The tuxedos. The evening dresses. The balloons. The music. The bright lights.
Prom can be an unforgettable experience. It was just that for 145 guests of the Night to Shine prom Friday night.
Jewelry, and the people wearing it, sparkled at the prom sponsored by the Tim Tebow Foundation at Capital West Christian Church.
The foundation sponsored proms - which celebrate people with special needs - at about 500 churches worldwide Friday. In Jefferson City, guests arrived after short limousine rides and walked a red carpet with firefighters in dress blues and other escorts.
Upon making their red-carpet entrances, guests entered a hall that could have been pulled from a scene in "The Wizard of Oz." In one area, the Mid-Missouri boutique Hello Belle matched women attending the ball with costume jewelry. Another site provided all the people attending with corsages. The men received shoe shines. Area salons closed for the day so their employees could do the women's hair and make up.
All the male guests got crowns. Females received tiaras.
"I'm excited that I got the crown," 25-year-old Patrick Baker said.
Paparazzi shot photographs and glamour shots that were framed and sent home with guests at the end of the night. One part of the room held a stage and bleachers, where guests sang karaoke to their friends.
In its third year at the church, Night to Shine continues to grow, said Todd Tellman, director of Jefferson City's event.
Four hundred volunteers worked to make the event happen this year. More than 170 of the volunteers were "buddies."
"Buddies will hang out with the guests all night long," Tellman said. "And make sure they're having fun."
Guests arrived from Jefferson City, California, Versailles and other nearby communities.
After being made up, guests walked over to the main ball room, where thousands of beads - lit by blue LED lights - dangled from the ceiling, almost 12 feet high. Strings of tiny, bright white lights along the ceiling shined like constellations. Hundreds of aqua and black balloons ominously swayed in a net over the dance floor.
Baker said he likes Irish music, but that's not so easy to dance to. He said he likes other kinds of music, too, and is good at doing the robot.
Then, he demonstrated. And he is good at doing the robot.
"It's a good community event," Tellman said.
Personnel from the Cole County Sheriff's Office, the Jefferson City Police Department and the Jefferson City Fire Department also participated.
Four of the firefighters were working not only escorting guests down the red carpet, but providing emergency services if needed, Chief Matt Schofield said. Five others, who were off duty, were provided by the fire department's union.
"It's been a really positive experience for the guests," Schofield said. "But, we get a lot out of it."
Colin Wright, the union public information officer, said the ball offered a chance for firefighters to get out and engage the community in ways they otherwise might not get.
And they got to wear their dress blues, which is something most firefighters only do about once a year.
"We don't wear them very often," Wright said. "Sadly, most of the time we wear them for funerals."
He added firefighters just last week attended a funeral of a former Columbia firefighter who died of cancer.
But, Friday night was for dancing.
Jefferson City Mayor Carrie Tergin kicked the party into high gear with selfies of the crowd taken from the stage.
"You all shine every night!" she told the revelers. "I could see from a mile away how much you were shining before I even got here."