By: Summer Bixler

For most high school students, prom is a night filled with both fun and memories. It’s one of the most classic high school traditions that people look forward to throughout the whole school year. From picking out your look, to finding a place to eat and take pictures with your friends or date, there’s a lot of preparation involved with the event.

All of this preparation also comes with a lot of stress. “My least favorite part of prom is probably planning and getting everything timed out right, and making sure everyone is happy with the plans,” senior Evi Fromm said.

To avoid stress and enjoy the night as much as possible, it’s important to plan everything early and as in-depth, but it’s common to not know where to start. From hair and makeup to dinner and the dance itself, here’s a list of tips to make your night run more smoothly.

The Look

Start with your outfit. You want to make sure you decide on something that’s going to make you feel confident and comfortable with yourself, and focus less on the latest trend. I recommend looking for a dress at least two months in advance so you have time to explore your options before committing to a dress immediately.

Along with the dress comes hair, jewelry, shoes, and makeup. The outfit is the main point of your look, so choose accessories that will complement it and make it stand out. If you’re struggling to decide what you want, look up inspiration on apps such as Lemon8 or Pinterest, and find looks that stand out to you.

Finding your prom group can also influence your look. Many friend groups like to coordinate their outfits to make sure everything looks put together. Before deciding on your final look, talk to your group to make sure everyone is on the same page.

Pictures

After finalizing your look, it’s time to plan out the night. It’s very common for teenagers to get pictures with their groups and then get dinner before arriving at the dance. Pictures are one of the easiest parts of the night to plan, because you can take them wherever you want.

Popular places to get pictures are parks, churches, or even your house. With most of these places, you can show up whenever, so arrive about an hour and a half before you plan to go to dinner. Giving yourself a little more time for pictures will make everything less stressful, and make everyone feel less rushed and more comfortable in the pictures.

Dinner

When it comes to dinner, it’s important to start looking for restaurants at least a month in advance, due to the fact that reservations can fill up very quickly. Once again, it’s very important to discuss this with your group and make sure the restaurant you choose is suitable for everyone.