I went to a private, Christian school, so, instead of prom, we had Jr./Sr. Banquet - for both the Junior & Senior classes.
It was our version of "prom" - fancy dresses, tuxes, etc.
But, instead of dancing, we had a fancy sit-down 3-course dinner & a speaker - both years it was some kind of chicken dish. LOL! And, then after the banquet, we headed out for our real parties.
When you were a junior, your class paid for the banquet, decided the theme & venue, & decorated for the event.
You fund-raised from the time you were in 9th for the Jr/Sr Banquet (your junior year) & your senior trip & senior graduation reception (your senior year).
Teachers & their spouses, the speaker & his spouse, & seniors attended for free. If the seniors asked any non-students as their dates, then they had to pay for their dates. Juniors & their dates had to pay. Tickets were like $25/person.
In 1990, for our junior year, the banquet was held in the ballroom of a historic hotel in our downtown area. The theme was "Always & Forever" - which is NOT what I wanted. I wanted "As Time Goes By," but I was outvoted. Our colors were cream & burgundy.
I wore a emerald green & black dress & some awesome black heels. My date wore a black tux w/ an emerald green bowtie. I did my own makeup & nails, but did have my hair professionally done. We drove my car because it was nicer than my date's. My date gave me a matching pin-on corsage.
In 1991, for our senior year, the banquet was held in the ballroom of another historic building in our downtown area. I can't remember what the theme was, but the colors were cream & navy blue.
I wore a white lace dress... very bridal! My date (the same date I had my junior year) wore a black tux w/ a white tie... very groomish. As we were actually dating, we received plenty of comments. I again did my own nails & makeup, but had my hair professionally done. And we again drove my car. This time, my date gave me a matching wrist corsage.
For both years, we went to someone's house for the after-party & spent some time just cruising around trying to stay out as late as we could.
At the time, renting limos wasn't very popular, but, in the years following, it became more of a "thing".
We girls would get out of class around noon for our hair appointments & to "get ready".
When my date came to pick me up, my mom took several pictures of us, but my date's mom wasn't also there taking pictures. We also just took pictures at my house. There was a professional photographer at the venue taking pictures of each couple.
We didn't really go in "groups." Sometimes 2 couples might go together, but that was really the extent of things. And there were no huge elaborate "prom-posals." I can't even remember if my date asked me or just assumed we were going together.
Funny aside, my date's best friend was my future DH. DH's date was my then best friend. But I had a secret crush on DH.