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Prom dress shopping is tons of fun, but it can be super stressful. You have to search through hundreds of dresses to find “the one” — a dress that will make you feel gorgeous on prom night and that you’ll still love when you look back at your prom pictures someday. For me, all the stress over the price, designer, or availability was taken away. As you saw in the Ultimate Prom video series, I went prom dress shopping with JoJo at the Betsey Johnson store in SoHo!! It was crazy!

When I got to the store and met JoJo, we started the looking through all the dresses. This season Betsey has a line called “Prom Queen,” so it worked out perfectly. All the dresses resembled prom dresses from previous generations (there’s a runway picture to the right). The store was filled with dresses: poofy, short, long, pink, black, sparkly, shiny. It was like a prom dress wonderland! I tried on so many dresses with JoJo. We were in and out of the dressing room. Every time we came out of the room, the salesgirls put different jewelry on us and handed us shoes. It was like playing dress up. The camera crew filmed the whole experience. I felt like I was in a movie!

When I tried on one particular dress, I knew it was the one. It’s so beautiful and so different from anything else I have worn before. Since I’ll get to walk the red carpet with a celebrity at prom, there was a little more pressure to dress to impress. JoJo made my choice a lot easier. She encouraged me to try on things I would have never even thought of looking at. She kept telling me, “It’s not the dress you wear, but how you wear it.” She told me to be confident in whatever I choose.

The whole day was amazing and it was one day that I will always remember and want to relive. JoJo was the sweetest person in the whole world to me that day. Make sure to check out the video. It takes you on my prom dress shopping experience. BUT, I can’t tell yet which of the dresses I picked — it’s a surprise for prom night!

I’ve been waiting and planning all year for this day and on Saturday, it is finally here — SENIOR PROM! I got my dress, my shoes, my hair appointment, and everything at my house is pretty much ready to go for the pre-prom dinner. The only thing that is not too fun about this week is that all my teachers thought it would be a great idea to give us tons of tests and homework!Here is my schedule for the rest of the week until prom:

Wednesday: Call the Italian restaurant and place a food order for 54 people and call to confirm the table reservations.

Thursday: Pick up my dress from the place where it is getting altered.

Friday: Pick up the boys from the airport at 3:30pm!

Saturday: PROM!

This week I also have to collect $15 from everyone coming to dinner, and I have to think up something cute for table centerpieces. Any last minute suggestions would be appreciated! Wish me luck and cross your fingers that everything goes perfectly this weekend!! I’ll report back with lots of pictures.

The Ultimate Prom is officially a huge deal!

It all started last Tuesday night, when there was a huge launch party for the Ultimate Prom at the Hearst Magazines office building. JoJo and Lloyd would be there, and Suai and Jada — the new artists performing at prom — would sing. I was so excited and nervous. I knew there would be lots of famous and important people attending, including press.

After school, my friend Breena curled my hair and helped me get ready. Then, a car came to pick up me and Mike, the guy student chosen to be in the video series. Mike and I talked about how this was going to be the most amazing night and that this whole experience was surreal.

When we arrived to the Hearst building, we changed into formal attire. I wore a gold sequined dress by David’s Bridal (I loved it!). Mike wore a Calvin Klein tux from Jim’s Formal Wear. By 6pm, we went downstairs to the party, before the cocktail hour started (we drank soda), and hung out with JoJo. She is so sweet and calmed down Mike and I. The New York Daily News reporter interviewed us too. It was so cool!

So when the party started, people began arriving and cameras were flashing. I felt famous! It was a dream come true for anyone, especially me — I am obsessed with celebrity entertainment.

The place was packed by 8pm and so many influential people were there, including the editor-in-chief of CosmoGIRL!, Teyana, and O’Neil McKnight. Toward the end of the event, even Denzel Washington showed up!! I know, INSANE.

When cocktail hour ended, we went into the theater, where the president of Universal Motown, the vice president of Hearst Digital Media, and our Director of Student Activities at St. Francis Prep all said how excited they were for the Ultimate Prom (catch up on the video series here). Then, we went on stage and signed the Students for Safe Prom promise. That was my favorite part of the night. It was such an honor to sign it first with JoJo and Lloyd. You too can sign it by clicking here.

