With prom coming up this Saturday, April 23, many upperclassmen and even some underclassmen at McIntosh have been getting all of their preparations in order. Many students end up spending lots of money on prom when it comes to other things besides the dance itself like transportation, dinner, outfits, and other commodities. Transportation is an important thing when it comes to how you will get to and from the dance especially since it’s in Atlanta. However, even with the golden tickets seniors receive by paying off their senior dues, prom can still be quite expensive.
MHS freshman Ava Cook said, “We’re spending $120 each for the limo so we all can have a part and the paying.” She said she was going and splitting the limo fees with seven people “they’re all seniors and I’m only a freshman.”
In reference to what form of transportation he is taking to prom, senior Adeola Batiste said, “A limo, because everyone wanted a limo.” When further questioned about the price he said, “$135 per person six ways.”
What to wear is an ongoing choice in high school when it comes to prom. Girls search months in advance to find the perfect dress and guys try and find the perfect tailored tux. Dress prices are no joke and a good tailor costs quite a bit.
Junior, Rachel Slepicka said, “For my dress itself, I got it originally for $25 then [spent] $40 on alterations.”
Cook paid some more and said, “I paid $596 so close to $600.”
Batiste said, “Nothing, it’s tailor-made in Africa.” Once clarifying the question Adeola said his mom’s friends were tailoring his outfit.
A trend is to get a cheaper outfit, or spend less on that, and work on finding discounts you can get whenever you can find them. Slepicka had a couple more discounts in the hair and makeup section. She said, “I’m doing my own makeup. I’m getting my hair done like getting it dyed and stuff, and then I’ll just style it the day of.”
After being asked about how much she may spend on her hair Slepicka said, “I think last time I got it done it was with a tip of around $100, but I have a major family discount because I get it done at my Aunt’s salon.” Plus with her accessories, Slepicka said, “I bought new jewelry, a new purse, which in total is probably about 30 dollars for accessories, and then makeup but I’ve yet to buy that.”
Cook’s accessories cost a bit more, she said, “I bought gloves, earrings, and a skirt to go under the dress, so that was like $230.”
Coming to dinner both Cook and Slepicka said their groups were paying for what they personally ate, however, Batiste said he was paying for both him and his date. In this case, Batiste said he was willing to spend $40, Cook said around the price of $30, and Slepika said no budget was on her radar because she was spending her father’s money.
The totals for each student differ, it mainly varies on how much money you have, what you want to buy, and how much you are willing to spend. Everyone decides to spend very differentiated amounts on different items and at the end of the day, the price has nothing to do with how much you have fun at the prom.
After being asked his total for everything he bought related to prom Batiste said, “Like 230, bucks 240, I had to buy my date a ticket.”