I hate proms! Hate them. Hate hate hate!!!
Yeah, that's right I'm not a fan.
When no1 son was leaving school they were just becoming "a thing" but eldest is a punk, so he and his punk friends went and got wasted in a friend's dad's field.
no 1 daughter was heavily invested in the whole idea. We made her pay for her own ticket, and I bought her a dress for £25 A friend did her hair and make up and someone else's dad dropped them off in a normal car. Two years later, to mark the end of sixth form, they had another prom. AND a "leaver's day" when they had to dress up -but not in the same dress, obviously . Fortunately she had a job by then and was left to do as she pleased.
Second son turned his nose up at the very idea of prom - as did daughter 2, who celebrated leaver's day with me in a very nice bar drinking mocktails and eating nachos.
I'm currently being bombarded with pictures on facebook of very grown up looking young girls draping themselves around trussed up boys and parents alternating between cooing over how proud they are and bemoaning the cost. If you want to spend £800 on a dress for your daughter, then go right ahead, but if you actually don't then, well, just don't. It's not compulsory! Nothing bad will happen if the little darling doesn't get exactly what they want.
£800 on a prom dress?! What's the wedding going to cost?!