Senior Prom '00

Senior Prom. You might say.. "Gee! it's way too early to be thinking about PROM! but you never know.. the clock's tickin'.. and the time is right to start thinking.. planning.. Guys, there's some advice for u (never fear).. and girls, there's some ideas that you might find useful. this message is for Lynbrookians esp..: what do you think of the theme: Everything i do, i do it for you? by Brandy? i think that would be the BOMB prom theme.

First of all, guys.. the most important thing is in the asking.. compiled by some friends, there are some things that you should know:
1) you should always ask in person (please don't do it online. it's so impersonal and you never know if the person is joking...)
2) never make it sound like you are doing this because someone's making you or because it's a dare.
3) Never make bets with your friends that a girl will say yes to prom to you
4) Please ASK and have confidence in yourselves. A lot of girls don't get asked because the guy is too shy and too afraid of getting rejected.
5) A flower to give the girl would be nice.

~mOnEy matters
Usually, if the girl asks, you split dutch, unless you're going out with a girl and you're going to her prom. Estimated cost: 100-200 dollars, depending on the school and whether it is junior or senior prom.

~corsage and boutonniere?
You can get your corsage and boutonniere at any single flower shop, but we reccommend Ann's Florist near Safeway on the corner of Miller Avenue and Bollinger. Also, you can try Bob Gilmore's. Estimated cost for a corsage: $20. For a boutonniere, it costs : $12

~ PROM GRAMZ
- make sure you get your date a gram if they offer grams. Trust me, you will feel REALLY bad the day before the prom if you walk around and your date doesn't have a gram. It's common courtesy and they cost about a dollar.

~the asking-(girls or the guy)the meaning of certain flowers(rose or daisy? what color of rose?)OKAY, straight-talk from now on. I'm not guaranteeing any of these methods will or will not work. Do them at your own risk. SOme guys are scared of making a fool of themselves...but some guys aren't afraid to risk all and ask the girl they like in a memorable way. I'll provide examples of people who asked other people in the past. U can take their examples or use it as a springboard to think of your own. Of course... the key thing is that it has to be suited to each girl. If she's not the romantic type and neither are u.. then i suggest you skip this section and go on to the next one.

Sometimes, the asking becomes more than the actual buying the bids and getting to prom. it almost seems like going to prom is anticlimatic to whether he or she will say yes or no to the prom. :) Don't worry, guys. We know exactly how you feel. From a female point of view... i personally would think that girls would like to be asked in a romantic way. I'm not saying that you have to go out and buy some Huge bouquet of 429384739874 red roses complete with boxes of chocolate and a mushy cassette tape with songs on it. No, just something nice. Maybe even an action. Something that the girl will remember.

Here are some examples:









What's your idea? email it to me... fobette@hotmail.com
Here's another thing...what type of flowers, what color should you get for prom? Never fear...here'z a list to help you out. I am not an expert on all flowers, however, and for the rarer kinds, you'll have to go look it up somewhere! sorry! Flowers cost varying to which kind you want to give her. If you feel really cheap, go and pluck a daisy from your neighbor's garden. But if you want to splurge and do a good job, you can get long-stemmed roses, too. Those are more expensive, though.

Nowadays, people are getting more and more creative. They're stepping away from the traditional red rose. Some of them give sunflowers...and more. It all depends on the type of guy you are.. and the type of girl your date is.

Parents are a hurdle in all this asking...so be sure your parents SAY you can go before you ask the girl, please... and make sure her parents say yes.

Here'z another thing... for guys. If girls do the asking... please.. have the courtesy to reply to them nicely.




~plans-din-din(McDonalds, Peppermill, or Equinox?)

Okay, a note on the places to eat. please ...don't sacrifice taste for what you think is a good restaurant. Let me tell you my last year's winter formal experience. Hee hee. We went to Le Mouton Rouge. It's this one French restaurant. Being totally unaccustomed to the food there, we didn't know what to order. Me and my friend, ordered salad. It was not as appetizing as we thought it would. We ended up eating almost nothing. The others ordered expensive dishes. I think we would have had a better time if we went somewhere funner.
Some friends have gone to Hamasushi.. or even Peppermill. It doens't have to be a high-class restuarant for the prom experience to be fun and memorable. Even TGIFs or McDonalds is right if you like it that way.
One really nice place is the Equinox. It's a revolving restuarant tower that's located in San Francisco. It's got a brilliant view. Make reservations early, though. And the cost probably isn't cheap. You might also want to try some Tieh Ban Shou... or some Chinese food. Maybe you'd like Japanese cuisine. But don't try barbeque stuff because it'll just reek on your clothing.
This year our winter formal dinner is going to be at Florentines. If you want good Italian, try looking in the Yellow Pages and more. Korean BBQ, In-And Out Burger on El Camino are good ideas. Downtown San Jose. Good gourmet Chinese food. Also, Marie Callendars.

~~transportation (limo or car?)

