How to Ask a Girl to Prom

Co-authored by wikiHow Staff

Last Updated: October 25, 2022 References

In today's world, the "promposal" is all the rage -- people are finding more and more creative, romantic, or just plain funny ways to ask someone to prom. Don't be nervous -- asking a girl to prom doesn't have to be so nerve-wracking or even complicated. Choose the right girl, then decide how to ask her based on her personality and your relationship. Be creative, romantic, funny, or just ask her straight up without doing anything too dramatic!

Things You Should Know

Make sure she doesn’t already have a date (or plans on going with someone else) before you plan your promposal.
Use inside jokes or references in your promposal to show her that you value your relationship with her.
You could incorporate food, puzzles, toys, balloons, or chalk messages in your promposal to make it fun.
If the two of you are dating, opt for a more romantic promposal, like a sweet serenade, or an intimate dinner alone.

Method 1

Method 1 of 4:

Choosing Who and How to Ask

1
Ask her friends to make sure she is available to go with you. Make sure she doesn’t already have a date, first and foremost. Ask her friends if they think she would be interested in going with you if you aren’t sure.^{[1]
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- Once you’ve decided for sure who you are going to ask, then you can also use her friends as resources to decide how to ask her. Ask them questions about her and run ideas past her to decide how to ask her to prom.
2
Decide how you are going to ask her based on her personality. Not everyone wants a big, fancy, public promposal. Think about the girl’s personality to decide if you are going to ask her in a romantic, dramatic, creative, funny, or straightforward way.^{[2]
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- For instance, if she is shy and not super outgoing, you might want to make it a more straightforward promposal. If she’s extremely outgoing and always the center of attention, then you might want to get creative and come up with a big public promposal.
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3
Personalize your promposal with inside jokes, references, or things she loves. She will appreciate that you took the extra time to make it a personalized promposal. Customize your promposal to things she likes or common interests or experiences you have shared.^{[3]
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- For example, if she loves cats, then find a way to incorporate a cat theme into the promposal.
- If you two had a fun experience together, like a summer camping trip where you hit it off, try to include a reference to this when you ask her.
- There are infinite ways to customize a promposal. Above all, you just want to show that you put the time and effort into personalizing it for the person you want to take! She will appreciate the time and effort you put into it.
4
Be romantic if it’s a romantic situation. Incorporate some romance, such as bringing the girl her favorite flowers or writing her a love poem, into your promposal if love is in the air. Don’t do this if you are just asking a friend or someone who you don’t want a romantic situation with.^{[4]
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- This is another situation in which you can ask her friends about things she likes such as her favorite flowers or chocolates.
- Make sure that the situation is romantic before you decide to ask in a romantic way. You don’t want to cause an awkward situation with a friend or confuse someone you don’t have any romantic feelings for.
5
Have a back up plan in case she says no or can’t go. There is always the possibility that the girl you want to ask doesn’t actually want to go with you. She might not be allowed to or have another commitment.^{[5]
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- You can make a deal to go with a friend in case you both don’t get dates or decide on a second choice that you would enjoy going to prom with.

Method 2

Method 2 of 4:

