Introduction:

I was lucky enough to be invited to Ashley Ridge High school Prom. If you do not know what Ashley Ridge is, it is a 5A high school in Summerville right off highway 61. So, I figured I would share my experience. However, a digression is that this is my experience and might alter from person to person; these are my thoughts and opinions.

Pictures: -10/10

The first part of the day was pictures where I took photos at a farm in Summerville.

Whenever I have taken pictures fora  Magnet dance, it is more of a laid-back experience. Typically parents sometimes attend and take 30 mins max; however, these prom pictures took 2 hours. There were moms, dads, siblings, and dogs where we were taking pictures which was very different for me. There was a professional photographer with an assistant helping helping us stay organized while making sure we got the best angles. The one thing that surprised me the most is that we did indeed do the basic prom poses that you see in the movies and tv shows. This part of the day was the longest and worst, and by the end, I forgot how to smile; however, the moms were super friendly, and many jokes were made throughout the hours. However, those millions of pictures I took within those 2 hours will forever haunt me as it was one of the most awkward things I have had to participate in. However, I am still very grateful as I got amazing pictures to post on Instagram.

Dinner: 10/10

Next is dinner, in which we had reservations at 5 at Cowboys Brazilian Steakhouse.

Dinner was probably my favorite part of the night. We went to a Brazilian Steakhouse and the food was amazing. I loved the style for dinner, especially in a large group I would recommend as they come around with different types of foods on a stick and ask if you would like what they are offering. This allowed the dinner of 30 people to be a lot faster and more efficient. They also had a salad bar with other foods in case you did not enjoy what they were serving. Even though it was quite expensive for an event like prom I would recommend it as it works out best for larger groups and the food is amazing.   

Venue: 6/10

After dinner, we had some time between till the actual dance, so we went to a house and then made the 30 min drive to the dance.

Ashley Ridge prom was at the Embassy Suite by the Colosseum in North Charleston. Now the location itself was not my favorite, especially in comparison to the Aquarium. However, the features that were inside really make up this score. They had a 360 camera machine and multiple camera stations to take lots of pictures. I also loved the way they did their voting for prom court. They had Ipads on stands right as you walked in where you could vote from prom court. I appreciated this as only people who went to prom could vote in comparison to Magnet, which does a google form, allowing the whole student body to vote for their prom court. Another plus was the fantastic macaroons which were their party favors, and they were an excellent way to end the night.

Prom: 8/10

One significant aspect that I found different from the typical Magnet school dance compared to Ashley Ridge was the dancing. At AMHS dances, the dancing is more in large groups of friends, usually crowded together surrounded by other groups. Creating more of a “mosh pit” vibe (for lack of a better term). At  Ashley Ridge prom, I witnessed that it was smaller groups, max five people, and more commonly, couples or dates dancing together, as well as; the music also differed from the typical Magnet playlist. From my Magnet experience, many throwback songs are played; however, at Ashley Ridge, it was more newly released songs that created a different vibe as sometimes I would not know the words, making it hard to dance and sing. Another point to bring to attention is that there are never any slow dances at Magnet events, while at Ashley Ridges, there were 2-3, which can make it awkward if you do not have a date or someone to dance with during this time.

After Prom: 9/10

After prom, we drove to the lake house in Eutawville, where we stayed the night.

After the dance, events at magnet are more grade-based. Typically there is a larger grade hangout such as many of the seniors will go somewhere and the juniors will go somewhere else with a few occasions of mixing. However, at Ashley Ridge, it was strictly friend group-based. The group I went with was a mix of senior, junior, and sophomore boys known as the Goons. It was about 15 boys and 15 girls mixed. It was still lots of fun, and I would say I prefer this way more as you can talk more with specific people instead of continuing to dance and party. It allowed me to become friends with many people there that I did not know while also having a good time.