Reduce Prom Costs Easily

Typically prom expenses can add up rather quickly without even noticing where it all goes. The act of going to the prom itself can cost 125$ or more just for tickets to the event. What about the dress, shoes, transportation, hair-do, limo, and everything else that goes with the ideal package? How can struggling families send one or more kids to the prom with the economic down-turn becoming so steep? 100$ for the limo, 100$ for the tickets, 75$ for the pictures, 150$ for the dress, 40$ for the accessories, 40$ for the hair-do, 50$ for the manicure/pedicure, and there is more but why list it all? It is amazing how expensive the prom has become. The prom is suppose to be the celebration that gives the students a break from all the years of hard education, a treat for doing so well and continuing on with education. Now it costs enough for one person to attend prom as it does for a couple to go on a weekend get-away to the beach!

Luckily, there are ways to save, and they are not so big that you have to give up on the best parts of the night. There are creative ways to bring a nice flare back to saving money.

Start off with photography; professional photographers at the event will charge more than any normal person should have to pay for pictures. You must remember that they are earning their paycheck from the cost of the pictures; so do you want good pictures or do you want to pay for someone else's bills? Take your own photos before the events and take your digi-cam to the event to catch the super-sweet candid pics that no photographer could ever get.

Plan a potluck: instead of gathering your friends at the most expensive local restaurant just get together with friends and decide on a potluck dinner at a friend's house. Pick the venue, print some cheap but lovely invitations, and either pitch in ten bucks per person or one dish per person. The best parts of a potluck are the assortment of foods and variety of dishes. So mix it up for a feast worth celebrating over.

The best money saving alternative is an idea created by local high-schools. A prom-dress- swap-meet; gather girls from your high school who are in search of dresses, plan the event, set up a date and for 10-20$ per person you go in with your old dress and leave with a killer new dress for 15$. The hardest part is planning the event, but the savings are worth the effort.