Prom Spot - Prom Spotlight: Jenny & Ryan in Orange, CA

As prom night approached, Jenny was determined to be the belle of the ball. She had been home-schooled for the past year and a half after being stricken with Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy Syndrome, a debilitating nerve disease that paralyzed her left leg for months and requires her to use crutches daily. But on that night she wanted to show everyone that she was not about to let her disability rule her life.

SHE IS Jenny, 17, junior
HER DATE IS Ryan, 18, senior
DAY OF PROM May 24
THE SCHOOL El Modena High School, Orange, CA
THE SCENE Discovery Science Center, Orange, CA

THE BIG QUESTION About three weeks before the big day, Jenny's boyfriend Ryan still hadn't asked her to prom! Jenny didn't want to assume that they were going together just because they were a couple. "I wanted to be asked in a cute way like everyone else!" she laughs. Then one day, while Jenny was at physical therapy, Ryan went to her house and wrote: "Jenny, will you go to the prom with me?" on her front porch -- next to a can of miniature roses. Jenny was ecstatic. "I whipped out my phone and called him up to say, 'YES, of course I'll go!'"

GETTING THE LOOK But she had started planning months before, shopping for makeup and accessories, and working out like a champ. One of Jenny's friends gave her a dress she had outgrown -- a beaded emerald green Jessica McClintock number with a halter-style top. "Shopping is a total hassle for me these days because of my bad leg," Jenny admits, "so it was a huge blessing to get my friend's dress that was so stunningly perfect." Shoes were not a problem either -- Jenny found hers at Payless. "I wasn't about to spend big bucks on a pair of shoes that I was only going to wear one of!" She topped off the outfit with a Frankie & Johnny purse, a sparkling bracelet and earrings, and genuine freshwater pearls borrowed from her mom.

PROM PRETTY Jenny had her updo professionally done but she did her homework first. "I had printed off some pix of the style I wanted off the Internet," she explains. "My awesome hairstylist Jessica copied them perfectly -- I was so happy with how it turned out!" She did her own makeup at home, experimenting with different products. "I went for major glamour," Jenny says. "I made my eyes stand out with dramatic charcoal eye shadow, and [used] subtle pastel sage to pull the color of my dress into it all. It was fun to play with lipsticks to create my very own perfect color to finish it all off." She wore Clinique Happy for the night.

FUN WITH SCIENCE After taking plenty of pre-prom pictures, Jenny and Ryan rode in Ryan's Trooper to the Gordon Biersch Brewery in Laguna Hills for an intimate dinner. "Ryan's neighbor is the manager there," Jenny tells us, "and he gave the two of us a completely free dinner! We ate like a king and queen." Prom was at the Discovery Science Center in Orange, CA, which inspired the theme "The Chemistry Between Us." Decorations included plastic test tubes filled with candy to anchor the balloons. "Everyone really liked it," Jenny remarks. Not that she and Ryan spent much time at the table. "We strolled around, checking out the awesome science exhibits that were open, and we chatted with friends." The couple was so busy mingling that they never even hit the dance floor. Jenny explains: "We were planning to dance at least one slow song, since it's quite difficult to do much else with me on crutches. But we must have been upstairs playing with the laser harp too intently because we didn't hear any slow songs to go down and dance to!"

CALLING IT A NIGHT Around 11:45, Ryan brought Jenny home. "I was completely exhausted from the huge day," she says. But the two did have enough energy to turn on their special song "Wouldn't It Be Nice" by the Beach Boys and make up for that slow dance they missed out on at the prom. "It was so quiet and peaceful and perfect, making all the stresses of the day evaporate as we swayed to the music." Have you got pre-prom jitters? Jenny offers the following advice: "Plan in advance to avoid last-minute stress, take lots of deep breaths, and just relax -- because no matter what happens, it'll be one of the coolest experiences in your high school career!"

--Jackie Fisherman