Prom is a big event for any high school senior or junior across the U.S. As prom season rolls in, OHS students start preparing for the big day. This year’s venue was recently disclosed to OHS students and the student body is responding with excitement and anticipation for the event.

“I’m excited for the prom venue this year. Just from the pictures of the Metropolitan, it looks very pretty, very chic. Very well, it looks nice. Better than last year. It looks very pretty. It looks like there’s a lot more space in front of what I’ve heard about the food. It looks like it would be a good meal kind of thing. So, I’m very excited,” OHS Senior Taylor Effertz said.

Last year’s prom took place at the Edinburgh Golf Course in Brooklyn Park. Some OHS students liked the event while others expressed their disappointment.

“I thought the venue [last year] was really pretty good. It gave me High School Musical vibes. It was really pretty but the dance was disappointing because there were so many rules. The venue was also a long walk from the parking lot, especially in heels,” OHS Senior Brooklyn Elsenpeter said.

OHS upperclassmen are eager to find out this year’s prom theme. After last year’s prom committee left many unsatisfied when the venue failed to cater to the theme “Enchanted Forest.”

“I liked the venue; it was really pretty. I really liked the outside part and how there were two different levels. The inside was nice, I just wished they catered to the theme better,” OHS senior Alex Rapp said.

After last year’s prom, students can’t help but hope this year’s prom is better. OHS students share their opinions on what they want this year’s event to look like.

“I’m hoping for better food and also a bigger venue and just an area where we’re not also cramped together and also having a dance floor. Not on a second story level where we can’t even jump or anything on it,” Effertz said.

It seems that most OHS upperclassmen are not excited for the dance itself but rather getting ready and taking pictures with friends and dates.

“My favorite thing about prom is just getting to hang out with my friends and dress up,” Rapp said.

As May 12th nears, prom dresses are flying off the racks. Numerous OHS upperclassmen girls expressed they have already bought their dress. The approaching date begs the question: when should girls buy their prom dress? After attending prom last year and going through the whole debacle of buying a dress for the event, Taylor Effertz expresses her stance on the question.

“It depends on where you get your prom dress from, when trying to figure out when to buy it. For men, they can buy their suits whenever they don’t have any time crunch like girls do. For them it doesn’t take too long to get it tailored to their adjustments. For girls, it’s a bit different, especially if you’re getting a dress online. You don’t know how long it will take for it to arrive. When ordering online you don’t know if the measurements are going to be messed up either. A lot of people start to buy their dresses around the end of January to beat the chaos of buying a dress the month of prom,” Effertz said.

Although students may be stressed about the impending date, OHS prom committee co-chair Mackenzie Callan shares her inside scoop on the event and her excitement for this year’s 2023 prom.

“I hope prom is going to be better than last year. The venue is much better, the theme is going to be really fun, and I think it’s really going to coincide with what the people want; so, I’m excited,” Callan said.

Planning prom is a long process, one filled with many difficult decisions and details to be perfected.

“Ms. Nohner is the advisor for the prom committee. There are four committees: advertising, communications, the event/dinner committee and then activities. There is a lot of other stuff we have to plan for, like the grand march, tickets and then the table seating,” Callan said.

As the prom committee continues planning prom 2023, OHS students cannot help but wait in anticipation for the big day. With last year’s prom being a disappointment to some students, upperclassmen hope this year’s prom can top last years. May 12th may seem forever away, but the date is approaching fast. What will prom 2023 look like this year?