In the spirit of grad season, I’m sharing a flashback to Marisa’s Graduation Party!
It was an incredibly joyful, special time for our family, one of those days I wish we could do all over again! The next best thing is to reminisce through his little recap and share the details with you! It’s crazy to me how fast time has passed since graduation! It’s so true that as you get older time just seems to pass more and more quickly…
Last summer was such a whirlwind that I never ended up doing a party recap…
There was so much going on I felt like I could barely keep up with the details. Planning for college life/dorm room, trying to grasp what life will be with one less family member at home, thinking through all the what if’s and did I’s…that transition is a lot, y’all. Not just for the grad but for the entire family. If you’re in the thick of it right now, enjoy the moments, hang in there, and know that it gets easier!
Last summer/fall we really had to make our world small for a while to have the space to process it all. I’m proud of how we’ve all grown this past year! But now, a year later she’s home for the summer, a fully lived freshman year behind her! And we’re happy to have her back with us for a couple of months!
All that being said, let’s talk about the details that made her grad party fun, personal, and memorable! Grad Weekend Outfits details, click here…and check out my video recap…
Celebrating the Class of 2021…
May 2021. Pandemic-wise, things were still very much on edge. It was a roller coaster of a year and we played it by ear, not knowing if the class of 2021 would even get to have a graduation traditions or even a real ceremony. We hoped and prayed for the best and thankfully they did get to have a beautiful outdoor ceremony! We had the party that evening!
It truly meant the world to have our friends and family gather to celebrate alongside us. Our family from New Mexico, California, and of course Texas came to visit for the weekend. Our large backyard provided plenty of space for hosting! It was wonderful to spend time with friends and family who have loved and supported Marisa and our family over the years! We were just so thankful for each thing this class was able to do because nothing was promised!
The Decorations
My long time friend and fellow grad mom, Jessica Steckel, hit it out of the park with her creativity! Her decorations brought color and life to the party! We met when our girls were in Kindergarten and there was an immediate friendship for them, and for us. She knows Marisa very well and wanted her personality to shine through the party decor.
We went with a Texas Tech theme, for a casual backyard party. I was so thankful to plan this event with an amazing friend! It really gave us an excuse to get together to plan and support each other during this emotion filled season. Could not have done it without her!
Jessica custom made ALL of the paper cutout accents, floral table arrangements, and balloon arch:
- For the gift table area she created a beautiful K-12 school year banner (one school photo from each year), monogrammed note jar for memories and words of wisdom, and a card box!
- We ordered roses from Costco (amazing prices)! Then she used the customized paper cutout decorations to create the colorful floral arrangements.
A flower wall photo op with neon sign was a must from the beginning!
We knew we wanted a spot for tons of pictures with classmates, friends, and family to remember the occasion! Let’s Party Chica has beautiful options and we fell in love with the white floral with “Congrats Grad” neon sign. They have lots of other wall/sign options for any event!
Eat, Drink, Sweets, Repeat!
We wanted our guests to relax and stay a while! Our friends, Julio and Janet Pineda and family, and Christian Lujano (now owners and operators of the Richardson hot spot, Sueño Mex Tex!) came up with a crowd pleasing food and beverage menu for the party!
We opted for a Street Taco Bar with various protein options, tortillas and toppings, chips with guacamole, queso, and salsas. Master Mixologist, Christian Lujano created a cocktail and mocktail menu specifically for the party! The Watermelon Cucumber Margaritas, House Margaritas/Ranch Waters, and frozen fruit mocktails were a HUGE hit to say the least! If you’re in the DFW area and need top notch catering service, reach out to them for a quote!
For dessert, we decided to skip the cake and do cookies and paletas instead!
Custom Texas Tech cookies by Shelly Whipps It Up added an extra festive touch. Not only are her cookies almost too beautiful to eat, they are the most perfect sugar cookie I’ve ever tasted! Since it was hot outside we thought paletas would be a nice treat to cool off with! We ordered an assortment of flavors in a cute freezer push cart from Paleteria San Marcos. They delivered the cart and picked it up, so easy!
If I could offer any advice for planning/executing a grad party it would be this…
- Recruit a friend/family member, or party planner to help unless you are super organized and crafty (I am not). Really. Your emotions will be all over the place during grad month and you will be so busy with events in May you’ll need it!
- Make all the lists and start earlier than you think you need to.
- If you can, hire a photographer for the party or assign the job to someone. You’ll be busy greeting your guests and it will be one less thing to worry about! And you need to be in the pics too 🙂
- Keep it simple and keep the focus on your grad! Involve them in the planning if you can. Highlight their favorites and what was special for them during their school years.
- Stop to enjoy it and take it all in. Take a ton of photos, of course, and have fun!
- Don’t forget the tissue and thank you notes!
It was sweet to look back on this day that we will remember forever! Grad Party questions…feel free to comment or email me! Thanks for stopping by and have a great day! xx
Photography: Kaylynn Krieg
