Colleen Guikema:

“Choosing my dress for winter fest this year was hard. I originally found a black long sleeve dress that I thought I liked, but the weekend before the dance, I tried it on, and decided I hated it, so I went to Von Maur in hopes of finding a dress last minute. It took a while, but I finally found this velvet purple dress with long sleeves. It was perfect. I was originally scared that the loose sleeves made me look like a pirate, but in the end, I loved it and have no regrets about my choice.”

Ayla Thompson:

“I found my dress a while ago. It was super popular at the time, and I found it in a blue color at first, and I decided to check out the website. I then found it in a green color and immediately ordered it because I knew it was the one. It flattered my skin tone and I loved the embroidery details it had all over. It was intricate yet beautiful all at once. I am super happy with my choice, and it turned out super pretty.”

Gavin Cai:

“Basically, I’ve been wanting to do a cool colored suit for a while now and I’d had it narrowed down to dark green or maroon. I decided to go with dark green because I’ve really been into earth tones lately… unfortunately, I’m terrible at planning ahead and left off suit buying till last week, so I ended up with a suit slightly darker than I liked. It’s kind of hard to tell, but there’s a tone of green, and I decided to pair it with a sage undershirt and a really bold tie to try to get the green to pop out a little more. Not sure if it really worked, but I’m happy with the end result!”

Katya Berjawi:

“I picked my dress with my shoes in mind because I had bought them first. Originally, the dress I was going to wear was plain white but had sold out right when I went to buy it. I freaked out for a couple of days, but eventually, I loved the dress I ended up with way more; I decided to embrace the barbie doll vibe.”

Mia Martini:

“Two months before Winterfest, I began my extensive search for my perfect dress. First, I asked myself three questions: what color, what neckline, and what fit? This year, inspired by the color of my prom dress, I decided to once again do the color Fuschia. The neckline stayed up in the air for a while; however, I knew I wanted to try just a basic tight bodice and flowy skirt. Once I began looking, I found my dress on Free People rather quickly. Not only did it check all my boxes, but it also included details I fell in love with such as a corset-type lacing in the back, gold hardware, and a floral pattern. I gathered my nude heels from a previous dance and gave in to buying some dangly gold earrings to accompany the dress as I anxiously awaited its arrival. When it finally reaches the time to put it on, freshly steamed, with my heels, earrings, and curled hair is a moment I always anticipate.”

Dom Schipani:

“I wore a traditional black suit with a white buttoned shirt underneath with a green tie. For my shoes, I wanted to match my suit so those were also black”