Sweet Summer Grad Party in Austin Texas

Photography by Candi Noble

Each year the end of the school year seems to go by in a blur.  But this year has been especially crazy for our family. Our oldest child graduated from high school, so we’ve been super busy attending graduation events and planning Carolina’s Grad Party!  

When we sat down to plan out this event, my daughter decided that she didn’t want a super traditional graduation party,  so you won’t see any of your typical school colors and graduation cap decor here.

About the Decor…

Carolina is very artistic and has a great eye for color.  She chose a color scheme of some of her favorite colors— turquoise, coral, pinks and oranges.

To welcome our guests we created a handlettered chalkboard sign.  Since our girl is headed to the University of Texas at Austin, we added a little Texas and “Hook ‘em” to the bottom, and then attached a coral colored balloon with a Texas Longhorn.

Instead of a traditional guest book, Carolina wanted something a little more special.  So we used a cute pink Instax camera, and invited all the guests to take a selfie and write a note for her.  I know she’ll treasure this memory book for a long time to come.

We wanted this party to have a very summery vibe to it, so we held our party outdoors in our backyard.  Instead of a formal table set up, we did a few lounge areas with different types of garden tables and seating, including the best Lounge Chairs and Loveseat Bench from Crate and Barrel.  

To continue the summery feel of this celebration, we used a ton of lovely florals in our party colors throughout.

A photo booth was a must, we want Carolina to remember this party forever after all.  I created the backdrop using two sheets of plywood that I painted with chalkboard paint.  Texas Soul Lettering created a beautiful designed lettering that says “The greatest adventure is what lies ahead”, perfect for a graduate on to a new adventure.
Then we added the amazing balloon garland created by the talented folks at ATX Bubbles.

Let’s talk Food and Desserts…

For this festive party, we served a fajita bar.  I created a fajita bar sign and added it to a golden floral hoop.  We took the photo before the grill got fired up, and then I was too busy hosting to get pictures afterward, so unfortunately we don’t have pics of the fajitas, but you can trust me that they tasted delicious.  

Because it’s already hot in Texas, we set up a popsicle station.  We kept them frozen in the black stand up cooler. The popsicles were a huge hit, and I would recommend them for any summer time celebration! To dress it up, I added a cut out sign and another balloon garland.

For our guests that wanted something other than a popsicle for dessert, we also served up a sweet tres leches cake, in front of a background of paper tissue garlands from Glam Fete by Bri.

The cake topper was a DIY with a downloadable image and my Cricut Explore Air 2.

My beverage table was decorated with a fabulous yarn tassel banner from The Sage Haus.  We served tea, water, and lemonade in glass dispensers. We also had Topochico and a few cans of soda.

Carolina loved how the party turned out and she and her friends had a really lovely time.  I just wanted to take a minute to congratulate my lovely daughter and the rest of the Class of 2019 on a job well done, and I hope you all do great things!

Just because you’re planning a graduation party, it doesn’t mean you have to go with the conventional.  Try something new and unexpected! What has been your favorite picture of our modern take on the classic grad party?  Let me know down below.

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Vendor Credits

Photography: Candi Noble
Rentals: Moon Tower Rentals
Venue: My house
Yarn tassels and banner: The Sage Haus
Paper Tassels: Glam Fete by Bri
Balloons: ATX Bubbles
Lettering: Texas Soul Lettering

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