5 Months Before Prom
- If you're looking to get into shape or tone up for prom, start exercising and eating healthy now.
3 Months Before Prom
- Decide on a budget and how much money you want to spend, and how much your parents are willing to contribute. Don't assume they'll just take care of everything. Here are some examples on what you may or may not be spending money on
- Dress
- Shoes
- Makeup
- Hair appointment
- Nails
- Prom tickets
- Dinner reservations
- Limo
- Boutonniere for your date
- Jewelry
- Sidenote: My Junior Prom was quite cheap for me. I had gotten my dress a year before when dresses went on sale post-prom, I got my shoes on sale, I did my own makeup, did my own hair, did my own nails, so all I really had to pay for was the limo, jewelry, tickets, and dinner. I didn't have a date so I didn't spend money on a boutonniere.
- Start saving money. Look for a job that you can get a lot of shifts from or do some extra chores and ask for a raise in your allowance if you have one.
- Shop for and buy your prom dress.
- Get your friends together and make a "foundation" of a prom group, even if not everyone has dates. Make a group on Facebook and add people as necessary. Making a Facebook group is super helpful, because you'll have a place where you can all discuss your plans and ask questions.
10 Weeks Before Prom
- Shop for accessories like jewelry, shoes, a bag.
- Start taking extra care of yourself.
- If you're growing out your hair or you want it to be extra-healthy, take Biotin supplements. Not only does it promote hair-growth, it helps grow your nails too, and it speeds up your metabolism, too. Also, trim your hair every 3-4 weeks.
- Start exfoliating your skin weekly, and start a good facial regimen if you haven't already. Treat yourself to a mask that suits your skin type every week or every other week, depending on the directions. Also, moisturize that skin!
2 Months Before Prom
- Get tickets for you and your date if you have one (if you don't, it's okay! Me and my friend went date-less and we had a hell of a night)
- Start looking at hair and makeup looks. If you're doing it yourself, you can look at tutorials and get to practicing! I made the mistake of not thinking about my makeup until the day of... It all went swimmingly, though. All was well. 2 months gives you plenty of time to experiment.
- If you're not DIYing your hair and makeup and nails, get ahead of the game and make appointments for the day of the big event. Get your nails done the day before prom so you don't have to worry about smudging them while you're putting on your dress or something.
- Make plans with your prom group for before and after prom. Some of these plans include:
- Dinner plans. For my Senior Ball, the dinner is going to be provided at the Ball, and for my Junior Prom we had to find a place to eat dinner.
- Limo. It's helpful to have a semi-solid number of people you know are in your group. If you're not quite sure, get a limo that will accommodate more people. Last year, my prom group got a Hummer Limo with zebra upholstery inside... Classy. A popular method of travel is a party bus, though. Way more spacious. In our Hummer Limo some of us would have to climb over each other to get to our seats. Not good when you have a short dress and a low cut neckline.
- After party--are you going to have a sleepover? Campout? Decide whose house you're going to, etc.
- Before prom pictures. Again, whose house is it going to be at? I know a group last year who went to a country club, which is a beautiful alternative if no one in your group has a backyard that can accommodate your group's needs.
- Discuss these plans with your parents so you don't throw them any curveballs come prom night. My parents were surprisingly liberal with my plans--big score for me. Don't be afraid to push the envelope. If they won't budge on a plan that you really were looking forward to--say like a co-ed sleepover--try to convince them by saying you wanna spend more time making memories with your prom group because your high school years are fleeting... Sniff, sniff.
1 Month Before Prom
- Make all the necessary changes to your prom dress. Have it lengthened or shortened, tailored to fit, etc.
- Start whitening your teeth if you want.
- Start breaking in your shoes by wearing them with thick socks and casually wear them around the house. They look super cute while you're vacuuming or cleaning your cat's litter box. Sexy. You can also break them in by wearing thick socks and aiming a hair dryer at them. Or walk dramatically up and down your driveway so the pavement will roughen up your soles a bit. It'll be like a catwalk for your neighborhood.
- Order a boutonniere from the local florist.
- Help your date out and come with him to try on tuxedos. You could do this sooner to avoid any rush, I really don't have much of a clue about helping out your date with stuff... No, I'm not bitter about not having a date last year... Not at all. Sniffle.
- Coordinate with your date and have his vest/tie/whatever match the color of your dress. Super cute.
- Keep practicing your hair/makeup looks if you're doing it yourself!
- Start tanning if you'd like. Good old fashioned sun tanning is the more natural way to go, just make sure to wear some SPF! If you're going the sun-exposure-free route and going spray tanning, remember to EXFOLIATE before so you don't get patchy! And work your way up to a darker shade so it doesn't look like you're suddenly a different race after a day.
- Start avoiding salty foods so you don't bloat.
2 Weeks Before Prom
- Finalize and verify your appointments and reservations with the limo and restaurant you're eating at.
- Introduce your date to your parents if they don't already know each other.
- Finalize your plans with your group.
- Put together some stuff that you'll be bringing with you to prom. I brought:
- Lip gloss
- Phone
- Flossers for after dinner
- A stick of gum or a few mints
- Tickets
- Cash or a credit card
- A compact mirror
- A sample of the perfume you're going to wear--Sephora gives free samples of the perfumes they carry, just ask!
1 Week Before Prom
- Get together with your girlfriends and have a de-stressing beauty day and bond. Have snacks, watch movies, do facials, all that stuff that you see in movies and on TV that never actually see in real life.
The Day Before Prom
- Get your nails did.
- Take your dress out of your closet and stare at it, grinning like an idiot.
The Night Before Prom
- Put an extra topcoat on your nails.
- Shave your legs. Treat yourself and buy a nice razor and use the thickest body cream you own to moisturize.
- Take a shower. You may or may not want to wash your hair, depending on when you washed it last. Slightly (emphasis on slightly, you don't wanna have greasy roots) dirty hair has better grip on curls and updos, so your style will last longer.
- Relax. Meditate or do yoga or something. Go for a walk. Just don't do anything that'll make you sore tomorrow.
- Get a lot of sleep. At least 8 hours. Make up for all that sleep you lost from the school year.
The Day of Prom
- You made it! You didn't die from any of the stress that you probably brought on yourself!
- Take another shower, you were probably sweating yesterday from all the nerves. Just kidding. But yeah, shower.
- Go to all your appointments if you made any.
- Make sure you wear a button up or a zip-up hoodie while you're getting ready so you don't have to pull anything over your head and ruin your hair or makeup.
- Pick up your date's boutonniere.
- Have a good lunch that won't make you bloat.
- Listen to some good music to relax and occasionally jump around while you get ready. Spontaneous flailing relieves stress and gets a funny reaction from your household pets.
- Drop your car off at wherever the after party is.
- Meet your date for a couple of pictures at your house or his. If he's picking you up, make sure you're the one who greets him at the door. Common etiquette.
- Make sure you get to wherever your prom pictures are being taken on time. You don't wanna be the diva that shows up late and keeps everyone waiting.
- Head out and have fun! All of the time you spent preparing for this is finally gonna pay off! You deserve this night of fun, don't stress about a damn thing.
Holy hell, I didn't realize this was going to be so long! I was planning to just do some bullet points and that's it, hopefully this annotated checklist is helpful and not as obnoxious as it looks...
