Prom season drains bank accounts

The “best night of high school” has become more and more expensive all over the country. The attire, cosmetology, extra bling, pictures, and perfecting your look has consumed a student’s spending in the spring. Here, in the mid-west, we get away a little bit cheaper than other states located on the coast. But, times are definitely changing in the money high schoolers invest into prom.

Prom, throughout the years, has become costly. Mr. Bute and Mrs. Gordon, history teachers at New Ulm High School, remember a very low-maintenance and still memorable night.

“I started to prepare for the night around 11:30 am by vacuuming the car,” Bute said. “I didn’t shower and get dressed until 2:00 pm. I picked up my date around 3:00pm when we started our night.”

Gordon also started to get ready around 2:00 pm and was picked up by her date at 4:00 pm. Both Mr. Bute and Mrs. Gordon ate at nicer restaurants with their classmates ranging from $30 to $50 per plate. Bute explains that he only spent about $85 on his tux, while Gordon spent $80 on a dress.

“The style was black cocktail dresses, not the fancy bedazzled gowns y’all wear now,” Gordon adds.

As time passed, the costs slowly rose and yet Mrs. Ruch, New Ulm High School alumni and current business teacher, and Mr.  Nelson, science teacher, still had a great time with their classmates.

“I always went with a big group of friends to eat,” said Ruch. “One year we did Lamplighter, one year our parents made us a meal at someone’s house, and the other year my mom cooked our crew a meal.” Nelson did something similar – he went to a nice restaurant with friends before the night festivities began. Ruch went to prom her sophomore, junior, and senior year which led her to spend around $100 on each dress. Nelson remembers his tux being “way too expensive,” in the $200 range.

All four teachers commented on the amount of money they spent not being as much as what they hear about today. The significance has become magnified into something larger than it was originally.

“We didn’t have crazy photo shoots like they do here at German Park,” said Gordon. Most couples only started getting ready in the afternoon.

Students are paying extreme amounts of money to find the perfect dress, or extravagant flowers. But not everyone going to prom goes above and beyond. The average amount of money a male in the mid-west spends on prom is approximately $300; for females it’s about $550. The difference in spending is obvious, but not as excessive as those on the cost. Average spending on the east cost is about $700, and the west coast is just $50 cheaper.

Students at New Ulm High School discuss their spending habits for prom. Senior girls, Ashley Mehlhop and Claire Bastian, have gone different ways.

“I spent $500 on my dress this year, more than I did last year,” Mehlhop stated, “but I am having a friend doing my make-up to save some money.”

Bastian said, “I wasn’t planning on getting a new dress, but I picked one up last second.” Being so late the dress happened to be on sale for a $174. She also is having a friend do her make-up and hair.

The males were not to excited about paying for their pricy tuxes.

“I paid $174 for my tux,” senior Sam Berg said, adding, “I also offered to pay for both the tickets and flowers.”

Nick Busch worked it out with his date to split the tickets and flowers “But I still paid $178 for my tux,” he said.

Prom used to be seen as a fancier-than-normal party that was another chance to get together with classmates. High school can be academically grueling, psychologically stressful, and emotionally draining, and moving on from that life phase is worth celebrating – prom is that outlet for some. Lots of money spent for sure, but it’s for an event that is meant to celebrate a lifelong milestone. In reality, prom is just one night. How you choose to spend, or not spend, on one night is up to you.