Asking someone out to prom has evolved from “Hey, do you have a prom date yet?” to masterfully executed surprises, with each pair of dates trying to outshine the last couple who took over the entire Class of 2025’s Instagram stories. Here are some of the most creative promposal categories thus far.
College Focused: Many promposals, especially when the female date is a graduating senior, have been based around the college where the girl will be attending in the fall. These promposals are particularly effective when they take place at the girl’s bed decorating party, more commonly known as a “bed dec.” When the girl’s entire bedroom, dining room, or backyard are decorated with her school’s colors and merchandise, a themed promposal poster fits perfectly with the rest of the photo.
Junior Luke Pignataro opted for a University of Florida-themed promposal for his prom date, senior Emily Franklin. With the help of his friends, Pignataro created a sign in the classic UF blue and orange, and the promposal itself was a featured mascot-centered pun: “Nothing would be ‘gator’ than going to prom with you.” Paired with a custom blue-and-orange flower bouquet, Pignataro’s promposal made Franklin’s bed dec even more meaningful and special.
Senior Bennett Votano took his promposal to his girlfriend, senior Adriana Ciociano, one step further with a choreographed dance routine. “I thought it was perfect because she is going to be on the dance team next year at Rutgers,” Votano explained.
The idea for Votano’s promposal had been months in the making. “I know I didn’t want to do a normal promposal, so I started thinking of good ideas of what to do, and my mom and I had talked early in the year about possibly making a dance for it. I really did not think anything of it and did not think it would pull through and happen,” Votano shared. Luckily, one of Votano’s best friends, senior Ryan Benson, is blessed with a mother who happened to be one of Ciociano’s kickline coaches: “[She] mentioned to my mom that she would help choreograph a dance if I really wanted to.”
Only two days before Ciociano’s bed-dec, Votano gathered four of his closest senior friends—Luke Dantona, Damon Lanzello, Dominic Fasano, and Benson—to be his backup dancers. The quintet of boys rehearsed and memorized a short dance routine to “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You” by Frankie Valli, complete with red and black t-shirts to complement Rutgers University’s colors, and boxes of Crumbl Cookies as a sweet surprise. “It worked out better than I could have imagined,” Votano added. For anyone who wants to watch this promposal, Votano is sending his viewers to @adrianaciociano on TikTok.
Musical Performance: In a similar fashion to Votano, senior Justin Williams wanted to impress his prom date, junior Daniella Inserra, with a personal performance. “Last year, Zach Buxton promposed to his girlfriend with a performance, and when I watched it happen, I thought to myself, ‘That’s what I want to do,’” Williams recalled.
For the promposal theme, Williams chose a shared interest between him and Inserra: baseball. “She’s a diehard Yankee fan, and I’m a diehard Mets fan, so things get heated sometimes, especially during the Subway Series,” Williams joked. Williams and his friends pulled the title of Francisco Lindor’s walk-up song, “My Girl,” for the promposal poster’s phrase: “I know you’re a Yankee fan, but will you be ‘My Girl’ at prom?” The promposal would have been incomplete without Williams actually performing “My Girl” by The Temptations, which is exactly what he did for the surprise Performance Friday in chorus teacher Barry Wyner’s seventh-period class. “After hours of practicing the song, asking her friends her favorite candy, and planning the big moment with Mr. Wyner, the plan took action and went perfectly,” Williams shared.
As an added bonus, Williams assured that Inserra would wear a Yankees jersey to school on the day of the promposal while he wore a Mets jersey so that their outfits would complement each other in the photos. “She absolutely loved it,” Williams commented.
Shared Interests: Music is a connecting force and was the inspiration behind senior Erick Diaz’s promposal to his date, junior Dani Zhanay. “I only came up with the idea [when] I saw a similar promposal with [‘NOKIA’] on TikTok,” Diaz shared. Following a track practice, Diaz surprised Zhanay with a poster featuring one of her favorite Drake songs, “NOKIA.” “I knew everything I needed for the poster, so the planning was very straightforward,” Diaz explained. “I’m a huge Drake fan, so I love how Erick incorporated the lyrics of one of his songs—that has my name in it— and put a spin on it. It was creative, fun, and personal,” Zhanay shared.
The best part of the promposal for Zhanay was the element of surprise. “I absolutely had no idea and was surprised. It totally caught me off guard in the best way.” Zhanay added, “It was a cute and thoughtful gesture that made me feel special.”
Regardless of how creative, artistic, or gaudy one’s promposal or poster may be, Zhanay reflected that at the end of the day, these promposals are just a fun and sweet way for friends and couples alike to build excitement for the prom.
