Prom

Do you remember your first prom or formal? When I was a sophomore in high school, I was invited by the kicker on the football team to attend his Junior Prom.  My mother made my gown out of satin fabric with lilac flowers.  My date was just that, a date, not a boyfriend, but I remember it vividly. That tuxedo!  My flowers! Those curtains! Too funny.

We recently hosted a prom event at our home for our youngest daughter, who is a junior in high school.  Naturally it was on a Saturday evening, so Elisabeth and I got started early that morning to try and beat the heat.

We are so fortunate to have a rental company only a few miles away.  Party People delivered the tables, chairs, linens and dishes.

The flowers were purchased at Trader Joes. With relatively narrow tables, we made simple arrangements in glass jars.

The itinerary for the day included appointments for Elisabeth and her best friend, Ella to get their hair and makeup professionally done at Salon Estique.

Festivities began around 5:30 p.m. We also invited parents to come for cocktails, hors d’oeuvres and picture-taking.  Even though we had a professional photographer, so many of these candid shots came from other parents.

It was so delightful to see all the prom attendees dressed up in gowns, suits and tuxedos.  Here is Elisabeth walking in her very, very high heels (which stayed on her feet for about 15 minutes!).

Good, solid friendships are invaluable in high school. This group of 8 girls and 12 boys were happy to be going together~~some were couples, and some not.

Once again, Julie Greder and her team did an amazing job catering the cocktail hour and the sit-down dinner.  She makes entertaining SO easy.  The minute she walks in the door, I breathe a sigh of relief. With my husband out of town and my dear friend, Connie lending her capable helping hands, the event went without a hitch.

Even the weather cooperated and by the time dinner was ready to be served, the temperature in the orchard was perfect.

After dinner, a bus transported them to the prom event which was held at the Scottsdale Center for Performing Arts…. a relief to me that no one was driving that night. Later that evening, everyone returned for a post-prom party.

Many of the parents brought snacks for the after party and breakfast items for the next day. It was definitely a magical evening for me, so I can only hope that all the children and their parents enjoyed it as well.

We are a few days away from getting the professional photos but I couldn’t wait to share this with you.

Hopefully this post will make you reminisce about the proms or formals you attended!!

P.S. Did you know that the word prom is a shortened version of promenade?