WOODSTOCK, Ga. — Abbey Hermes and Chris Martin's senior prom at Sequoyah high school will be a night to remember.
"I didn't want to be a normal kid that went to prom in a $500 dress or something," Hermes told wsbtv.com. "This dress probably cost me $20."
Hermes' prom wasn't a night to remember because she only paid $20 for her dress. It was a night to remember because her dress was made of duct tape. Her date, Martin, wore a tuxedo made of duct tape, too.
"When she decided to make it, I agreed because I thought it was a good idea," Martin said.
Sequoyah Students Make Prom Outfits Out Of Duct Tape
The idea of wearing duct tape attire was one Hermes originally thought of in middle school, but late last year, she decided to go for it and made her dress and Martin's tuxedo out of Duck Brand Duct Tape.
Duck Brand Duct Tape sponsors an annual "Stuck at Prom" contest. This marks the 11th year the company has hosted it. To enter, students must create their prom attire from the company's tape. The top 10 couples all receive scholarship money with $5,000 each going to the winners.
Hermes estimates their outfits took 27 rolls to create. The attire was made over four months, taking about 170 hours. She went with with an enchanted evening theme, playing off the school's prom theme.
Hermes' classmates knew the pair was coming in duct tape attire, but she didn't want to spoil the surprise, so she didn't show anyone the outfits until the night of prom.
"It's a lot more flexible than you might expect," Martin said. "I didn't think I would be able to dance at all, but in the end, I was sitting there dancing with all my friends. We were having a great time."
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"A lot of people didn't believe it was tape," Hermes said. "There were actually people who would come up during prom and touch it and they were like, 'I don't believe this is real.' By the end of prom, I think most of the people knew that there was somebody wearing duct tape and there were actually people looking for me."
Duck Brand announces the top 10 finalists in the "Stuck at Prom" contest on June 17. Voting continues for a month.