GROSSE POINTE WOODS, Mich. – University Liggett School’s prom was supposed to be May 5th at Comerica Park. That didn’t happen, but one student found a way to still enjoy a portion of her Senior prom, while not letting her beautiful prom dress go to waste.
“You hear about senior prom your whole life,” Isabella Tomlinson said. “My aunts would give me the dresses to try on when I was little. You had this image in your head that you are going to prom. It’s something definitely happening.”
But with a pandemic, a lot of things that were guarantees for Senior Isabella Tomlinson became unknowns.
“It was really disappointing, but a lot of seniors understand,” she said. “A lot of people have different reactions. I didn’t get that upset. I honestly knew it was for the greater good. If I got extremely upset, I thought that would be selfish.”
Tomlinson is taking all of this in stride, but her parents knew missing out on senior prom was a big deal.
“It’s disappointing for everyone,” Tim Tomlinson, Isabella’s dad, said. “I don’t know anyone who is loving this. We tried to make it special with the pseudo prom.”
Isabella’s mom called a family friend, Lani Martin, who is a portrait photographer.
“A lot of photographers aren’t doing much right now,” Martin, of Lani Martin Creative, said. “But people more and more are starting to take distance photos.”
Last weekend, Isabella and her friend Ava got all dolled up.
“I did all my hair and makeup and really enjoyed doing that,” she said. “I got up early, prepped, it was fun really.”
The two friends and classmates went to the Grosse Pointe Academy grounds and that’s where Martin took the photos.
“When the girls showed up in dresses, it was so inspiring, so ethereal,” Martin said. “It added an element of drama, especially since both are into drama at school.”
It wasn’t the prom anyone expected. Their dates weren’t there, instead their moms were in the background. Dad made dinner. This is the reality in 2020 and Isabella said she will look back on these pictures fondly.
“I really wanted to wear my princess dress that I always wanted to wear and it was perfect,” she said.