What do you think about the man who proposes to his fiance using a jumbotron? At WJ, students don’t have access to jumbotrons, but still find the sweetest ways to propose prom, a much less life changing proposal than marriage, to their date.

The numerous unique ways students ask their prospective date to prom is only one of the factors leading up to why, nowadays, the dance is perceived to be a big deal. Senior Daniel Knoll proposed the idea of prom to his girlfriend, senior Courtney Allen, by hanging up a sign on Principal Christopher Garran’s portable.

“I made a relatively large sign with the words “Courtney, PROM?” on it,” said Knoll. Knoll said that many people pointed out that he and Allen were already dating, therefore implying their union at prom inevitable.

“A while ago, Courtney told me that I still had to ask her to prom,” said Knoll. “She means a lot to me and I wanted to do something out of the ordinary and something that was big.”

The formal wear, limousines and fancy dinner arrangements allow for a cause of immense excitement, especially at WJ, where the event is an exclusive senior prom. As opposed to many other schools that hold junior and senior proms, WJ’s senior prom is a way to let upperclassmen celebrate the end of their high school years.

However, with the excitement comes the stress. With senior boys and girls, the topics of stress differ. For boys, the issues of stress come down to who they can ask, who they will ask, and how they will ask, in addition to covering the expenses for him and his dates’ ticket and dinner. Girls, on the other hand, take the stress to a whole new level. Will I get asked to prom? What’s the best place to get my nails done? Should I offer to pay for my ticket? And the ultimate nightmare, will someone else be wearing my dress? Cleverly, the last terrifying scenario can be avoided due to the creation of a Facebook group called “prom dresses 09”. The group allows the girls planning on attending prom to post a picture of their prom dress as to avoid the awkward duplication of attire that night.

Prom is any high school teenager’s rite of passage. Its significance at the end of a student’s high school years is a reason why when starting to plan for the event, it is important to begin on the right foot and ask out a prospective date in a creative way.

“I got like five fortune cookies from Jade Billows and was able to take the fortune out of one of the cookies,” said senior Brandon Frankel. “I then replaced it with one of my own, which asked [my date] to prom.” Frankel then placed the fortune cookie in a small box, and placed that small box in another box. Of course, Frankel’s date said yes, as most girls will do if asked to prom in a way out of the ordinary.

Last year, WJ alum Charlie Grimsley proposed prom to his girlfriend by recording the question, “Will you go to prom with me?” and placing it in a Build-a-Bear.

“I knew she had been waiting for me to ask and was getting anxious,” said Grimsley. She was probably a bit disappointed when it seemed like only a stuffed animal. However, soon she found the voice recording and was very excited to say yes.”