Bernards Junior Prom is scheduled for this Friday, March 31, at 7 pm at Basking Ridge Country Club. This annual event is much awaited by the junior class, who has been looking forward to it for months. Students have been preparing for it for a little while, with final preparations occurring this week.
For the past month, promposals have been occurring left and right among the junior class. Students have gotten creative with their promposals this year, and recent weeks have been busy with so many students planning different ones. From using a goat as part of the ask to buying sushi to spell out “PROM”, this year’s promposals have been full of surprises.
Preparations for many girls can be very extensive, as many see this as the one time in the year they can get dressed up like this. Most girls bought their dresses and shoes by early March, and the rite of passage prom dress Facebook group was created as early as January. Over the last couple of weeks, girls have been putting the finishing touches on their outfits and have been picking up last-minute jewelry and accessories. Many girls are scheduled to get spray tans, manicures, and pedicures the week of prom, which causes for a chaotic beauty week. “You depend on everything falling into place and it’s so stressful,” said Junior, Susie Veligurskaya.
This week has been been labeled “hell week” by many of the juniors, as this is the last full week before the end of the marking period. Many teachers have scheduled a multitude of tests and quizzes this week to get all the grades in before the end of the marking period.
In addition to the workload, many people are getting prom-ready this week. Spray tans are very popular among Bernards students, and most are getting them on Wednesday, two days before the event. In addition, there is an excused absence on Friday solely for getting ready for prom. Many students, especially girls, are leaving school early because of scheduled hair or nail appointments.
As far as the preparations for guys go, most boys have picked out their tuxes in recent weeks. Most guys picked up bow ties, vests, and cummerbunds that match the color of their date’s dress. Although the prom preparation for guys isn’t as extensive, many guys put priority on how they look that day too.
Boutonnieres and corsages are another important aspect of prom. Girls have to pick up their date’s boutonnieres and guys have to pick up their date’s corsages. Typically, the corsages and boutineers coordinate with the girl’s dress, usually having ribbons or roses that are the same color.
Traditionally, many students go to someone’s house a couple hours before prom in order to take pictures with their dates and friends. Many parents usually attend pre-prom in order to see their kids all dolled up and capture the moment on their phones or cameras. Junior Bianca Pineda said, “I’m super excited to take photos because I know I’m going to look at them ten years from now and be reminded of prom.”
Hopefully this year’s Bernard’s Junior Prom will be a night to remember. It is the only thing getting many students through this last stressful week of the marking period, and it will hopefully end this week and the past few months on a good note.
