The dress. The hair. The makeup. The corsage/boutonniere. Getting ready for Prom is not just a one step process, it’s actually a recipe for disaster sometimes. Some girls spend months preparing for the special night, hoping nothing goes wrong.

On the day of Prom, there are many things that have to get done as well as things that could go wrong. Here is a helpful guide of how to conquer any obstacles you may face so you can still have a magical night including personal accounts of some of your fellow classmates.

1.Dress does not fit

• Safety pin it
• Fashion tape
• If it’s too short, opt for sandals or a flat shoe instead of heels
• “My dress didn’t fit when I tried it on again to wear at prom this year because I bought it a long time ago and had forgotten that it was long on me. I had to buy a new pair of shoes to fix it and not trip on it constantly,” Juliette Salazar ‘18 said. “It was too late for alterations for me, so I recommend that you make sure you get all of your alterations done early.”

2. Hate your hair

• Throw some random extra curls in there, messier looks better sometimes
• Don’t worry, once everyone is dancing their hair is messed up anyway
• “Last year for prom, I had several malfunctions with my prom hair, from deciding who did it, to how I actually wanted it done,” Tori Baer said. “After paying over $100, I got in my car and cried because my hair was nowhere close to what I wanted. If you don’t plan on doing your own hair, make sure to have a trial run. Either that, or don’t be afraid to speak up when something isn’t the way you like. Prom should be your night to shine.”

3. Appointment for hair runs over or is too late in the day because everywhere was booked

• Do your makeup before your hair appointment
• Meet the group at the restaurant
• Take pictures downtown after dinner
• “My hair appointment isn’t until three o’clock on the day of prom because that was the only time slot available by the time I scheduled my appointment,” Gabby Burgett ‘18 said. “What I am doing to make sure everything goes smoothly and I don’t miss pictures and everything is I am going to do my makeup beforehand and have everything ready so all I have to do is put on my dress.

4. Something spills on your dress

• Keep a tide-to-go handy for any emergency stains
• Dab with warm water as soon as possible
• “Well we were eating dinner when all of the sudden Grant spilt his water all over the table and it got all on my dress,” Braxton Gentry ‘18 said. “I went to the bathroom and tried to dry as much of it as I could and just hoped for the best. I recommend if your boyfriend/ prom date is clumsy or messy, get him a kids cup with a lid.”

5. Dress rips/tears

• Find someone with a travel sewing kit
• A quick fix is to use safety pins

6. Restaurant reservations are booked

• You don’t have to go somewhere fancy to have a good time so try going to a more typical day place such as Fazolis, the Cheesecake Factory, or Stone Creek
• Eat a big meal after prom
• “I didn’t try to start making reservations for dinner after prom until early this week so everywhere was already booked,” Jenny Geng ‘18 said. “We ended up having to eat somewhere around here that is less fancy instead and we were able to get one at Stone Creek. I recommend that you make your dinner reservations early, unlike me this year.”

7. Sport/other event is the day of

• SAT testing- get lots of sleep the night before and have everything prepared for the day when the testing is over: “It was the worst decision I ever made because I didn’t have time to do anything,” Kara Nussbaum said
• A sports game or meet- have everything set to get ready beforehand and schedule reservations for dinner as late as possible: “Having a sporting event when everyone else is getting their prom hair done is so stressful,” Maddie Weeks ‘17 said. “I’m an hour away in the middle of tennis matches just worrying if I’ll make pictures. I suggest having everything planned out down to every detail so your stress is only at 90% not 100%.”

8. Break a limb

• Get a wheelchair
• Take some ibuprofen
• Uber to the door so you have minimal walking to do
• Just go for a little while
• “I broke my toe playing ping pong and got surgery the week before prom last year,” Akul Vijayvargiya ‘17 said. “I knew there was still next year to go since I was a junior so that really helped me cope with the pain.”

9. Get pulled over

• Start crying and make the cop feel bad for ruining your special night
• Sweet talk the cop
• “I was in a car that got pulled over last year [for speeding] and I would say that the person riding better be watching for the cops,” Laurinda Godfrey ‘17 said.

10. Car trouble

• Call AAA for roadside assistance
• If you run out of gas, have one of your parents come fill your car up enough to make it to a gas station and make sure your car is filled before you leave

In the end, none of these things actually matter. All that does is that you have a good time and create memories.