The air buzzed with excitement as the student body awaited the moment they would arrive at Briar Wood’s annual Prom dance on Friday, May 2, at the Hyatt Regency Reston hotel, where Juniors and Seniors alike enjoyed a fun night with friends. In their planning, the SCA decided this year’s theme to be “Secret Garden,” making use of floral springtime elements. In addition, this year’s duration shifted back one hour from last year, starting at 7 p.m. and wrapping up at 10 p.m. The student body eagerly anticipated all the day’s activities, from getting ready together, taking pictures with the local picturesque scenery, and sitting down for a nice meal before the dance started. 

One Senior girl preferring to leave out her name details the plans with her Prom group, sharing all that they have scheduled for the hours leading up to the big moment. She says  “Firstly, [we all did] our hair and makeup separately and then [met] up at one of the girl’s houses to do a dress reveal together, and then [we drove] to the Lincoln Memorial for pictures, and then back to Reston for dinner and then [we went] to Prom.” She adds that planning was no easy feat, as it took multiple calls and many long conversations in order to work out the logistics like transportation and where to go for dinner to accommodate everyone in the party.

The ladies came and dazzled in a wide range of dress colors in the evening. 20 attendees were surveyed for their dress colors, with the most popular as pink at five, then four green, three blue and three red, two silver and two purple, and one radiant golden dress. Truly a night of glitz and glamor!

Regardless of how the day went leading up to Prom, the students waited through the school week in anticipation and excitement for one of the biggest moments of their high school years, showing up in their finest. The SCA worked diligently for months to ensure that the night was perfect and lives in the memories of those attending for the rest of their lives.