Graduation Festivities 2017

This past weekend we celebrated our middle daughter, Lauren’s graduation from high school.  Our home was filled with family and friends dear to our hearts, and we are humbled by the outpouring love and support she has behind her as she embarks on a new journey.

I wanted to share a glimpse at her party preparation, and links for the products used.  This post is not endorsed, I am just sharing sources because I have had lots of questions about how we hung the backdrop, and the company I used for her digital books.

My mom always says peonies are a sign of graduation.  Timing was perfect this year, and thanks to the abundant amount of peony bushes my parents, and friend Mic have, centerpieces were a no brainer.

Lauren will be attending the University of Missouri in St. Louis to pursue her passion to become a trauma nurse.  I chose to create a theme based on  Nursing.  Colorful jelly beans were to mimic pills, a Hershey’s kiss for your booboo, Lifesavers, and everyone’s favorite sucker – Dum Dum Lollipops.

My favorite part was the back drop.  Glenn did a super job cleaning the garage floor and moving some stuff out that collected over the winter months.  But, in hanging this backdrop, we didn’t have to remove everything organized on the walls and clear the garage completely.

We chose to use disposable table cloths as a backdrop, because they are cheap, come in an array of colors, and are precisely the length we needed.  We measured and found we would need 15 54inch x 108 inch disposable table cloths.  Glenn ran steel wire along the perimeter of our garage and used screws as anchors to wrap the wire around.  They were 5 inches from the ceiling.

We draped one end of the table cloth over the wire and after perfecting the length, stapled it.  We overlapped each by about 2 inches to prevent gaps at the bottom.

We also hung 4 strands of lights from each corner of the garage meeting in the middle.  We already had an outlet in the center of the garage ceiling.  I couldn’t get a good picture of that, so you will just have to take my word for it 😉 

I created her photo books, collage poster, and canvas art at Shutterfly.com.   I have used their services for several years, and am always happy with the finished product.

I hope you enjoyed these pictures, and if you attended her party, thank you so much for coming out in the icky weather to show your support <3

This momma is exhausted, but enjoying all the peonies 😀

More on this beautiful chandy a little later 😉

Let me know if you have any questions about the products we used.

See you soon!

Author and photos – Martha Knake

Chief Editor – Emily Schunke