Trim Your Prom Night Expenses Without Trimming Your Prom Night Fun

Prom season is rapidly approaching and as it does, high school juniors and seniors all across the country are saving their pennies to afford the big night. When it's all said and done, prom night can come with a hefty price tag. But there are ways of trimming the bottom line, without cutting back on the quality of the evening.

Attire

Attire is the easiest place for prom night budget cuts without losing out on quality. For girls, the dress is the keystone of the whole evening. One way to save money is to skip the mall and try a small locally owned bridal shop. Even though it is a bridal shop, most of these stores carry a small stock of more youthful formal dresses during the school year for events such as homecoming and prom. In an attempt to draw customers away from the mainstream department stores, these small shops tend to sell their garments for a fraction of the cost you would pay at the mall.

Even though some department stores will keep a prom registry to try to keep two girls from the same school from buying the same dress, that doesn't ensure that someone else might not find your dress at a different store in town. On many occasions, locally owned bridal shops specialize in one of a kind garments, meaning not only will no one else at your school have your dress, but no one else in town will either.

The small shops often offer free alterations if you buy from them. If you buy a dress in the mall that is maybe too long or too big in the bust, you will pay upwards of $30 for alterations.

For guys who want to save on their prom attire, purchase a black suit. The price tag on the suit may be higher than you would pay to rent a tuxedo but a high quality black suit will offer a higher return than the rental fee for a tux you return the following day. A bowtie in place of a regular necktie will offer the illusion of a tux without the wasted rental fee.

Hair goes along with the attire, in a way, and one sure fire way to trim the budget in this area is to do your own or trade up-do's with a friend. Free hair styling is 100% cheaper than paying a professional stylist.

Flowers

Discuss with your date if they are absolutely committed to fresh flowers for their corsage or boutonniere. If fresh flowers are not necessary, save on florists fees by hitting the silk flowers section of your local hobby store. Even if you don't know how to create a floral arrangement, someone at the store can help you, sometimes for free, sometimes for a small fee but almost undoubtedly for less than a florist. Even if the sales associate at the craft store charges a fee, the flowers themselves will be a bargain compared to the price of fresh flowers.

Another option, and one that should be discussed and agreed upon, is to forgo flowers altogether. Consider the neckline of her dress and if it is not conducive to a pin-on corsage, what is her opinion regarding the wrist band variety? Some find them cumbersome and will remove them, often before the first dance, so skipping the tradition completely will trim a few dollars off your budget.

Dinner

If your culinary skills are up to par, suggest a home cooked meal before your night out. A classic Italian pasta dinner for two can easily be prepared for $5-7 per plate. Less if more than one couple pitch in on buying the ingredients.

Another option, if neither you nor your date can find your way around the kitchen with a map, is to commission students from the home economics class to cook for you. They'll appreciate the practice and a little cash always helps to sweeten the deal.

Going out is not out of the question when bringing your prom night in under budget. Smart selection of your destination is key. Take a trip around the internet. Check to see if your city is listed on CitySearch.com or CityGuides.com. These sites offer glimpses of menus (Northern Italian, Sonoran Mexican, Chicago-style pizza, etc.), average prices for lunch and dinner (if there is a difference in the menus), and nights to avoid (If Alfredo's Noodle Hut runs a prime rib and lobster special on Saturday nights, that might be an indication that Saturday night prices might be a bit higher so a different eatery may be in order).

Transportation

Limousines are not cheap. That is the bottom line. The first thing to do, if you have options, is to explore your options. While this may not be possible in a smaller city with one or two limousine companies to serve the entire community, call around to see which company has the best rate. Typically all of the companies will be around the same price, in order to be competitive with one another, but deals can be found if you dig deep enough.

The second thing to do is go with other couples. Logic states that six people splitting limo rental will pay less per person than two. So grab your best friends and start making phone calls.

Another option is to "hire" someone - an aunt, uncle, parent, friend - to rent a luxury car such as a Lincoln Towncar and drive you and your date to the prom in it. While limousines are often priced by the hour, rental cars are priced by the day and, depending on the limousine companies' hourly rates, could prove to be significantly cheaper. And "hiring" a family member may cost you as little as an afternoon of house cleaning or yard work.

Shopping around is the best tip for trimming the ends off of an exurbanite prom night bottom line.