Asking in a Creative Way

1
Spell out the question in Legos. Take out your old Legos or borrow some from your kid sibling, and spell out "Prom?" with the blocky letters. Wait for her to approach the letters and break into a smile.^{[6]
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- Place the letters in a hallway after school, where the girl will be sure to see them, or lead her outside and then ask her, "Hey, what's that over there?"
2
Make a puzzle asking her to go to prom. Write, "Will you go to prom with me?" on a piece of paper and cut it up into several "puzzle pieces." Place them in a small bag and ask the girl to put the puzzle together for you. Once she solves the puzzle, she'll be impressed that you took so much time to put together your prom proposal.^{[7]
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- Make sure that the puzzle isn’t too complicated! You want to hear the answer without waiting forever for the girl to put the pieces together.
3
Write out your promposal in chalk. Take some sidewalk chalk and ask her to go to prom with you by writing something like, “You? Me? Prom?”, in a big, open place. Spend a lot of time and effort on making the letters, so she'll be truly impressed!^{[8]
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- You can write the promposal on the sidewalk in a park, at school, or in her driveway or your own -- as long as your parents don't mind.
4
Write the question on a board in her classroom. Sneak into her next classroom a bit early, and write, "Will you go to prom with me?" on the board. Write your names on the board as well so there is no confusion.^{[9]
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- You can also hang up a poster in the classroom as an alternative to writing it on the board.
5
Cover something of hers in sticky notes to ask her to prom. Cover her locker, car, or desk in the sticky notes with your promposal. Get creative and create some artwork in the sticky notes, like a big heart, if you have the space.^{[10]
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- One way you can do this is to stick a sticky note with the letter "P" on her locker. When she sees it and takes it off, sneak up and stick one that says "R" on it. Keep going until you've individually stuck on sticky notes that spell "P-R-O-M?" and you reveal your identity.
- Another idea is covering her desk with sticky notes that say, “Will you stick by my side at prom?”
- Be a gentleman and help her clean up the sticky notes when you’re done.

Method 3

Method 3 of 4:

Asking in a Romantic Way

1
Serenade your sweetheart with a song and end it with the promposal. Grab a guitar and sing a sweet song that ends with you asking your special lady to go to the prom with you. Serenade the girl after school near your car or in the back parking lot, or even in school in the cafeteria if you want to put on a show.^{[11]
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- If you don't know how to play guitar, you can impress the girl by learning a song just for her, or you can ask a friend to play the guitar as you sing.
- If guitar isn’t your thing, then you could create a cute rap song and rap it to her while playing the beat from a boombox.
2
Write her a romantic poem to ask her. Write the girl a poem that tells her how amazing she is, ending with some words that say she'd be the perfect prom date. Hand her the poem and wait for her reaction, or tuck the poem into her textbook or locker, or ask one of her friends to sneak it into her backpack.
- Try to personalize the poem as much as possible. Include things like inside jokes or funny references that she will get to make her smile and laugh as she reads it.
3
Decorate something of hers with your promposal. Write on her locker, car, or desk with washable paint. Stick balloons, flowers, and anything else you want to use to decorate around your message to decorate it.^{[12]
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- Make sure that anything you use to decorate will be easy to clean up! You don’t want her to not be able to drive home because you covered her car windows in a hard-to-clean promposal.
- For example, you could write on her car, “You drive me crazy, will you go to prom with me?”
4
Write her the question in heart-shaped candy. Find some heart-shaped candy. Spell out, "I Think you’re sweet. Want to go to prom?" either on the floor, her desk, or stuck to her locker.^{[13]
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- Make sure you place the candy in a place where she can easily see them, and that she actually likes candy.
5
Send or give her flowers to ask her to prom. Deliver her a single rose or a bouquet of her favorite flowers. Attach a note asking her to prom or just straight up ask her as you give her the flower.
- You could have your friends deliver five flowers to her, one at a time, saying that they're from her secret admirer. The first will have the letter "P" taped to it, and each flower will spell out the rest of the question: "P-R-O-M?" The last flower can also reveal your identity.
6
Take her to dinner and write the question in your dessert. Call the restaurant in advance to make a reservation and make sure that the chef can write "Will you go to prom with me?" or "Prom?" in icing on the dessert that you'll insist on ordering. Take the girl out and wait for her reaction when she sees the dessert.
- You can ask for candles or sparklers in the dessert for a more dramatic presentation.
- You could do a variation of this sweet promposal by giving her a box of donuts for dessert with “PROM?” spelled out on them, and a message that says, “I donut want to go with anyone but you!”

