James Tate, Once Banned from the Prom, Attends the Big Dance in Connecticut

Shelton High School senior James Tate and two friends posted 12-inch cardboard letters outside the school’s main entrance last Thursday so students would see the message in the morning. The students were later barred from attending the prom. (FNC)

May 10: This screengrab shows James Tate's creative prom invitation that got him suspended from school and barred from the dance. (Fox CT)

The Connecticut high school senior whose larger than life prom invite got him banned from the big dance escorted his date to the prom Saturday night, the New Haven Register reports.

James Tate and Sonali Rodrigues stepped out of a limousine and walked the red carpet to the Hawaii-themed prom for 574 juniors and seniors from Shelton High School, according to the newspaper.

Tate even snagged Prom King honors, shared with co-king Dan Guerrera.

Tate, decked out in black tails with a white vest, and Rodrigues, wearing an off-shoulder lilac gown, were set to speak to the media before going into the Oakdale Theater, but apparently changed their minds.

Tate, 18, a senior at Shelton, Conn., school, along with two accomplices, was originally barred from the school's prom for asking Rodrigues to the dance by taping a message to the front of the school last month.

The 12-inch cardboard letters read: "Sonali Rodrigues, Will you go to the prom with me? HMU -Tate." HMU means hit me up, or call me.

One Facebook page had nearly 200,000 supporters of Tate to go to prom, and two state lawmakers even announced they would introduce an amendment that would force schools to provide an alternate means of punishment rather than banning students from school-related activities.

After growing local and national support for Tate, School Headmaster Beth Smith reversed her decision, allowing Tate and his pals to attend the prom.