Madeline's Grad Party
A Backyard Golden Bears Bash
Highlighted Elements:
Mexican Pan Dulce Bar
Succulent Cakes
Tassel Ceiling installation
Foam Finger + Peony floral arrangements
Felt Pennant Banner Balloon tails
Fringe Photobackdrop
Pool Balloon Garland
This Chic Grad party will make you want to graduate high school all over again...maybe ;) A beautiful backyard pool party was the perfect setting for Madeline's Berkeley Bears themed graduation celebration! It was such an honor to design this shindig, I couldn't have been happier with the final result! Trying to throw a grad party without the traditional "cheesey" grad party style was definitely a challenge! My grad Madeline was adamant about not being the look-at-me cover everything with confetti- kind of gal, but I think we found the perfect balance of old-school spirit with a little girly spin! Bringing back some of the classics of old-school decor; felt pennant banners, streamers, and yes, even foam fingers.
As guests arrived they were welcomed by an adorable chalkboard sign- adorned with Berkeley Bears balloons! Meghan Hafer added the perfect touches to our signage for this event, I LOVED the 2019 banner she illustrated for us!
Of course I couldn't design a grad party without TASSELS. And I was in luck, because out of all of the decor elements I threw her way, tassels were the ONE thing my grad was really drawn to- so 300 hand cut tissue tassels later- we were able to create the perfect ceiling installation to give this grad party an ultra-chic vibe. In this case, the hassle was def worth the tassel...lol ;) Unlike my normal tassel banners, I painstakingly glued each tassel on my line in place so that these bad boys could stand up through our Tri-City winds!
Even though Madeline wasn't totally sold on balloons- I thought a cool pool installation and a few jumbos might change her mind about traditional party balloons! I’ve been dying to put balloons on every pool I party at this summer, it‘s a fabulous addition to any pool party! We even lined the pool with grad hat balloon weights to make sure our balloons didn't blow away in that Tri-Cities' breeze.
The jumbo balloons were tied with thick gold ribbons, and hand sewn onto beautiful Berkeley Bears Pennant banners, which was one of my favorite elements of this party. I'm a pennant person, I have them in several rooms in my home- and I really love felt, I think it is way under appreciated. These pennants
added the perfect touch of school spirit to these beautiful jumbo orbs!
Guests had quite the spread to snack on- Taco City taco truck provided fabulous fruit cups, various juices, horchata, and of course- delicious tacos! They even let me put some balloons on their truck!
The unconventional grad party definitely needed an unconventional dessert bar- I was so pleased when these clients embraced this idea! Guests grazed our Pan Dulce Bar, complete with churros of course- from our favorite local bakery- Viera's Bakery, and various sauces for guests to "dip" into. So punny, am I right?
This beautiful table had the perfect pop of color from these gorgeous pink & yellow treats!
How adorable are those grad hat food picks!?!
This small yearbook signing station was such a fun addition to our grad party, surrounded by Peonies and these beautiful succulent themed cakes from Artfetti Cakes!
Guests could lounge on patio furniture, or take a seat at a shaded table by the pool. Navy chiffon and peony floral arrangements gave this party a sophisticated girly element that I really enjoyed bringing together. A few foam fingers from the Berkeley bookstore made these peonies really pop! It was such a fun, school-spirited detail! One of my favorites to date!
All the peonies were purchased from Adeline's Peonies- A Peony Farm in Toppenish, WA. Anyone looking to DIY some event flowers should definitely consider giving these guys a call, I have zero floral arrangement skills what so ever and it was nearly impossible to mess these centerpieces up! Just do a little research, make sure you can care for them correctly, and get to clippin! Tossing some of these babies in a vase will make any backyard event feel glamorous!
One thing we knew we needed for this event was an awesome selfie station! A Polaroid camera and a stellar fringe backdrop provided guests with the perfect picture spot- and the Polaroids were such an awesome keepsake for guests to take home!
This party even had a Cal yard game for guests to enjoy in the summer sun!
It was the perfect summer day for a grad party celebration! Sunshine and tacos and pool balloons- is there anything better? Make sure you follow @poshpartybebes on Instagram and subscribe to the party blog to see more fab party ideas! Check out our awesome list of vendors below!
Vendors:
Planning & design: Posh Party Bebes
Photography: Ilennis Martinez Co.
Signage: Meghan Hafer
Florals: Adeline’s Peony Farm
Taco Truck: Taco City
Pan Dulce Bar: Viera’s Bakery
Cakes: Artfetti Cakes
Balloons & Decor: Posh Party Bebes
Rentals: Red Door Party Rentals
