prom costs for the guy

[Tiggeroo]

My son just told me he plans on going to the prom. There are only a few weeks til prom time. What costs are there for a guy to go to the prom? Does the girl ever pay for anything. Do you go out to dinner? If it matters, I"m assuming he asked the girl, but I think they had talked about going for awhile.

 

[minniecarousel]

The guy needs to rent a tux (get one reserved NOW!) He needs to order the corsage for the girl. If dinner isn't included with the prom, they should go out with friends before (parents around here have been known to have elegant dinners in their homes for a group). Transportation: They either rent a limo - several couples go in on the cost, or they drive themselves. Around here, they sometimes rent buses if there is a distance involved (we're east of San Francisco & the Senior Prom is usually there - we don't want our kids driving that far!)

The girl has to buy a dress, get her hair & nails done and buy the guy's boutteneire (OK - the single flower the guy wears!) In some areas, the guy buys the one he wears when ordering the corsage - find out whats the norm.

Then there is the cost of the Prom ticket itself - sometimes they share the cost - they work that out themselves.

 

[Trish5768]

My son is going this year (his first time) we paid for his tux, the tickets (which included dinner) and her flowers. They will split the cost of the pictures or he will get his own package. Hope this helps. Total cost for us was around $300.

 

[Tiggeroo]

Here are the costs the way I see it
Tix - $150.
Tux - $75.
corsage - $30.
Limo if split w/4 couples - $100.
After prom - ??
Dress, hair, nails, etc.. ?
photos - $75.

This is not a long term girlfriend or one of my son's usual crowd so it's going to be tough for him to discuss costs I think. He took an expensive youth training trip this fall so I'm paying for this. Just trying to come up with a budget.

Also I"m assuming the girl's home is where they will be doing the flowers and stuff. Would it be odd for me to ask the couple to at least stop at my house on the way to prom so I can see them all together and get a pic or two? If not, how can I see the kids together all dressed?

 

[ScarlettO]

Wow! The tickets are very expensive!!

My sons never paid for the date's tickets....I think the price included dinner and the dance and each person bought their own ticket-these were casual dates, also, not a "girlfriend".

 

[ScarlettO]

Originally posted by ScarlettO
Wow! The tickets are very expensive!!

My sons never paid for the date's tickets-but did pay for Limo and afterparty costs....I think the price included dinner and the dance and each person bought their own ticket-these were casual dates, also, not a "girlfriend".

Tigger......eveytime my DS's went to a prom one enterprising Mother would be the one who rented the Limo(kids paid her back)...so she would always have a pre-party(cokes and dips..or a dinner that we all chipped in for-varied each time),inviting all the Moms to take pics before the prom. This is a VERY nice gesture for all us Moms who have sons.

 

[Tiggeroo]

But does it matter who does the asking? My son asked her, but this is going to cost me a small fortune. I think they need to split some of the costs, or he covers the tix and she picks up the limo costs. I wish I knew her parents or could think of a way to see that this is brought up.

 

[ScarlettO]

Tigger....when my boys did the limo in soph & Junior year-each kid(boys and girls) split the limo and each bought their own ticket.
Senior year they(the guys) paid the limo themselves_meaning *WE* did. But the price of the ticket is unreal-I think ours cost $25 a couple-just a "DJ".

Since it is not a serious girlfriend-I'd call other parents and see what -all they do. Different areas have different customs.

 

[Microcell]

I am old fashioned, but about the dinner thing, I think if it is an honest to goodness date he needs to pay for that and the tux and corsage. Maybe he could ask her to split the cost of a limo if using one saying he does not have enough and you balked at paying the whole cost.

 

[Tiggeroo]

Microcell - I kind of agree. I would like to see her help with the limo and pictures. Maybe split a package. Otherwise i'll be driving them there, no license yet, and they'll be taking the bus back. Any thoughts on how I can see the kids together dressed up ?

 

[DSNY FN]

I remember my senior prom/grad I took a girl from another school not my GF but I paid the limo the tux the tickets the meal etc. My total cost for everything was a little over 600 dollars for the night. My mom paid for all but the tickets to the thing those I had to pay for. but they were cheap as it was just a dance dinner was our responability.

