Ultra Chic Prom Boutique leaves everyone happy

The Ultra Chic Prom Boutique signals the start of prom season. Girls come from schools all around Omaha to find dresses for their special events. With that crowd comes some chaos.

“When the doors opened, it was just a flood of people,” said Devin Bertelsen, student government president. Bertelsen volunteered at last year’s event. “It’s an absolutely crazy, wild time as every girl tries to find the perfect dress.”

Saturday’s Ultra Chic Prom Boutique offered more than 2,000 dresses, collected by Max I. Walker. The business cleaned and mended each dress before they made it to the racks.

The majority of dresses were for prom, but the occasional bridesmaid dress and wedding dress made it to the event.

Bertelsen got involved through UNO’s Public Relations Student Society of America chapter (PRSSA).

“I didn’t know what I was getting myself into,” Bertelsen said. “It was a ton of fun for me and obviously for all the girls looking for dresses.”  
Women lined up outside the doors before the event opened, and then swarmed into the room to find the perfect dress, Bertelsen said. Vendor tables offered everything from tailoring to tanning. The busiest section, of course, was the changing rooms.

UNO’s involvement, from PRSSA and several sororities, was directed by Tiffany Riggs.  
“As part of my internship, I worked to do almost all the event planning,” Riggs said.  
During the event, she worked to coordinate the volunteers in every section.

Volunteers were in charge of a raffle table. Dresses worn by volunteer models during a fashion show were raffled off.  Other volunteers returned unwanted dress from changing rooms to their respective tables.  
“It’s always crazy, but it gets done,” Riggs said.  “The fashion show is really nice because some of our local TV anchors help out, and of course, the cameras come with them.”

The event is about more than just finding a cheap dress.  For the last six years, all proceeds benefit the Lydia House, part of the Open Door Mission. The Lydia House provides shelter, food and clothing to women and children in need. Combined, the past events have raised almost $40,000 for the Lydia House.  
This year’s event topped the $12,800 raised last year, bringing in more than $14,000.

Bertelsen and Riggs both said they want to help with the event again.  
“There’s just nothing more exciting as watching all the girls swarm to find their prom dresses,” Bertelsen said.