Graduations are one of the most exciting life cycles, and typically, the parents and the graduate are on completely different planets. Graduates are concerned with seeing their friends for what they feel might be the last time while the parents are concerned with family members who have travelled great distances to celebrate the graduate. Whether you are graduating from elementary school, middle school, high school or college, the most important thing to remember is that this event is a celebration of the graduates successes (the ones that the parents provided the structure to happen:)). There is a delicate balance of the emotional pendulum that must be carefully tended to.

When I produced Brittany’s graduation luncheon last year, it was important for her mom to be able to feed the family after they sat through the ceremony with as little ease as possible. She preferred to have it at a location that did not require her to be “busy as all get out” hosting her guests. Brittany wanted a mixture of “sparkle meets outdoors using midnight navy and petal pink”. It is always important to me to do an event that reflects the personality of the client, so I got to work.

Reservations at their favorite restaurants were available at times that were not convenient to the grandparents. After much research on my end, they opted for a private room at 7Co. This allowed me to set up while they were at the ceremony and for them to enjoy the ceremony with piece of mind. Yes, planners providing piece of mind is one of our superpowers.

The private room allowed the guests enjoyed a video while sharing stories of Brittany’s life. Parkside Projects provided Brittany’s favorite dishes for the guests to dine on. Lee Warth Designs provided garden inspired centerpieces while we added a personal touch of 8×8 canvas tiles from Brittany’s senior photo shoot for the guests to take home as favors. The menu cards provided some whimsical fun by using the schools she attended instead of “first course, second course etc.”. It was sparkly, outdoorsy and magical.

Brittany has completed her first year as an equestrian at St. Mary’s at Notre Dame.