Dresses, tuxes, stretch limos, the right partner ... it takes months of planning, plenty of shopping, and some agonising anticipation to get to the big night.
Preparing yourself for the school ball - a rite of passage - is serious business, and no expense is spared.
Tonight heralds the beginning of the
school ball season for Tauranga secondary schools, which runs until the end of August. Tauranga Girls' College is first to put on a night of glitz and glamour.
Students attending tonight's event can expect a $15,000 spectacle, with the Greek theme Amarysso "the sparkle".
From the towering pillars to the lighting extravaganza, Greek statues and billows of white fabric that float below the ceiling, tonight's glamour ball at the school hall has been a long time coming for the organisers.
Two of of the organisers, Steph Mackay and Abi Mark, have been on the ball committee for two years. Steph said it was "quite good" being the first Western Bay school to hold a ball, as you got to "set the standard and choose your theme first".
Western Bay high schools could get a bit competitive with balls, she said.
Unlike other secondary schools, tonight's ball is only for Year 13 students.
About 400 teenagers are expected with tickets.
"We only get one ball so it's been four years of waiting to work up to this," 17-year-old Steph said.
As a girls' college it was up to the girls to ask the boys to the ball and hope the gesture "would be returned".
The biggest night of the year saw the girls spare no expense with some students at Girls' College spending in excess of $400 on a dress.
On top of this was money spent on hair, nails, a spray tan and accessories. And partners don't get away with being frugal either, with a lot of girls matching their partner's ties and shirts with their outfits.
Ball schedule: Tauranga Girls' College: tonight. Mount Maunganui College: June 6. Otumoetai College: June 20. Katikati College: July 25. Te Puke High School: July 25. Aquinas College: August 1. Bethlehem College: August 15. Tauranga Boys' College: August 22.
