Your Triangle prom planning guide

It's almost that time of year - prom time! Here is a guide to help you plan!

When is Prom?

For most area high schools, it’s been three years since they’ve been able to hold a traditional prom. This year though, committees are choosing themes and securing venues, and students are shopping and making plans with their friend groups; it really feels like prom is going to happen in 2022.

Having missed so many milestones over the past couple of years, many students are embracing the opportunity and planning an epic prom experience with all of the fanfare! Addison Inman, a senior at Apex Friendship High School, and her friends are “doing the whole nine yards” for prom, her mom, Melissa, said.

Potentially, this year’s enthusiasm may mean it will be harder than usual to book prom extras like hired transportation, professional hair and makeup, and prom photographers. Even something simple like ordering a corsage or boutonniere could be more competitive than usual.

“I think this year everything will be over the top,” Preston Flowers and Gifts owner Barbara McKinnon said when asked about prom season.

Prom season in the Triangle spans all of April and May, with some schools like Heritage High School and Smithfield-Selma High School, holding prom the first weekend in April, while others like Chapel Hill High School and Apex Friendship High School are waiting until the end of May to hold their proms.

So far, it looks like the most popular weekend for prom in Triangle is April 29 and 30 with over 15 schools holding prom that weekend. If your school is one of them, definitely book everything early – dress or suit alterations, hair and makeup artists, transportation, dinner reservations, photographers, and flower orders.

To find out when neighboring schools are holding prom, how many other schools are holding prom on the same day as yours, or simply when your own prom is, see TriangleSeniorYear’s 2022 Prom Dates Infographic with prom dates for over 50 local high schools..

Where to Shop for Prom Dresses in the Triangle + Prom Hair and Makeup Tips

With prom less than a month away at some local schools, we are smack in the middle of prom-dress-shopping-season. Shop owners like Kristie Tart of Cousin Couture are pointing to trends like dresses with sequins and feathers in 2022. But among the six dress shops featured in in the TriangleSeniorYear.com blog last month, shoppers will be able to find any style and price point they’re looking for.

The featured shops include Cousin Couture in Fuquay Varina, Chique Prom in Raleigh, The Dress Boutique at Merle Norman in Burlington, Formalwear Outlet in Hillsborough, Jewels Formals in Smithfield and Savvi Prom in Raleigh. For store hours, size selection and store policies, as well as tips for a successful prom shopping trip, see the full post about shopping for prom dresses in the Triangle.

For prom-goers interested in having their hair and/or makeup done by a professional, Jenna Marra of Brushes and Brows in Clayton recommends students book their appointments early. She reminds students and parents that the spring is also wedding season, and that many couples had to delay their weddings from 2020 and 2021, making the 2022 season extra-busy.

Marra offers several great prom hair and makeup tips that don’t only apply to hiring a professional. She offers several tips for students choosing the DIY hair and makeup route too, including what to wear, how much time to allot to hair and makeup and how to find inspiration for your prom hair and makeup looks.

Back-Up Plan for Prom

Even though it seems like a traditional prom is getting the green light at most area high schools, the pandemic has thrown us a few curve balls in the past, so it’s not a bad idea to have a back-up plan for prom.

The classes of 2020 and 2021 can attest that throwing a DIY prom can still be a super special event. If you find yourself unable to attend a traditional prom this spring, plan your own prom event with your date or a group of friends. You can still choose a theme, decorate, dress up, take pictures, have dinner and even throw your own prom after-party!

Hopefully you won’t need them this year, but just in case, you can find these resources for throwing your own prom on TriangleSeniorYear.com:

• Ideas for Prom Themes
• How to Throw an Amazing Prom at Home
• Prom Templates for Invitations, Tickets, Signs and More

Julie Stallman is the mom of two and creator of TriangleSeniorYear.com where you can find more information about prom and everything else high school seniors need to know.