Let’s party!

Spring is finally here and the school year is winding down. That means graduation season is upon us! Planning your high school graduation party can be exciting and stressful all at the same time. I teamed up with some professionals in the St Croix Valley to bring you three different grad party themes and helpful tips to planning the perfect graduation party.

THE HOLLYWOOD GLAM THEME

Bold black, white and gold decor is all the rage right now (think Kate Spade amped up a notch). For this look, Chelsea from Go to Gal and I wanted something a little girly but a whole lot of glam.

We started out with simple black linens to cover the table and create a backdrop. Then we added some sparkle by hanging gold sequin runners in a striped pattern to the wall. Because of the bold pattern, we wanted to keep the rest of the decor fairly simple. Easy and affordable decor idea – fill tall glass cylinders with black and gold glass Christmas balls for a modern design element.

We softened the look by introducing touches of pink- pink napkins, pink lemonade, pink straws (with cute customized flags – get the template here), and even some pink cupcakes. I love how these cupcakes by Bread Art really add some glam and softness to the design. An art piece all their own.

THE GARDEN PARTY THEME

This next look is so appropriate for the time of year! The bright colors and crisp whites are energetic and refreshing. And how awesome is that floral wall with all its color and texture? Makes for the perfect backdrop (DIY info below!)

This setup features a candy buffet. It’s a fun (and affordable!) alternative for food at your party. Gather glass containers of all shapes and sizes to add interest to your display, and then fill them with your favorite treats.

To make your own fun floral backdrop – start with faux greenery squares (I bought mine off of Amazon) The ones I got were about 20×20 inches in size and I used 12 to create the backdrop in the photos. Then I purchased silk flowers from Hobby Lobby in all shapes, styles and colors. I arranged mine in a swag style pattern so it bordered the table.

THE WOODSY THEME

Guys! We didn’t forget about you!! This theme has you written all over it (especially for all you outdoorsy guys out there).

For this theme we wanted to show you that you CAN have a great setup without a fancy backdrop and that you can just use a white wall in your home.

We wanted to keep the design minimalistic with a lot of textures. We started with a bright red table cloth to bring some color to the design and to make the other elements pop. Thick wood slices (we got ours from PartyOn Stillwater) were added in to create different display areas. Having these areas at slightly different heights helps create a little more drama and movement to the layout. A galvanized tin ice bucket, small wooden chalkboard signs, and a DIY “Senior” banner rounded out the design.

Since the goal of this theme was to show a laid back design, we went with a traditional sugar cookie design and bottled pop for the treats. Want to kick it up a notch? Check out Jones Soda where they can do custom labels for you!

VENDOR LIST:

PHOTOGRAPHY & CUSTOM GRAD CARD DESIGNS | Kristina Lynn Photography & Design
EVENT COORDINATOR  | Go to Gal, LLC
RENTALS | PartyOn Stillwater
CUPCAKES & COOKIES | Bread Art