rent a house or hotel rooms in the Hamptons or NJ and spend the weekend together. Horribly expensive and not something I would even allow my dd to do.

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We are in the same situation. DS is going in a couple of weeks with one of his best female friends. They went to ring dance together last year as well. Because he wasn't working then, I paid for the tickets, dinner, wrist corsage, and his share of the limo ($80). Since he already has a tux, we just had to rent a vest, tie, and cumberbund. This year he is paying for half of the attire, dinner, his share of the limo, and the flowers-I will pay for the tickets-his date will pay her portion of the limo. I really wish they didn't rent one, but they had such a good time last year. They picked a VERY expensive restaurant @the beach for dinner, against my advice. That is why he will be paying for that.

At my DD prom she will get pictures 1st, then they will eat, they have rented a limo for a few of them
but the boys are paying for it, and I dont know what they are doing after.
As far as flowers go last year I bought the boys flower and will do it this year I bought it the day of the prom and ordered it a few days before , and for the girls flowers I would ask her what she would prefer, holding flowers or having one on your wrist,or pinning it on her gown not everyone likes the
same thing.
Also tickets, pictures, my dd is splitting the cost but last year she just split the cost of pictures,
both of these kids work so they decided to split and make it affordable for both of them.

Tell him to have a great time ! I loved every prom I went to which was 4 of them

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RIP Chibby my chinchilla 10/02/09

DS1 took a friend of his friend's date to prom a few weeks ago. He paid for the prom ($85/couple, including dinner) and the wrist flower thing ($25) which he ordered a few days in advance. His "date" paid for the boutonniere (sp?).

They did not have pictures taken by the photographer because it was just a friend sort of thing and I don't think they really cared to have them.

The boys for each couple tipped the limo driver ($20-25/couple). I paid the limo for the 4 couples, just because I wanted to. It was $480 for 6 hours.

cj/

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I was walking home one night and a guy hammering on a roof called me a paranoid little weirdo. In morse code. -Emo Phillips

boutenierre / boutonierre

dl

edited to add: I had called a friend who owns a floral shop. In doing so, I turned the double n's into double r's when she told me. Here is what Merriam Webster provides:

boutonniere
One entry found.

boutonniere
Main Entry: bou·ton·niere
Pronunciation: ˌbü-tən-ˈir, ˌbü-tən-ˈyer
Function: noun
Etymology: French boutonnière buttonhole, from Middle French, from bouton button
Date: circa 1867
: a flower or bouquet worn in a buttonhole



boutonniere
One entry found.

boutonniere
Main Entry: bou·ton·niere
Pronunciation: ˌbü-tən-ˈir, ˌbü-tən-ˈyer
Function: noun
Etymology: French boutonnière buttonhole, from Middle French, from bouton button
Date: circa 1867
: a flower or bouquet worn in a buttonhole

dl

Incorrect information again, I wasn't really sure (hence the sp?), but actually I got lucky. My high school French didn't let me down.

No results found for boutenierre.
No results found for boutonierre.


bou·ton·niere
–noun a flower or small bouquet worn, usually by a man, in the buttonhole of a lapel.
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[Origin: 1875–80; < F boutonnière buttonhole (bouton button + -ière suffix for things that facilitate the use of that denoted by the stem < L -āria -ary]
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

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I was walking home one night and a guy hammering on a roof called me a paranoid little weirdo. In morse code. -Emo Phillips

My apologies for turning double letters around.

cl

Thank you for all the tips and avice! All that you have said have been SO helpful to me.

rose13, the prom your daughter attended in PA sounds like it was a lot of fun.

mitcham, linnybop, ddist and other parents that have children going to the prom: I hope they all have a fantastic time too

__________________
@@@
l/ l/ l/
Dont go through life,
GROW through life

Real eyes...realize...real lies.

Not always available, but if your ds's prom date could provide a swatch of her fabric for when he orders the corsage, he might be able to get a close match. Either that, or have the girl tell him exactly the name of the color before he orders (or let her do it, and he can come along and pay)

I am thinking way back to my prom days (don't have children that are prom-aged yet), but I remember some of the girls being so upset that the corsage didn't quite match their dresses. One girl was wearing a beautiful blush colored dress. Apparently her date called it "pink" to the florist, who in turn created a pink ribboned corsage. The date got so upset about it - she didn't even wear her corsage because of the "clashing"

I'm sure there are way better ways to fine tune these potential pitfalls nowadays! LOL

Hope he has a great time!

Give them a couple disposable cameras for pictures. Worked out well for my son's prom.

__________________
Laura
Please visit my blog
http://mylifeinlaurasworld.blogspot.com/

Excellent suggestion.

Thank you!

I LOVE this idea!

__________________
@@@
l/ l/ l/
Dont go through life,
GROW through life

Real eyes...realize...real lies.

Don't use a brand new (that you haven't practiced on alot) camera to take your child's prom pics. My mom did and other than the ones we bought we have only one pic from prom.

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I've never lied to you. I've always told you some version the of truth.

Oh heatherr, I'm sorry to hear that. That had to be disappointing.
I've had pretty good experiences with Kodak disposables.

__________________
@@@
l/ l/ l/
Dont go through life,
GROW through life

Real eyes...realize...real lies.

Thinking back to mine (been too long!), I would say if it was her prom and he didn't go to school there then she should pay for the tickets (that's what we did especially if the date was just a friend, if its a boyfriend they may pitch in more).

Again, as it was MY prom, I paid for the pictures and his flower. He bought mine. If prom has dinner (as mine did), then no need to go out to dinner ahead of time. My friends son' just went to his junior prom and they had dinner at one of their houses. The mom's made a really nice dinner and did the china and wine glasses( which they put ice tea in!) and they really enjoyed themselves.

Limo's - when we did it for senior prom, we split the cost by the number of couples going in the limo. So he could offer to pitch in. I really think its something that the couple needs to discuss. If they don't and he doesn't pay for anything, then she'll think he's cheap. If he at least offers then he could score brownie points!

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I was born free, but now I'm expensive!

Wow. Things sure have changed since I went to prom (20 years ago). I do remember how important it was that I have that "right" dress. Everything had to be perfect, my hair, my jewelry etc. I'm sure those things have not changed.

I remember-I was there! And you looked like Grace Kelly. Funny how the name is so fitting now-hahaha-love ya' girl! And BTW, it was 21 years ago....
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