 

[mtemm]

I think he should cover the traditional costs (tux, tix, corsage, some form of transportation). Does your son have a job? Its been a few years, but I never knew any parents who paid for their kids prom. I would think if your son asked a girl to it, he should find a way to cover some of your costs, if you are generous enough to help him out with it. JMHO

 

[Microcell]

I would do one of two things, I would try talking to the girls parents and see if you get to talking and they invite you over for that stuff, or I think my HS boyfriend's mother who I saw almost every day said you better come back here for pictures!! She really liked me and felt bad becasue my parents in effect kicked me out of the house (Me: You mean you want me to pay you rent to verbally abuse me? Them: Yep, $250.00 as soon as you turn 18 even if you are in HS. Me: Buh Bye) So she tried to be motherly toward me and I did not hesitate to go back there for pics when asked.

I forgot- I went to two proms that year one with my best friends and it was assumed that we would go to all the houses for pictures. My friend's boyfriend of five years just said " hey can we go back to my house so my mom can get some pics, she wants to see Tonya's dress". So if you trust him not to get embarrassed you could just ask him to be sure to come back, though I was flattered as a girl to have my boyfriend's mom make a fuss over me and ask me to come take pictures. I may be colored by my non family life at the time, read I was desperate to be loved, by anybody!

 

[Tiggeroo]

Son doesn't have job. I don't let him work during the school year because he stuggles with school work and runs track all year. He works in the summer but needed to use that money for a leadership training class, driver's ed, and he bought his own school clothes. I had already told him if he decided to go I would cover it. But he may be doing some odd jobs for a friend to pick up a few bucks to help out.

 

[hyzdufan]

Tickets to my prom were $100 each, because they had it on a cruise boat in downtown Pittsburgh.

My tux was $75, boutinniere $40.

Corsage was $45, limo was $125.

Photos were $35.

 

[Jenn Lynn]

Call the girls parents! WOW! I would have not liked it if my dates parents had called and asked what they are paying for.

If your son can ask a girl to the dance he should be able to talk to her about splitting the costs. JMHO.

My HS boyfriend got his tux rental for free by wearing a tux to school 2 days in a row. Kind of like free advertising for the Tux shop.

I think he should pay for dinner and tickets. Split the cost or each buy their own pictures. And split the cost of the limo.

 

[Tiggeroo]

Call the girls parents! WOW! I would have not liked it if my dates parents had called and asked what they are paying for.

I agree. My son would kill me. My thought is he covers the tux, the tix, her flowers. The split photos if they agree to the same amount or each buy their own package, they split the limo and she covers her personal expenses. About pics, my dd's dates parents called me and I invited her over to take pics and see the kids get ready. But they had dated all thru hs and we had talked on the phone before. Also she went to a small private school and prom was much cheaper.

 

[Microcell]

Okay, I guess I am still thinking in five year old mode. I always call parents about kids getting together and we get to talking about them or other stuff and we wind up getting together when the kids play. I am a dork and pray for my children. Because I thought it was actually a good idea to call and embarass the heck out of him. Sorry. If you coordinate the limo you would have to call them about payment if they split it then wrangle an invite for pics. Shall I just sell my kids now?? Poor things. I have just spent the week telling anyone who would listen about waiting on DD to go number 2 before she could be released from the hospital. She wanted to kill me for that!

 

[Tiggeroo]

Microcell - I always have to remind myself that my son will be 17 in a few months and I can't do certain things anymore.
His friends parents call here all the time and talk to me. We coordinate things or discuss things going on in the kids lives. Dates usually come from this same crowd. I don't know this girl though. I am assuming though that at some point I will talk to her parents about logistics, since neither kid will have their license til after prom. It's a matter of which parent calls first and what things I should bring up. My son won't like it, but if it was my dd I would feel glad someone was making sure the kids would have not just a good time, but a safe time. I work at the highschool and it seems to me that most of the kids are planning on booking hotel rooms and drinking all night after prom. That monday is sr. cut day

 

[Cruisin]

I don't know how you can get "in" to take pictures.

The first semi-formal my daughter went to was with a boyfriend of many months. Not many limo rentals going on around here, so I drove my daughter to pick up the boy and his parents drove them home. So I take my daughter to his house and she goes to the door to get him. She disappears into the house, for 20 minutes and I sit in the car and wait His parents took 2 pictures that were crap, you couldn't even tell who the people were in it because they were so far away. No pictures taken by a professional photographer either. Boy was I ever peeved that night.

Her second semi-formal was with a boyfriend of about 2 months. Again I drove them to the semi-formal. At this boy's house, I was invited in and both us mom's took all the pictures we wanted. Also they had pictures taken by a professional photographer at the dance.

Both sets of parents I had had previous conversations with.