The spring prom season is at hand and, while prom is often the first real formal event in most young people's lives, the expense of prom is putting a hurt on many family budgets.

In Belmont, teacher and student adviser Charlie Roberts said 146 juniors and seniors will trek to Castle in the Clouds for their special night and pay $65 each for the privilege.

"The class voted on getting one nice night to remember," said Roberts, who noted that the class may not do an elaborate class trip this year so it decided to go all out on prom.

He said the prom committee kept its eye on the budget for other things — with members opting to make their own decorations and doing a lot of price shopping for the disc jockey — all with an eye on keeping it affordable.

"People don't want to spend the money on luxury items," said Walt Hutchinson of A&M Limousine in Tilton, who said he has noticed a real slowdown this year.

Hutchinson said his business is off just due to the soaring costs of gasoline and insurance and so far he has only picked up a couple of prom charters.

"Usually we're buried," he said, adding he specifically kept the rates, $595 for six hours including tip, the same this year as last year. "We don't charge any fuel surcharges either."

"At first we were going to take a limo but none of us really wanted to pay," said Franklin senior Nat Kaplan, who will drive his date, Amanda Barton, to their prom in Wolfeboro.

Kaplan and Barton are on the prom committee and said it deliberately tried to keep the price down because it was more important to have a lot of people there than to have a really elaborate evening.

"Prom is really about who's there," said Barton.

At $25 per person and $40 per couple, Franklin students have the least expensive night out in the area.

"We chose cheese and crackers, hors d'oeuvres and desserts instead of a full dinner," said Kaplan, who said he and Barton will go out to a nice lunch with their friends the afternoon before prom.

The Franklin group is paying the going rate for a disc jockey, about $500 for the evening, but said the one they chose came well-recommended, spins a lot of current music and will play the occasional request.

For Barton, who is the oldest girl in her family, this is her first prom and, since she is a self-described "athlete who doesn't like to wear dresses very often," she said her mother is nearly as excited as she is.

Barton said they went all the way to the Deb Store in Nashua for her dress because she wasn't overly impressed with what she found locally.

Barton said her mother wasn't too concerned about how much money she would spend for her dress because she said she hasn't really spent much money on special dresses in her life and didn't even go to prom last year.

"What I really want is some pretty blue shoes," said Barton, who chose a white dress with a blue trim.

As for fingernails, Barton said, "No way." She is the starting pitcher for the undefeated Franklin softball team and said fake nails would get in her way.

"I might get my toenails done, though," she said.

Fingernails, toenails, tanning and makeup are just some of the other incidentals that can translate into a giant bill for prom.

At most area nail salons, a combination "full-set" of nails and a pedicure costs between $50 to $75, a tanning session can run $8 to $10 and at least one beautician, Melanie Palmer of Meredith's Total Image, will do makeup for around $20.

"I know some of these kids are on a tight budget so I try to give them a break," said Palmer.

Palmer said she is excited about the return of the softer "updos" that are a stark contrast to some of the more elaborate and wild looks of previous years.

"It's softer and more romantic," she said.

While a single hairdo can cost anywhere between $35 and $55, some young women, like Natalie Moser of Laconia who will attend the Inter-Lakes Regional High School prom with her boyfriend, Erik Carlson, will do their own hair.

"I don't want a lot of hair spray," said the longhaired blond who, accompanied by her mother, Pennilyn Moser, was posing for her final fitting at Special Moments Formal Wear in downtown Laconia.

"This is my first and only daughter," said Pennilyn Moser, who admits to being as excited, if not more, than Natalie. "She's home-schooled and I really didn't think she'd go."

COLORED PROM SHOES line an entire closet at Etcetera, a consignment shop in Meredith where many area prom goers find great bargains for their special night. (Ober/Citizen Photo)

Moser said Natalie's date rented his tuxedo from Brenda and Joe Fournier at Special Moments so she brought Natalie there as well.

"They have a lot of different sizes," she said, noting Natalie is very petite and often has trouble finding dresses that fit. "They gave us a great discount, too."

The Fourniers said they have been giving lots of discounts on their dresses, mostly to help their customers get to enjoy prom. They said many parents have told them they are really feeling the economic squeeze this year and many of them began shopping very late in the season.

Alicia Gorrell of Alluring Bridal in Gilford has been providing prom gowns, alterations and tuxedo rentals for 27 years in the Lakes Region and agreed with the Fourniers.

"Usually the girls are out of the gate by February but this year I still have some who are gathering pennies to get a gown for next week," said Gorrell, who said the average girl is spending around $200 for a dress but can spend up to $800.

Gorrell said she keeps a rack of discontinued product lines and last year's dresses that can be purchased for as little as $50 to $75. She also said most of the guys are not opting for all the frills like top hats and tails for their tuxedo rentals.

"Usually the first thing they say is, 'What can I get?' This year it's, 'How much can I get for...?'" said Gorrell. "It's a sign of the economy."

Business is booming at the Etcetera Shoppe in Meredith, said Cherri DuBoyce, who is one of many employees of the consignment store that sells nearly all things for all people at a reduced price.

"We have sold a few dozen prom dresses and the girls have been pleased as punch," said DuBoyce, who pointed the way to a room filled with prom dresses from size 2 to 20.

Along with gowns for as little as $10, accessories ranging from shoes to clutch purses are flying off the shelves, said DuBoyce. She added that most of the dresses have never been worn but are on consignment from a variety of stores.

"I tell these kids to save their money," said DuBoyce.

In Plymouth, the Faith, Hope and Love Foundation has been gathering prom dresses and accessories and making them available for free to young women for the past two years.

"There's a lot of pressure on young women and we realized a lot of girls wouldn't go because, financially, it was impossible," said Co-Founder Jessica Dutile, explaining that the free prom dress program takes some of the edge away.

"[Prom is] getting more and more exclusive and extravagant," said Dutile, who believes girls should be able to just focus on having one special night without worrying or being embarrassed because they couldn't afford a dress.

"We wanted to make it more about inner beauty and less about money," said Dutile.

"Prom should be upbeat, exciting and happy," agreed Gorrell.

In the Lakes Region, between the teachers who purchased extra prom tickets so they could give them to less-affluent students to the stores offering discounts on prom-wear to the hairdressers who are lowering their prices, it seems many will have a happy prom night after all.