Senior Ball/Prom Tips and Tricks for Saving Money! – Green Bay Photographer Carlee Secor

Senior Ball and Prom was such an exciting time for me. My friends and I went to our local dress boutique pretty much once a week just to try on all their new arrivals. The retail prices were crazy, and you couldn’t find anything under $200 (unless you were lucky). It was always extremely depressing trying on beautiful dresses knowing that they cost nearly a laptop and it just wasn’t in the budget.

I loved both my dresses dearly, but they nearly cost me an arm and a leg. I never once touched either of my dresses again! It made me so sad considering they were so beautiful! I have always been big on saving money, and theres so many sites out there selling gorgeous dresses for half the price. Everyone was always worried about buying used but I wish I could go back and tell myself about all these websites I’m about to share with you! Even if you don’t want to buy used I really encourage renting or purchasing a beautiful dress for a quarter of the price. You can still look beautiful for $100!

First off, if you have a prom dress that you need to sell (yes, it’s okay to let your prom dress go, soon enough it will have no value…sell it now)! I highly recommend Poshmark (An app for your smart phone). Although they do take a portion of your earnings I sold my prom dress and made a $280 profit, and my senior ball dress I made $180 profit. Now, had I held on to my gowns forever they likely wouldn’t have any value and I never would’ve sold them for so much! There are so many gorgeous dresses for sale as well!

Now for the dresses! I found the most amazing websites and I would’ve loved this information when I was in high school!

My first recommendation is Hazelandolive.com. Not only do they carry the most amazing everyday clothes for a reasonable price, their gowns are just as affordable. This website has stellar reviews, 30 day returns, and free same day shipping! I adore all their dresses, makes me wish I had an event to wear one too! A lot of the dresses come in multiple colors!

Second recommendation is www.lulus.com, they also sell more than just evening gowns but they have a much larger selection than Hazel and Olive. They offer free shipping on orders over $50 and free returns! I also LOVE their shoe selection. Lulus is a little more expensive than Hazel and Olive but definitely, nothing compared to your average Sherri Hill prices!

Third recommendation goes to www.renttherunway.com, now this site only offers rentals but the quality is of designer brand dresses. So if you’re looking for something fancy, yet still on a budget, this website might be for you. It does involve a little digging/filtering but once you look hard enough they have an amazing selection. Who would’ve thought you can rent a dress? The internet is advancing everyday!

I sure hope I sparked some ideas for your next school dance, I’d love to see what you come up with!