My Mangled Meanderings: Brittany's Graduation Party

I had SO much fun planning for Brittany's graduation party. I started in December when I asked her about her favorite flower and we set a date. She said Gerber daisies, and the theme was born! It was the perfect time of year for a Gerber daisy party! They seemed to be everywhere. I found a few different daisy invitations, so I had to decide which one I thought was easier to read. One of them had the stem going down the middle. It was cute, but I was afraid it would take away from the wording.

The biggest step was the location. I chose the tearoom Pat-A-Cake in Wharton because it's about halfway for those driving from Sugar Land and those coming from Matagorda County. I called in early January and reserved the location. They said that all I would have to do is call two weeks before to finalize the menu and give them a head-count.

I never checked in with the tearoom again. I really wish that I had! I looked up the website for the phone number, and I noticed the red background with the words, "Sorry but we will be Closed Until Further Notice." I looked up the former owner's phone number and called him at home. He apologized and said that I must not have been on the books because they called everyone and let them know. This had all happened at the beginning of the month, so it hadn't been closed for very long. I started to freak out just a tad. It was Good Friday, though, so I figured it wasn't quite a tragedy if I thought of it in relation to that, but an inconvenience nonetheless!

I called Jamie and asked her for help. She gave me a few locations, and we talked about Sandy McGee's in Richmond. I hadn't been there since my cousin Dawn's high school graduation party back in 1996, I think it was. Jamie said that they had remodeled since then and that they had a party room. I called Sandy on her cell phone and we chatted on her way out of town. She said that they had the room available and that they could work with me, even with the short notice.

The next thing was to contact everyone. I thought about just calling the people who had RSVP'd, but I hated the thought that someone might show up in Wharton to a darkened tearoom. I think that everyone understood, and we actually ended up with a larger party which was great!

I made some really cute centerpieces and a topiary. Brittany got the topiary, and we gave the four centerpieces to the four highest scores on the "How Well Do You Know Brittany" Quiz. It was a lot of fun! I had e-mailed Brittany a list of questions earlier on so she could be in on the fun. I also made flower pot pens as favors. There were four on each table and the ladies were able to take them home. I even made extras to give to my MOPS friends at our banquet.

I borrowed Larry's digital photo frame and played Brittany's senior pictures. Her friend Kirsten took the pictures and I was able to contact her through Facebook. She mailed a CD to Larry & Velma's house and Lorne was able to upload them for me. It was playing on the gift table.

I also made daisy lollipops for everyone to take home. I found some cute pots and "planted" the lollipops in them. Kayla helped me pass them out. It turned out really well!

Aunt Faye made the cake and it was so awesome! She does really nice work! I have made enough cakes to be able to appreciate the scale of cakes she makes. We also had miniature canapes, spinach spread, Roquefort grapes, olive cheese balls, and garlic bread rounds. I think that everyone really enjoyed the menu and the afternoon!