Finally, Mike and I watched Suai and Jada perform on stage, from the front row! They were sooo good. I loved watching them. They are going to be amazing at prom.

This event made me so thrilled, and I am counting down the days until we are going to be walking the red carpet at prom! This event has been the most exciting thing I have ever done. Being able to watch a video about Prep and hanging out with Lloyd and JoJo is something I would have never believed if you told me that last year. So for everyone out there, you never know — this could be you next year!!

Prom is one week from Saturday and there is still so much for me to do! I have been so busy working and doing things for school that I’ve had barely any time to get ready for prom. I still do not have my shoes or jewelry! And I can’t decide between two places for pre-prom food. It’s getting so close so I will need to make a decision very soon.

I just took my dress to get altered today, and I don’t get to pick it up until Thursday before prom. Let’s hope nothing goes wrong with that since it will be two days before prom. I don’t know what I would do if something happened to my dress!

We have exactly 50 people for dinner so far, but there could be more added on to that. It’s going to be a huge group! (I have to collect money for dinner from everyone still too!) Hopefully it doesn’t rain because we will be eating outside on the deck.

There is a little bit of after-prom drama. Since we are not getting a bus anymore, we had to figure something else out. So now we have two options: 1) Have a bonfire and camp out at a friend’s house about 45 minutes away. 2) Go to a friend’s house in the city and swim and hang out. Different people want to do different things, so there is a lot of drama deciding where everyone should go. What would you choose?

The boys will be arriving from Canada on Friday at 3:30pm! Lindsey and I are going to pick them up from the airport right after school. Then, we will show them around the city the first night and then all day Saturday they will help set up for the dinner at my house! I am getting so excited!! I just hope I manage to get everything done in time!

Starring in the Ultimate Prom series has given me so many great opportunities. The latest adventure was doing a fashion segment for Extra, the entertainment TV show!! When I found out that I was going to model a prom dress on TV, I freaked out.

Four classmates of mine also modeled– Angelica, who is one of my best friends, Erica, Gabby, and Lisa. When we arrived at the Hearst Magazines building in Manhattan and went up to the CosmoGIRL! floor, all of us were so excited.

We had our hair and makeup done (I got a glamorous updo!). The fashion editors selected jewelry and shoes to match the prom dresses we were modeling. It was a dream come true for any girl. Being in the fashion closet of one of the most inspiring teen magazines was so awesome. Just about everything in there I wanted. Seeing the shelves of shoes, drawers of jewelry, and racks of the most fashionable clothes was amazing!! I loved every minute I was there.

For the Extra segment, we had to twirl in front of the camera in our dresses, pose, and walk like models on a runway. We felt like we were famous. Then Susan, the editor of CosmoGIRL!, came to the shoot and she described our looks and why they were trendy. She is truly an inspiration for me. She has such a wonderful personality and she was so sweet to us.

After the shoot was over, we had a pizza party, and we got to meet the band Rooney, because they just happened to be visiting the entertainment editor! I was flipping out because I totally love them. My sisters and I have been following their music since their first album. The guys were so nice and down-to-earth. They took pictures and talked with us. (That’s me in the blue ballgown, sitting next to Robert Schwartzman — do you recognize him from The Princess Diaries?)

All in all, it was an amazing day! I will remember it forever. Make sure to tune into Extra this week to catch the segment. As soon as I find out which day, I’ll let you know!

Today I reserved the tables and chairs for the pre-prom party in my backyard! I picked a really great company that is reasonably priced. They will deliver everything to my house the day before (tables, chairs, and tablecloths) and then they will pick everything up the day after. I ordered enough tables for 64 people! We are still not sure of the number of guests, but it is looking like over 50. I ordered extra so that I could account for any last minutes adds. Let’s hope that I don’t need any more tables than that! My backyard is going to get VERY crowded.I also narrowed down the food choice to two restaurants. Now I just need to call and see who gives me the better price. Then, all that is left is to decide is which entrees to order and how much. We are going to charge $20 a person for dinner, which I think is a great deal because if we went out to eat it would end up being around $80 a couple, most likely. I think everyone will be really happy with this!

Less then three weeks left and I still have to get my dress altered, find shoes, and find jewelry. Wish me luck!