6 High Schoolers Share How They Got Ready For Virtual Prom, and the Photos Are Everything

My brother Charlie and I were joking about the idea of having a virtual prom since the beginning of quarantine. We finally had time over spring break, looked at each other, and said, "Dude, we should actually do this." And so we did. The idea of this virtual prom was really embraced by all of my friends; they even helped us brainstorm features of the event.

We put this prom together as fast as we possibly could, if I'm honest. We reached out to Ms. Ivy McGregor, CEO of Ivy Inc. Soars and Beyoncé's Bey Good Foundation, and she connected us to Jack Dorsey, CEO of Twitter and Square. Jack ended up fulfilling our entire budget of $25K. And later that day, we were connected to the Hot Topic Foundation, through Lady Gaga's Born This Way Foundation, who doubled Jack's initial donation. From that point on, everything else working up to the prom is a blur of chaos and hustling.

My virtual prom prep started the Friday before my event. I put on a hair mask, shaved my legs, popped on a face mask, and laid out my dress, makeup, and hair products.

Sebastian Professional hairstylist Anthony Cole helped me pick out the perfect hairstyle to match my dress and makeup. He walked me through how to do it and even educated me on what products to use and how to use them. He completely saved my prom look. I kept my makeup simple and natural since my dress was so sparkly.

Since prom was virtual and prom dress stores were closed, I had to look for a prom dress online that wouldn't need major alterations. I ended up going with a glittering rose-gold two-piece halter-neck dress with a side slit.

I had a ton of fun at my virtual prom. I think my favorite part was my digital red carpet event, where I got to interview some of my favorite celebrities and ask them for self-care tips. Netflix stars Logan Allen and Maxwell Jenkins, legendary comedian Kym Whitley, Mama Durant, internationally respected ballerina Tiler Peck, makeup artist Derrick Rutledge, and even TikTok star Curtis Roach all made unforgettable appearances at my digital red carpet.

My family and I decorated and transformed my entire living room into a beautiful dancing area with lots of lights, balloons, and streamers. My prom prep included a virtual hairstyling session with Anthony Cole, painting my nails, doing my makeup, and accessorizing with Pandora Jewelry.

Cole was amazing and inspired my whole hairstyle. He walked me through each step of a personalized look on Zoom with a mannequin for reference. My final hairstyle was loose curls with the top portions of my hair pulled back. For my makeup, I did eyeshadow, mascara, highlight, and lip gloss. The eyeshadow look was warm tones with sparkles to match my red prom dress. I really went all out.

My prom dress is a red mermaid lace dress with spaghetti straps, a crisscross top, a half-open back, and sequins embellished on the lace. This dress was going to be my senior prom dress, so it was the perfect opportunity to get to wear it. I was super lucky that my dress didn't get stuck at the tailors like a lot of my friends' dresses, so my outfit plans didn't have to change.

It's really amazing how everyone can come together online. My friends even joined a Zoom call to dance with me. It felt nice to be able to laugh, dance, and smile with all of them. I also really enjoyed how it brought my family together. We all had so much fun getting ready, decorating, and taking pictures.

During this hard time, there's nothing more comforting than knowing you're not alone. All of us seniors are in this together, and the best way we can deal with this is lifting each other up and staying connected. It's also amazing to see how supportive parents and companies like Sebastian Professional and Pandora are giving back to the class of 2020 after all we've lost.

Preparing for virtual prom was different. I knew that everyone was only going to be able to see my upper half, but I still decided to do things I would have done for my prom. I decorated my room, made space, made sure my internet was good, and grabbed a few snacks.

I didn't do anything fancy with my hair because it is a bit short and I honestly don't know how to work hair tools, so I straightened it and pinned it to the side. For my makeup, I went light but made sure it was noticeable. I filled in my eyebrows, did my eyelashes, and wore highlighter. I was going for a natural look because I thought it would look better with the dress I was planning on wearing.

My dress was in the style of a sundress with blue flowers. It was a pale pink and reached a bit above my knees. I wore beige flats and shorts underneath. My plans did change a bit since I was planning on buying a new dress but unfortunately couldn't anymore. However, this dress is close to something I was planing to wear for prom. I like loose dresses that make it easy for me to dance in and have a good time. I also get tired with heels easily, which is why I went with flats.

