After buying the tickets, finding the perfect dress or suit, and paying for hair and make-up, prom season can be very costly for parents – but do you know just how much it costs?
If you were to solely consider what makes up the event, such as venue hire and catering, a ticket alone would have set you back approximately $70 in 2016. However parents are looking at an average price of $82.50 per ticket for this year’s celebrations.
Breaking this down into services; ticket prices should cover:
- Catering – which on average has risen from $40 per head in 2016 to $49 in 2019
- Venue hire – the average price for a venue has crept up by $63 every year from $441 to $631
- DJ – A DJ for this type of event used to set you back $400 and is now likely to cost around $600 instead
- Photography – a couple of hours of photography for a prom has risen massively from $175 to $295
On top of the tickets, prom-goers are going to want to be looking and feeling their best when celebrating with their friends. Data from Bark.com sellers has given insight on how much you might need to spend to get your child prom-ready.
Finding the perfect suit or dress for your teenager has increased by either $12 or $35 respectively. If a manicure is on their mind, the price of nail artistry has risen from $30 to $45 and the average price of hair styling has also increased by $25, to $90 for a classic prom ‘updo’.
At least getting them to the prom in style has jumped up by 50%. Sharing a limousine with eight friends, on average, would work out to be $25 back in 2016, where the same journey would now cost $37.50.
| Service | Cost in 2016 | Cost in 2019 |
| Catering | $40 | $49 |
| Venue | $441 | $631 |
| DJ | $400 | $600 |
| Photography | $175 | $295 |
| Prom Dress | $175 | $210 |
| Suit | $65 | $77 |
| Manicure | $30 | $45 |
| Make Up | $40 | $65 |
| Hair | $65 | $90 |
| Limousine Hire
(split between 8 customers – the average amount of prom-goers according to Bark.com’s sellers) |
$25 | $37.50 |
Kai Feller, Bark.com co-founder, said,
“Nowadays there’s a massive social pressure to ensure that we are looking our best, so it’s not surprising to see the cost of proms to be well into the hundreds.
“Of course, the price of services are bound to increase over time, but maybe we’re witnessing a trend where sellers are treating proms the same as weddings, and hike prices up to account for the big day.”