By Hunter Haskett and Ashlee Geraghty, Staff Writers
Finding the perfect dress, the perfect shoes, the perfect tux and the perfect corsage — to most these are the typical stressors when it comes to prom, which at FFHS takes place Saturday night (April 22) from 8 to 11:30. However, for the people who have been behind the scenes of prom since the beginning of the school year, the biggest stressor is creating a night all their fellow peers will enjoy.
When students returned back to school in August, prom felt so far away. For the people on prom committee, however, it was time to start planning. The committee began planning by brainstorming ideas.
“There are a lot of companies that have lots of prom themes, but I ask the prom committee at the first meeting every year to start brainstorming ideas of what they would like the theme to be,” English teacher and prom coordinator Lauren Deal said. “So they come up with all of the ideas.”
After sorting through multiple themes, the committee reaches out to the students and has the senior class cast a vote on its favorite. Last year was a hit with “The Great Gatsby” theme, and this year continues to shine with the new theme, Starry Night.
“I think Starry Night is going to be one of my favorite themes because this one’s really creative. It’s not over done and I think it’s going to be really pretty,” Deal said.
It is then time to start going through many prom catalogs and Pinterest to search for the perfect decorations to bring the night to life. The First Flight rotunda, where prom is held, is split into sections and is assigned decorations that the committee feels will best fit the area.
“My favorite part is that it’s fun finding ideas and figuring out what all the decorations and stuff will be,” said Deal, who first got into prom planning at her old school when teachers had to sign up for committees.
“I was like, ‘Oh, I’ll plan the prom because that sounded like fun,’ and then I found out how much work it was, but I discovered that I could do it,” Deal said. “It’s just a lot of work to get all the details sorted out and all the stuff arranged and all the stuff decorated and ordered and put together.”
More than just decorations go into the planning of prom. The appropriate foods and music are also selected. This year, the DJ who was hired allowed students to voice their opinions ahead of time as to what music they wanted to hear at prom. Also, the culinary arts students were given a role in preparing for prom. The committee selected theme-related foods for the culinary arts students to make.
The ultimate goal of everyone involved with the committee is to create an unforgettable night for the people who attend. The students definitely appreciate the end result, and a lot of people are super excited for this year’s prom and everything it entails, from dinner to pictures.
“Dancing and seeing everyone in their dresses,” sophomore Ansley Feltz said about her favorite part of prom, “because you don’t see people dressed up like that, so it’s really fun to go and see all of your friends when everyone is really pretty.”
After all the stress selling tickets, setting up and making last-minute fixes on Saturday “when stuff inevitably falls in the middle of the night on Friday night,” Deal said she looks forward to seeing the rotunda full of students having a great time.
“Prom is going to be fantastic. I hope everyone enjoys it,” Deal said.
Junior Ashlee Geraghty can be reached at geraghtyas0916@daretolearn.org and sophomore Hunter Haskett can be reached at hasketthu0318@daretolearn.org.
