'Say Yes to the Dress' TV crew blitzes through Dallas, granting prom wishes

Almost a thousand shimmering formal dresses lined the walls, flanked by rhinestone-encrusted high heels, necklaces and clutch purses. Clearly, this was no ordinary Monday morning for 50 high school students.

As Dallas ISD seniors filed into the "shopping" section for TLC's Say Yes to the Prom Monday morning, they carefully and systematically browsed organized attire and accessories in a temporary showroom, popped up in a circular ballroom on the 32nd floor of the Westin Dallas Downtown hotel.

Now in its fifth year, Say Yes to the Prom is a philanthropic spin-off of TLC's hit bridal TV Say Yes to the Dress. Stylist Monte Durham, star of Say Yes to the Dress: Atlanta, led hardworking students from Dallas' Justin F. Kimball and H. Grady Spruce high schools during the fourth stop on the program's five city nationwide tour.

Readers familiar with Say Yes to the Dress know the show follows brides as they try on multiple styles and eventually pick out the perfect wedding dress -- perfect, that is, within their personal budget. Emotions tend to run high, as do reactions from friends and family members.

Say Yes to the Prom is different.

See, for many high school seniors, springtime means both scholastic rites of passage and another annual tradition -- one defined by halter-necklines and elaborate up-dos. But, prom is an expensive night out on the town, and for some students, many who hold down part-time jobs in hopes of saving enough for college next fall, there simply isn't a budget. That's where Say Yes to the Prom and its myriad donations comes in. 

"My family and me, we were all stressed out about it," says Kimball senior Tiandria McClure, 18, who says she likely wouldn't have attended prom otherwise. Though she has worked throughout most of high school, McClure says she quit her part-time job at Chipotle recently to focus more closely on her final academic semesters. She tutors and mentors younger kids in what little spare time she has and plans to start working again this summer before beginning studies in entrepreneurship at the University of Texas at Arlington in the fall.

"I'm trying to go far," says 18-year-old Tiandria. 

As part of Say Yes to the Prom, students like McClure, chosen by their respective schools based on academic performance and motivation, are paired with a mentor and style consultant before beginning the morning with a "shopping" session to pick out attire and accessories for their upcoming prom. They try on seemingly endless possibilities, though finding a good fit is a cinch with on-site alterations by zTailors. Girls browse among dresses donated by Sherri Hill and boys pick tuxedo styles from Men's Wearhouse. They pair them with accessories such as earrings and necklaces from J.C. Penney and hands-free purses from Girly Go Garter. At the end of the day, the girls take home their dresses and accessories, whereas the guys leave with their style information in hand and a gift card to cover rentals from Men's Wearhouse. But, Say Yes to the Prom isn't just about the upcoming school dance. During the afternoon, students are treated to makeovers and hairstyles from Paul Mitchell Schools and Dinair Airbrush Makeup before modeling their looks during a runway fashion show and scholarship presentation.

Say Yes to the Prom began with a simple prom dress collection program at the TLC headquarters in Maryland. But, Adria Alpert Romm, chief human resources and global diversity officer at Discovery Communications, saw more. She created Say Yes to the Prom as a way to not only reward but also empower deserving high school students.

"'Say Yes to the Dress' is such a major brand for us, it just made sense to connect it to something philanthropic," the exec says. 

"The dress drive at our offices was so successful, I realized there are many brands that would want to donate and be a part of it," Alpert Romm says.

She's not wrong. Say Yes to the Prom has expanded each year to include additional cities and partners; one of which is AT&T, headquartered here in Dallas, which has provided volunteers who act as mentors and style consultants to the students at each of the event's stops nationwide. Connecting the students with AT&T working professionals is just one way Alper Romm says Say Yes to the Dress aims to open doors. Students interested in working in media can learn about Discovery internship programs and, in Dallas, every qualified participant received free tuition toward an Associate's Degree of their choice among the eight community schools in the Dallas County Community College District.

That's exciting, extremely so for students who have already exhibited uncommon dedication and motivation to excel. It might be even more exciting than putting together the perfect prom package.

McClure, for one, knew exactly what she wanted dress-wise. She came in with a "vision of something modern and classy, but definitely poppin,'" and she had little trouble pinpointing it right away. But, that was just icing on the cake.

"I'm so blessed and lucky to be a part of this; no one comes to Dallas and picks a school like Kimball," she says. "The most exciting part was the collaboration -- meeting new people and seeing people help each other out. That's what it's all about."

See more: A recap of Say Yes to the Prom's Miami stop will air on TLC on May 20 at 8:30 p.m. CST.

Scroll through for more photos of Say Yes to the Prom in Dallas: 

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