Redmond teens show off elaborate “promposals”

More and more teens are popping the big question — “Will you to go to prom with me?”

But for many, it’s no longer just a simple question you can ask in the hallway or even through a text.

Now it’s Promposals — the over-the-top way to ask that special someone to the biggest event of the season.

“I thought, how can I ask her in a way that’s creative? Because you can’t really just ask a girl any more — people see that as being lame,” Ridgeview senior Austin Row said Thursday.

Lame doesn’t cut it.

They’re going all out, pulling pretty epic stunts, to get their dates to say yes.

“The day before I asked her, I went to Nike and got a pair of shoes,” said senior Connor McCreary. “And when she was at school, I went there and set them up and made a sign that said, ‘I’m so happy you walked into my life, will you go to prom with me?'”

Another student was surprised with roses — a lot of them.

“He called me and told me to come outside, and he was standing there with 144 roses,” said Giselle Chesney, a senior at Ridgeview.

As if being a teenager didn’t come with enough anxiety, now you have to ask someone to a dance in a grand fashion — and hope they say yes.

“I put this poster together and I went in front of a class and was like, ‘Would you be my date to prom?’ And needless to say, I got rejected,” said junior Caitlin Darrah.

When another student, Kordell Dudley, saw how upset Darrah was, he grabbed her poster and asked her to Prom.

“I was like, well she’s really pretty, so I was like, I’ll take this poster and go ask her with it,” Dudley said.

Two strangers, now happy prom dates.

The date isn’t the only accessory that matters. Teens plan to spend an average of $978 on the event this year, a national survey shows.

Sound pretty pricey? That’s actually down 14 percent from last year.

“I went with my mom looking at dresses and we found one that was $190 just for this one dress,” Shavon Provencio, a senior at Bend High School.

That’s where Becca’s Closet comes in. The Bend nonprofit provides formal attire to low-income high school students, for free.

A big help for people like Provencio trying to save every penny.

“It’s a dress that you’re probably only going to wear once. It makes no sense,” Provencio said.

But whether it’s romantic, grand or over the top, there’s a new expectation when it comes to Prom.

“It makes a girl feel special,” Provencio said.

Becca’s Closet is located below the Bend Community Center.