Prom!

Hello world!

It's PRAHHHHM season! I thought it would be a fun post to write, as I was a high school senior just last year, so it's fresh memory in my mind.

I was lucky enough to go to two proms during my senior year, and they were both great in different ways. The first one was the prom at the high school I attended at the time, and most of my closest friends were all girls, so it was very much a typical "get a million pictures with each other and drag our dates along, take a 15 minute limo ride to a place we could've driven to, and cry about our hair the whole time" kind of night haha. Looking back on it now, I enjoyed the typical-ness of the night, because it made me feel like I just did a rite of passage as a senior LOL.

The second prom was the with high school I went to for a year in my hometown. It was more fun for me because it was one big catch up with my closest guy friends from home, and I had already gone through the whole typical prom night of stress over things like pictures and flowers the week before haha. I found that I was way more relaxed because I wasn't worrying over all that stuff and how I looked so it was just automatically more fun. My "date" (WEIRDEST term haha) Imaad is one of my best friends so that also took lots of pressure off. I feel like going with a group of friends is more fun because it's so chill. Also, I did my own hair and makeup for the second prom and I liked it much better.

 I wore the same dress to both proms, and to be honest I wasn't in love with it, but it served it's job, and Imaad did such a wonderful job of matching his shiny silver suit to mine (bless him) so that was really nice for pictures hahahaha. Here's what we looked like:

The thing I learned most from going to two proms is that you'll always have more fun when you're just relaxing.
Overall, I enjoyed both nights, the second a little more than the first, and I'm glad I went :)
I know a lot of people stress over it and worry about their dress and hair and if they bought their date a nice corsage, but at the end of the day, it's just a party with fancy clothing,
and parties are for having fun!

//

ENJOY YOURSELF.

Prom isn't meant to be a night where you should be stressed out about shoes or hair or your date. It's a big party, a "rite of passage" in high school, something you mock and love at the same time. Some time from now, it'll just be a story you tell your university friends or your kids, so make sure your story is a good (or at least bareable) one, not one that starts with "ugh".

RELAX.

Your hair looks fine. Your dress is beautiful. It's okay if your date's shade of blue isn't the same. In the end, you're gonna look through all 437 pictures you took that night and you're only gonna choose one for your profile picture ;).

TRUST YOURSELF.
When I say this, I'm 100% talking about makeup/hair LOL.
If you can do your own makeup and the hairstyle you want on your own (provided you practiced a few times before!), save yourself that $30 hair appointment and just do it yourself. No one knows the look you envisioned for yourself the way you do. Alternatively, ask an aunt or cousin who you know can do your hair/makeup for you. Don't waste your money unless you absolutely need to.
I'm definitely speaking from experience, because at the first prom, I paid someone else to do my hair and I wasn't very pleased. When I did everything myself at the second prom, I felt a lot better about it!

BRING THE ESSENTIALS.

You bought a clutch for a reason! Here is a list of the things I think are important to have with you, and of course if you have room, feel free to bring more:

CELLPHONE: Of course! Not only is it always good to have with you for emergencies and to communicate if you're meeting up with people at a certain spot for pictures before prom, most people have smart phones now, which means it doubles as a camera! Obviously this doesn't replace the nice fancy camera to take pictures in a park or to take the high resolution group photos you want, but it's always fun to snap a quick selfie in your limo or inside the venue.
Similarly, if you have a small hand held camera, bring it! There's no harm in taking as many photos as possible, and you may bump into someone you didn't get a photo with before, so it's good to be prepared!

LIP PRODUCT: Whatever you put on your lips that night, whether it's a soft pink lip gloss, or a red lipstick, bring it with you. You're gonna have a long night, and you don't want to end up with faded red lipstick, especially after you've eaten. Chances are, you'll be taking pictures ALL night, even after the nice fancy ones, so be sure you have the ability to touch up every once in awhile.

MONEY/CHANGE: You don't need to bring your whole wallet obviously, and you shouldn't. But make sure you have some change or a few small bills just in case. If for some reason you need to take a cab because you don't have a designated driver or something, you should always be prepared.

HAIR TIES/BOBBY PINS: Be prepared for hair malfunctions! It could be windy outside when you're taking pictures, or your hair could be in your way when dancing, so you should definitely have a back-up plan. You didn't spend all that time for it to fall apart!

OPTIONAL:

EYELASH GLUE: Obviously this only applies if you wear fake lashes. I did, because I like to on fancy occasions. During the second prom, my lashes started to fall off. They had never done it before, so I thought nothing of it. After like, an hour of getting to the venue, they did LOL, and it took all my eye makeup with it. I felt so stupid haha, so if you plan on wearing fake lashes, do NOT make the same mistake as me! They come in such small tubes, so it's a good idea just to bring one along.

CONCEALER: Definitely not something you absolutely need, but if you happen to have that one really obvious dark scar left by a pimple or a red zit, it doesn't hurt just to dot a little concealer on right before pictures! If you have no room, it's definitely not needed, but you'll be taking a lot of pictures!

As you can see, everything fit, and there was still room for any other things you want to bring!

MOST OF ALL, have fun! It's a party, and one of the last times you'll be with your graduating class! Smile a lot, take tons of pictures, dance the night away (even if the DJ is terrible!), and enjoy it :)

Lots of love,
Rachel xxxx