With the upcoming junior and senior prom on Saturday, April 16, there is a lot of buzz surrounding the 2022 theme of the “Golden Gala.” 

With this magical night comes the eye-opening magical prices associated with getting ready for prom. The social compulsion associated with prom is always the expensive dresses, the expensive shoes, the expensive jewelry, and the expensive night. The theme Golden Gala accurately describes how expensive prom night can be. 

According to promgirl.com, a prom goers’ dream website, the average night of festivities will cost anywhere between $175 and $2100 with a dream dress costing between $100 and $600. 

It looks like the extravagant dresses and makeup won’t be the only extravagant pieces of prom night. 

In some households, these numbers may be unrealistic or unreasonable for just a singular night of fun. 

To combat this, volunteers put together a local nonprofit organization based solely on the donations of dresses provided by the community. From This Day Forward was founded in June of 2016 and it strives to assist individuals in planning a special event with limited funds. Located at 14625 Lima Road in Fort Wayne Indiana this volunteer-run boutique strives to provide women with beautiful dresses for their big day. 

“Helping people find their dream dresses is really amazing,” volunteer Alyssa Cirillo said, “It is such an amazing feeling seeing people find their dream dress and be able to have their dream event even on a budget.” 

Students here at Carroll high school are also fixated on the store with a number of students finding their dream dresses for little cost. 

In addition to beautiful dresses, shoes, and jewelry, the boutique also provides students with an internship opportunity. Students like Alyssa Cirillo have taken full advantage of this opportunity and found the rewards that have been provided going into this possibility. 

“Volunteering there is a really humbling experience,” Cirillo said, “You never know what people are dealing with mentally and financially and it’s truly amazing to hear people’s individual stories.” 

If you are interested in this position send an email with an attached resume to info@fromthisdayforwardministry.org for more information. 

At the moment, From This Day Forward is also looking for any new or gently used dresses as well as any special event décor and supplies to keep up with the demand of the prom rush. 

Sales are also on the rise at From This Day Forward with a lot of upcoming events being held at its location. Watch out for March 11th from 1-6 pm and March 12th from 10-2 pm where all prom dresses will be 22% off the already staggering low prices and a separate 5$ dress rack. 

Thanks to the volunteers that make this shop run, students are able to find their dream dresses for a fraction of the price making prom a night of enjoyment, rather than a night of spending.