I have a vivid memory of being at a high school party and hearing that a certain soccer player was going to ask me to prom. I wasn’t excited about going with him, so I quickly grabbed my friend and said, “Hey, let’s go to prom together!” Frank said, “OK,” and that was it. There were no fireworks, no doves released and certainly no photos, tweets or posts of this event in my life.
I’m not sure when the act of asking a date to a dance became an elaborate ordeal. Probably about the same time that iPhones started recording every minuscule moment of high school. Everyone’s posts and tweets can make it seem like they are living a fairy tale life. That fuels competition, but also imagination.
The “prom-posals” these days may seem over the top, but I actually love all of the thought and creativity that goes into them. I think the teens do, too. It’s a lot of pressure to come up with something new, so I’ve inquired around Dublin and come up with awards for past promposals and suggestions for making that special prince or princess smile when asked to the ball.
Most Time-Consuming
At 6 a.m. on a school day, Alex Kendall bought dozens of balloons and sat in his car, getting lightheaded as he blew them all up. He put a note on the seat of Shannon Cogan’s car, asking her to his prom at St. Charles, and then filled her entire car with balloons. I’ve also heard of students covering cars with sticky notes in different colors that spell out “P-R-O-M?”
Photos courtesy of Colleen D'Angelo
Most Intricate
Kaylen Chang has been on three unique scavenger hunts for dance proposals, in grades 10, 11 and 12. Senior year, Alex Berling put flower petals and a note in Kaylen’s room asking her to check social media for a series of videos. Alex had gone to significant places, like where they first met and all the Dublin locations from their 10th grade scavenger hunt, and made videos talking about the memories from each site. The last video sent Kaylen to a gazebo where Alex was waiting with flowers and a sign.
Most Unpredictable
My son, Christopher, made a playlist of favorite songs for the girl he was asking to prom. In between tracks three and four, he inserted a recording of himself asking her to the dance. The problem was that a friend had delivered the CD to her, and it was a week before she had a chance to listen to it and give Chris an answer.
Most Mileage
Jonathan Joos was on spring break in Fort Myers, Fla., and the girl he wanted to ask to prom was on vacation in St. Petersburg. So he drove the two hours, surprised her with flowers, asked her to prom and they spent the day together. Even farther away was my daughter Courtney, who was in London for the World Championships of Irish Dance. Tyler Pajk sent flowers to her hotel with a note saying, “Congratulations on the World Championships. It would make my world if you would go to prom with me.”
Most Relevant
It’s always a good idea to focus the promposal around the person’s interests. Lexie Toth was a four-year letter winner in golf at Dublin Jerome High School when her date, Shawn Ewert, gave her a basket of golf balls with a letter printed on each one. Lexie had to unscramble the letters to read the question, “Homecoming with Shawn?”
Most Delicious
Anything with food is a successful venture. Write the question on a cake or cupcakes or a Starbucks cup. Have a pizza delivered with “P-R-O-M?” spelled out in pepperonis or write on the box, “I know this is cheesy, but will you go to prom with me?” Or drop off a dozen doughnuts with the sign, “I doughnut want to go to the dance with anyone else!”
Most Academic
I’ve heard of students incorporating a prom-posal into a class presentation, but a Connecticut teacher named Brian Moffitt told me he helped a student by including his prom-posal in a multiple choice quiz. Brian managed to make a unique copy of the quiz designed for this certain girl, and engineered a way to make sure she got the right paper with the most important question.
Most Sentimental
My daughter Courtney’s favorite movie is Tangled, Disney’s version of the German fairy tale Rapunzel. There is a scene in the movie in which Rapunzel is in a boat at night, as hundreds of lanterns are released into the sky and she sings a song called, “I See the Light.” Alex Jacobs set the scene near our house by placing luminaries along the path and hanging from the trees. When Courtney walked up the path, Alex played the song for her on his guitar.
Most Artsy
Myles Lawson and Myla Oden were on their way to a show when Myles made a surprise stop at his dance studio in Hilliard. Inside, he had friends ready with flowers, edible cookie dough and a sign that said, “Be the chocolate chips to my cookie dough, and my dance partner at prom.” The girls performed their team choreography dance for Myla, and she was thrilled.
Most Outrageous
For senior prom, Brian Do thought about the most absurd, funny, yet personal way he could ask Nicole Fusco to be his date. He zipped on a prom dress and jumped into his hammock, which broke and fell to the ground. As Brian’s friend hoisted him up, Nicole arrived and Brian was cocooned and hidden in the hammock. He rolled out and showed her the sign that said, “I’ve got the dress, now all I need is a date! Wanna hang at prom?” Everything went so imperfectly that Brian says it was his fondest high school dance proposal.
Advice from the teens
“Have fun,” says Kendall. “Think about what is going to make her smile. It doesn’t have to be super fancy. It just needs to be thoughtful.”
“Don’t overthink it,” says Lawson. “You may want to go above and beyond but you can do something simple and make it look like the most creative event in the world.”
“Just make it personal to whomever you are asking,” says Do. “Ask her in a way she would appreciate. Oh, and don’t forget flowers. Girls love flowers. Pink roses are always a safe bet.”
Colleen D’Angelo is a freelance writer who lives in Dublin with her husband, three children and several small animals. She enjoys playing tennis, walking the Dublin bike paths and traveling.
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