Method 4

Method 4 of 4:

Ask in a Funny Way

1
Ask with the help of a dog for a cute and funny promposal. Prepare a sign that says "Prom?" and hang it around your beloved pet's neck. Invite the girl over to your house and call your dog to come join you while you are hanging out. Watch the girl laugh as she reads the note around his neck.^{[14]
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- You can also try this trick with a very obedient cat.
2
Ask with a pizza for a cheesy promposal. Invite the girl over and order a cheese pizza, or order the pizza with a group of friends. Quickly write, "I know this is cheesy, but will you go to prom with me?" on the inside of the lid of the pizza box as soon as the pizza arrives. Wait for the girl to open the pizza and laugh.^{[15]
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- For extra precaution, you can order the pizza and write on the box and then ask the girl to come over.
- You could also rearrange the toppings on a pizza to spell out “Prom?”
3
Spell out the question in a scantron for a funny classroom promposal. Ask your teacher for a scantron and write "Prom?" sideways on all of the bubbles. Approach the girl and tell her that you did really well on a test, then show her the scantron as evidence of your academic success.^{[16]
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- You could also try to coordinate this with a teacher the day they are handing back a scantron test result. Have them slip your promposal in with the girl’s test results.
4
Ask your question on a t-shirt. Decorate a white t-shirt that says, "Will you go to prom with me?" and put a box for "Yes" and "No." Wear a marker around your neck and ask her to fill out the t-shirt with her answer.^{[17]
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- This will remind the girl of those precious notes that middle school boys use to ask out girls and she will laugh and naturally accept.
5
Coordinate a dance with some talented friends. Making a corny dance with your friends in front of the girl is the perfect way to ask her to prom. Do the dance after school, in the hallways, or even the cafeteria.^{[18]
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- When the dance is over, stand in a line with your friends, all the way on the right side. Then, everyone will remove their shirts from left to right, until they spell out "P-R-O-M-?" Your shirt will have the question mark on it.
- This silly dance will show the girl that you're comfortable enough with yourself to be completely goofy, and that you'll be the perfect prom date.

Expert Q&A

Question

What tips do you have for slow dancing with someone?

Hebert Aguilar
Professional Dancer & Choreographer
Herbert Aguilar is a Professional Dancer, Choreographer, and the Director of Timba Heat Dance Company. With more than a decade of experience, he specializes in performing and teaching dance styles such as Cuban Salsa, Hip-Hop, and Acrobatics. Hebert has performed at a variety of venues and locations including San Francisco, Washington, Hawaii, and Miami.

Hebert Aguilar

Professional Dancer & Choreographer

Expert Answer

The best thing to do is feel the connection with your partner by simply doing a two-step or a side-to-side rocking motion. This will get you two moving and ease the awkward tension of standing there doing nothing. The biggest thing to do is to smile and have fun!
Question

What are some dances you can do to impress a girl at a prom?

Hebert Aguilar
Professional Dancer & Choreographer
Herbert Aguilar is a Professional Dancer, Choreographer, and the Director of Timba Heat Dance Company. With more than a decade of experience, he specializes in performing and teaching dance styles such as Cuban Salsa, Hip-Hop, and Acrobatics. Hebert has performed at a variety of venues and locations including San Francisco, Washington, Hawaii, and Miami.

Hebert Aguilar

Professional Dancer & Choreographer

Expert Answer

Latin dances such as Salsa, Bachata, Merengue, or Argentine Tango is the way to go. Latin dance has always been an extremely popular dance to do with a partner or even solo. The best part is if you really know your basics in Latin dances, then you can easily impress anyone and dance with anyone with little to no experience at all.
Question

How do you approach someone and ask if they want to dance?

Hebert Aguilar
Professional Dancer & Choreographer
Herbert Aguilar is a Professional Dancer, Choreographer, and the Director of Timba Heat Dance Company. With more than a decade of experience, he specializes in performing and teaching dance styles such as Cuban Salsa, Hip-Hop, and Acrobatics. Hebert has performed at a variety of venues and locations including San Francisco, Washington, Hawaii, and Miami.

Hebert Aguilar

Professional Dancer & Choreographer

Expert Answer

I always tell my students, “Approach with confidence, even if you don't know much!” What's the worst thing they can say? No? Then that's their loss and you move on to the next person who’s sitting down itching to dance. At the end of the day, it's all about having a good time. Also, don’t be shy to say for your first couple of dances, “I'm a beginner” or “Have patience with me. I'm still learning”. This is the best way to not feel any pressure and most likely the other person will understand and encourage you.