Just last week I graduated from high school. It was a magical day that had been dreaded about for over four years and it was everything that I could have imagined and more. I think we decided to call the theme Rustic Glam or Kate Spade On the Farm.
We had a big party at my house after the beautiful ceremony. I was amazing to me how many friends and family members came to show their love and support. I thought I would give you a peek into the party and maybe give you some inspiration for your own graduation party.
When you start party planning, the first thing on the list is always invitations. The invitations are what set the tone for the whole party, weeks before the guests even arrive. I found these darling graduation invitations on Mixbook.com and fell in love. I especially love how easy they were to customize. They also have a beautiful selection of graduation announcements.
The color scheme of the party was black and white. We collected all of these old frames from thrift stores, gave them a coat of glossy spray paint, and placed them around the house. These frames in particular had my two parent’s graduation pictures as well as mine. I thought that was such a fun and unique touch.
Here is another picture frame with a photo from my senior photo session. We found this adorable banner on Etsy and it really completed the mantle.
I found this adorable sign that totally went with our theme that read “Always believe something wonderful is about to happen.” I thought that quote was very appropriate for the occasion. The great thing about it is that I can use it in my dorm room next year too!
I made this “Key to Success” board to collect little pieces of advise from everyone. I bought this piece of wood at the hardware store, painted the words on the top, and then screwed little hooks randomly around the board. I bought these cute little tags at the craft store and tied them onto antique keys that I bought on ebay.
As far as food went, we kept it pretty light. These salads in Mason Jars were so cute and a big hit!
We also had lots of fruit and veggies on sticks in this wheatgrass. I loved how it looked, so cute and natural!
You can’t have a party without a pretzel tray, at least not in Philadelphia. Since I will be attending Elon University, whose symbol is an acorn, we got these cute acorn toothpicks to put in it!
The dessert table may have been my favorite. We brought a table from our kitchen into the corner of our living room and set the dessert table up there. When planning for a party, don’t be afraid to move your furniture around.
The cake was to die for beautiful and delicious. My cousin made the cake. Isn’t it perfect for the theme? The fresh flowers were a great addition.
The rest of the desert were placed in cupcake wrappers and placed in this cool metal 3 tier display.
For drinks we had a wheelbarrow full of water bottles outside. This definitely pulled in the rustic part of the theme.
Then we also had iced tea and pink lemonade. We filled these glass drink dispensers with the drinks and placed them on top of these rustic chalkboard crates. The black plastic cups and the paper straws pulled in the party theme.
We used black table clothes and black and white striped runners on the circular eating tables that were in the tent. The centerpieces were wood slices from the craft store with a mason jar filled with pink hydrangeas and an easel with pictures on both sides.
Here is a picture of the backyard with the tent, dance floor, and the lights that we strung all the way around the yard. When it got dark, they were gorgeous!
A few years ago we had an open house sort of party, and my dad build this dance floor out of two by fours. We painted it black and white checks and it makes for the perfect outdoor party dance floor. Our neighbors are always borrowing it for their parties too. It has got a lot of use and still in great condition.
We didn’t want our guests getting bored so we pulled out the corn hole boards and the Kerplunk game that we made! There was a lot of fun being had in that area of the yard.
All in all it was a fantastic day. The party was beautiful, but more importantly the time spent with family and friends was priceless.
Now I am writing thank you cards to everyone who came. Aren’t these geometric thank you notes just perfect? They are from Mixbook also! Check out all their graduation thank you cards here.
