The 2023 prom season looks like it’s an extravagant affair, despite inflation hitting family budgets, writes Erin McCarthy for The Philadelphia Inquirer.

“Social media has heightened this, where it’s more about the show, about the production than it is in the actual prom,” said Michael Brown, who runs the Butterfly Boutique where girls can choose secondhand prom dresses free of charge.

Today’s proms can include 360-degree cameras, professional photographers, and living room DJs  

Prom costs can run $400 to $500 per dance, but many parents seem willing to bite the bullet.

Christine Giudici Boggi in Upper Darby didn’t set a budget for daughters Ava and Isabella to attend senior and junior proms.

“I am an Italian mom from South Philly and I say ‘yes,’” said Boggi, 45. “I’m just kind of like, ‘You guys want that, we’ll make it happen.’”

She got her costs down to $400 per daughter per dance after the girls found discounted dresses at Macy’s, not including alterations.  

Instead of paying hundreds for a limo, the girls will travel in their uncle’s 1967 Chevrolet Nova SS.

Northeastern US promgoers paid an average of $700 in 2017 on proms, according to Yahoo’s Prom Across America Survey.

Read more about today’s prom costs in The Philadelphia inquirer.