Virtual prom was extremely fun. All of my friends were there, and we were singing and dancing to the music. Though we couldn't physically dance together, the positive energy made it feel like we were. Everyone also took it as a real prom and dressed up. My absolute favorite part of the event was when we played a game. It brought us together, and we learned new things about each other. We laughed, danced, talked, and shared our first virtual prom and, for some of us, our first prom. I would definitely love to do this again. It was an experience from my senior year I truly appreciate.

There was a lot more coordination and initiative on my part to plan and organize my own prom. Things that I had taken for granted at previous school dances did not come easy — sending out invites, crafting a perfect playlist of danceability vs. chill-out music, having games on hand if there was a lull in the conversation, and generally making sure all of my friends had as good of a time as possible was more of a challenge than I thought it would be.

I knew that I wanted to go classic and understated since my dress was a bold red and I have dyed purple tips on the ends of my hair. I took inspiration from vintage Hollywood to give myself big, soft ringlets that would be elegant and tie my look together. Much like my hair, I wanted to give myself a classic makeup look and let the beautiful Pandora Jewelry and bold print of my dress shine. The Soap & Glory Sexy Mother Pucker XXL Lip Gloss in Pinkwell helped me make a statement, without taking the spotlight away from my dress.

I had bought my prom dress before the pandemic, so I was lucky to have access to my full outfit. I had a bold red dress with a halter racer top and a long skirt that pooled at the bottom. I had access to some beautiful Pandora Jewelry to accessorize my look, including a pair of studded crown earrings, a silver crown ring, a silver-studded tiara ring, and a diamond tiara bracelet. If anything, it was easier since I didn't have to wear any shoes while I danced with my friends. My friends who hadn't gotten their dresses on time had to improvise quite a bit, though.

I made so many memories that I would've never had if things had continued as normal. My favorite memory was while my friends and I danced to Lady Gaga and Michael Jackson, my sister and mom were singing along in the kitchen as they made dinner. It was a strange meshing of worlds that showed me the solidarity that can come out of social distancing. Everyone needs a little time to dance and feel beautiful and free. The fact that they also got to experience my prom was really gratifying to show me that.

I think quarantine made it incredibly hard to feel connected to my friends. I felt a strong ache — that I was missing out on something that was a rite of passage for me to have one night to feel beautiful and act silly with my friends. Even over Zoom, I still had an unforgettable experience. When my grandkids ask me about COVID-19 and how I dealt with it, I'll tell them stories about this prom and how fun it was to connect with my friends and family alike.

I love glamming up even to stay indoors, and the awesome new jewelry Pandora sent over as part of their Pandora Prom Package will complete the perfect virtual prom look.

I love just going with a simple sleek, straight hair look. I think it looks so elegant and does the job. Kinda like a sexy J Lo look. I love Lisa Opie (from The Lady Code) lashes, so that will be a must, but that will be the biggest glam tool. Other than that, I'm doing a cute natural look with some highlighter to capture the cheekbones.

I will be wearing a cute romper from Francesca's. It's actually the color I wanted my dream prom dress to be, but I think it fits the occasion for a virtual prom knowing I wasn't the only one who didn't get a prom dress this year before everything closed down.

I think the most important thing is connecting with my friends, and even though we aren't together in real life, there is still some celebration to do.

I hung up some fairy lights and decorations that were in the background of the virtual prom. A family friend also contacted a DJ, who sent me a video of him playing some music that I used during the prom. That was pretty cool because my friends and I sent him a list of songs to play.

My friends and I were really excited to get dressed up, do makeup and hair for this virtual prom, and overall have a good time at our senior prom. I have short hair, so it's a bit difficult to style. I just did some curls using a curling iron, since my hair is naturally straight. I don't own much makeup, but I did put on a little bit of mascara, highlighter, and lip gloss.

I sewed my prom dress this year, which was my plan from the start. I designed it on Photoshop and printed it on fabric via Spoonflower. My aunt (who is a fashion designer) helped me make the pattern last year for a short formal dress, so I just used the same pattern but made the dress floor length. I am really happy I was able to wear my dress and the Pandora Jewelry for virtual prom.

The prom went very well. We played a bunch of virtual games, danced a bit, and had a DJ playing music. It was really great to see everyone in their dresses and suits. Some of my friends even put up prom decorations for their Zoom background.