Prom Spot - Prom Spotlight: Kristy & Ryan in Derry, NH

Just over a month before prom, Kristy was still waiting for Ryan, her boyfriend of 8 months, to ask her to prom. Throughout the months leading up to the event, Ryan joked to Kristy that he didn't want to go -- or that he wanted to ask someone else. But one night outside Kristy's house, Ryan took her in his arms, gazed into her eyes, and finally asked.

SHE IS Kristy, 17, junior
HER DATE IS Ryan, 16, junior
DAY OF PROM May 24
THE SCHOOL Pinkerton Academy, Derry, NH
THE SCENE The Hackler Gymnasium at Pinkerton Academy; Derry, NH

PROM STYLE Months before Ryan even asked her to prom, Kristy was combing the Internet and poring over magazines in search of the perfect dress. But she didn't start trying anything on in stores until about two weeks before the big night! "I must have tried on about 25 dresses," Kristy recalls. Her boyfriend came along to help. "Ryan was there for me the whole time," she says. "I didn't care if he had seen my dress before. It's the total picture at the end that matters." Kristy finally chose a royal blue floor-length dress, with an empire waist and a halter-style top, which she purchased at Deb. She completed her look with strappy silver shoes from Filene's. "They were the most comfortable dressy shoes I have ever worn," Kristy says. But that's about the extent of Kristy's advance prep for the prom. "I didn't do any planning," she admits. "I didn't even know how we were getting to prom! To be honest, I was a mess."

A LITTLE HELP FROM HER FRIENDS Luckily, Kristy had some help in the hair and makeup department. Her neighbor Monica is training to become a hairdresser. "She was doing updos for prom at her salon," Kristy says. Monica gave Kristy a braided curly do, and attached rhinestones with hair glue. Kristy raves, "She did such an awesome job!" Hardly an expert when it comes to makeup, ("I wear the same stuff every day and rarely change it!"), Kristy turned to her good friend Alyssa. Using Kristy's mom's Mary Kay products, Alyssa helped Kristy achieve the special-occasion look she was going for. "I'm so thankful to have such a great friend," Kristy says of Alyssa. "She was running so late after helping me, but she made it and looked great too!" As a finishing touch, Kristy spritzed on a Candies' fragrance: Ryan's favorite.

AN ENCHANTED EVENING The theme of the evening was "Impressions of the Mediterranean." Kristy and Ryan arrived at the prom (courtesy of Ryan's mom's brand-new car) and couldn't believe their eyes. Their school gym was beautiful -- and completely unrecognizable. It was decorated to resemble a deck overlooking the Mediterranean Sea at sunset. "There was nothing there that looked like the gym," Kristy marvels. "There were two fountains -- one in the foyer and one at the back of the gym. It looked so good!"

PROM HIGHLIGHTS According to Kristy the music was fantastic. She and Ryan and their friends danced the night away to the sounds of a great DJ. "After almost four full hours of dancing, I still wanted to dance!" Kristy laughs. Their prom song was "A Moment Like This," by Kelly Clarkson -- and each prom-goer received a framed copy of the lyrics to that song. One of the highlights of the evening was a special tribute to the school's retiring headmaster who had graduated Pinkerton Academy back in the 1950s. Everyone wanted his last prom to be special. He arrived in a limo with his wife, and then joined four other couples from his high school class. "They had a special dance just for those couples," Kristy recalls. "It was really cute."

PROM MEMORIES At the end of the dance, Kristy, Ryan, and their friends headed back to Ryan's house for a party. "We had a bonfire," Kristy says, "and we all slept over afterward. Everyone had a great time." The next day, the couple woke up early, went to church, and went back to Kristy's house for the rest of the day. "That was the first time we had spent that much time together -- we loved it!" But Kristy's most treasured memory of prom came early on. "One of my favorite moments," she says, "was when I saw Ryan for the first time on prom night. The look in his eyes was adorable, and it made me feel like I was the most beautiful girl in the world. He told me that when I got into the car as well -- it was so romantic."

-- Jackie Fisherman