Now that you've asked the girl and the bids are all set...a question arises. What about transportation? People like to go in groups and go in limos. It's a fun experience and makes the tension and nervousness of prom night a little bit better if there's a group in the car. Just remember to be able to foot the costs of the limousines-they don't come cheap (but then again, u knew that already. i mean, it's a limo.. right? Nuff said.)So, you can try out different places for limos. If you have a small group, you can choose a 6 person limo or whichever number you prefer. Make sure the girl's dress isn't too big that she gets stuck in the limo and can't get out.

If you choose the old-fashioned car...be careful. i know of several people and friends that got in car accidents on the day of their junior or senior prom simply because they were too excited, or had their mind on too many things. A lexus or beamer or any other nice car is just as good as a limosine sometimes. If it's your first time with a formal and a limo...then choose the limo. It's worth the experience. But if you want to make your prom night a more personal and closer deal with your date, i suggest you take the car and meet up with your group at the restaurant. My cousin is driving her Lexus to pick up her date for the formal this year. Going in a limo might be fun, but be prepared to foot the bill.

pictures(Century, Arthur Mintz, Picture Perfects?)

Make sure that you get to Arthur Mintz or whichever picture studio place fast and on early. People start piling up at around 5-6 and the LYnbrook crowd should really watch that because it's tradition for Lynbrook people go there. Make sure your picture won't run into dinner reservations so plan ample time for emergencies and things like that in between each one. You don't want to have to disappoint your date by pulling her out of the studios without taking the couple picture because of dinner reservations. poor planning-it happens to the best of us.

If you want to be different, of course there are other studioes. We have had ideas to go to Century or Picture Perfects to go take pictures. It's different and it'll make for interesting prom pictures.

The other more traditional way is to go to the place and take pictures at the designated place. This year, for LYnbrook juniors, the place is Le Chateau in Sunnyvale. i heard it's pretty nice and so it might not be so bad taking pictures there, too.

~tux(rent or buy?), dress(borrow or buy one? Where?)

I don't really know much about renting tuxedos and where to buy them. I do know that there are two choices: rent a tux and buy one. MOst people rent a tuxedo, but my cousin bought his own tuxedo. So it's what suits you.

On the subject of dresses, there comes another thing. The things should match, accessories, jewelry, and shoes. Be sure the shoes have been walked in a little bit so that they're not spanking brand new when you wear them to prom. Make sure you don't wobble too much and trip and fall and sprain your ankle on the dance floor. Dresses range in different styles, shapes. There can be period dresses, the traditional chinese style Chi Pao, or other more modern versions. I myself am partial to the Princess dress. There are gowns and there are dresses. For prom, it might be better to buy a gown, but dresses do well, too. You can get some nice ones at Macys, Sears, Nine West, Mervyns, Banana Republic, New Things West, Lomans, or Jessica McClintock for the really formal ones. Make sure you get the alterations done right.. if the dress needs to be cut short or hemmed in or whatever. Of course, you can always try the stores up in San Francisco. They have better prices up there. Estimated Costs: The macys at Vallco sells real good priced dresses that have been mega marked down. For a 50 dollar valued dress, it costs 20 dollars. If you want to splurge, you could always go to the Gilroy outlets or go to San Francisco Jessica McClintock shops. Dresses range from around 150-300 bucks for a reasonable one.

~afterprom~(Half Moon Bay, Pier 39 in SF *providing the weather holds up, karoke, cosmic bowling, someone's house)

After prom...the magic doesn't end there. Provided that you can stay out later and that there's no curfew from your parents, it can be a memorable experience. I myself have not stayed during the afterprom experience. In fact, i haven't been to prom, but here are just some ideas that might be useful.

There is of course, karaoke, which some of my friends did for last year's prom. Karaoke always works and is pretty fun to peopl that like to sing.

I always like the idea of going somewhere like Half Moon Bay or Pier 39 in San Francisco. Keep in mind the temperature at night and whether it's going to be really cold there or not. Make sure you bring adequate jackets etc. for the venture. You also have to keep in mind the weather conditions. The beach is also a good idea.

Cosmic bowling is pretty fun. i think that would work well for a preprom or afterprom thing. It should be done after pictures, though, because it requires some movement.

someone's house~THis is a favorite about juniors. They like to go to someone's house and hang out for a while after the prom. It heightens the prom experience. Sometimes the guys cook something or they just all sit around and talk.

~~~scrapbook of memories~~~

and finally, the scrapbook of memories. This is an idea that i conceived while i was in McWhorters the other day. They had a scrapbook section and i was wandering inside. IT's pretty cool. I think we should all get together after the prom after all the pictures have been developed and put together scrapbooks of our prom experience. It'll be worthwhile, guaranteed. I think it would be a good idea to take pictures of the whole getting-ready for prom process, and then also taking pictures after the prom.. at people's houses, etc. They sell a custom-made kit for prom. it includes little picture borders and stickers that go well. I think that would be cute. I don't know how the guys would think of this, but i know i'd like to make one. Does anyone want to? If you do... email me..

main page