Prom season has come and gone just like that. It’s a pretty hectic and exciting time of year for the kids. Kianna attended her Junior High 10th Grade Prom and she was very much looking forward to enjoying it. The first thing on the agenda was searching for prom dresses at Divisoria.

This year’s budget was a bit tight and for a moment there I really considered not having her attend but the devastated look on Kianna’s face stopped me. I talked to her about my limitations and we worked on making the costs lower. Last year we had rented a gown from Gown for Rent.  This time around we decided to head to Divisoria.

As usual when going to Divisoria we dressed down so we could properly haggle. We visited 168 Mall where prom dresses galore were on display. There were really some elegant and beautiful dress designs but there were also some that were poorly made. You really get what you pay for unless… you find a bargain which we did.

Realistically my budget was only Php2500. Php3000 at the absolute most. Prom dresses ranged from as low as Php1500 to as high as Php15,000. Since we were shopping a week before the prom our only choice was to buy ready to wear dresses. I hadn’t realized that dresses could be designed and customized there. If I had known, we would have made a trip much earlier to have a unique dress made within a budget I could afford.

We found some real knockouts but these dresses were what were within our budget for the most part. The prices can lessen if you have your own petticoat. Most were Php500 less without a petticoat. Since our Ms Universe Catriona Gray had just won I was sure that there were going to be plenty of girls in red and advised Kianna to stay away from that color.

In the end she chose the black gown you see here. She really sparkled in this dress. At Php2500 I figured we could either keep the dress for some future occasion or rent it out come prom time.

Next on the agenda was her hair and makeup. Last my year my good friend and fellow mommy blogger Mhaan of The Beauty Avenue by Mhaan did her makeup but this year she wasn’t available so I asked for a recommendation. I had pretty high expectations because Mhaan did such a great job last year. I have to say, we were really impressed with her recommendation, Jejel Valero Aguado did an excellent job bringing out a lady like yet soft look for her.

Kianna definitely was all grown up in this gown and make up and I was happy that she was going to have another night to remember.

Her prom was held at Makati ShangriLa. Initially I had planned on getting an airbnb and staying in the area to have her make up done, so we wouldn’t be in a rush and I would have somewhere to hang out till midnight but I just couldn’t make that happen. Luckily, Bastian was able to keep me company. He came straight from school and a part of me was happy because he wanted to come down and see his sister.

Kianna with her friends. After the night was over she told me she had the time of her life. Sometimes I want to save money and not spend for these things but I think to myself that these experiences happen only once (or in this case twice) in her life. She’ll have a happy memory from high school and that’s worth shelling out some money for.

I, myself didn’t get to go to prom and to be honest high school wasn’t a good time for me. I guess in some ways I’m making it up to myself.

A friend once told me that we spend and spend for things that we think are important but we don’t spend for memories. When I look back on my childhood it’s moments of happiness that I felt doing things with my family and friends that I remember most.

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