DENHAM SPRINGS - High School Seniors in Livingston Parish are getting ready for their prom this weekend, that they had to forgo last year because of the pandemic.

"I was greatly surprised," Denham High Senior Caleb Haney said.

The high school student was concerned he would not attend prom at all during his high school years after it was canceled last year.

"At first I didn't think they were because the COVID restrictions were very heavy," Haney said.

Haney rented a suit Thursday, for the prom at Squires Formal Wear in Denham Springs. The store closed for a full month last year, after businesses fell off dramatically during the first months of the pandemic.

"We slowed down a lot, we have a lot of cancellations, postponements," Store manager Brittany McConkey said.

McConkey says business at the formal wear rental and sales store is looking at lot better with prom season now here.

"This year, it's picked up. We didn't have a Mardi Gras, but we did have a lot of
weddings and proms picking back up.

Denham High School usually holds their prom at the North Park Recreational Facility,
but this year, it's being held in the gymnasium on campus and sepa rated into two different groups at different times on Saturday night.

"I'm bringing my girlfriend, we never been to prom before, so it should be very exciting," Haney said. 

School officials are expecting attendance to be low this weekend, with fewer than the average number of prom tickets being sold this year.