swimsuit c/o {only $13 & runs true to size, use the code Q4AMY15 for 15% off} // hat // necklace c/o // bracelets

Deb’s dress // Jacqueline’s romper // my dress c/o {use the code Q4AMY15 for 15% off!} 

Celebrating at Home

We had a different type of Friday night this past weekend, complete with an at-home graduation for our favorite recent college graduate, my sister Jacqueline!

I mentioned this my recent ‘Graduation Gift Ideas‘ blog post, but it was the weekend we were supposed to be in Nashville to celebrate her graduation from Vanderbilt University (then we were supposed to go to Greece, but you know, we wound up in Florida for two+ months 😊). 

So we knew that we were going to have to get creative and do something by ourselves. Though most of Florida has been opening back up, we decided to still do the “ceremony” at home, so we could be mask-less and extra safe. My mom and I started brainstorming about the day a few weeks before, and decided we needed a full on graduation program and some sort of champagne parade around the neighborhood… what else?! 

We landed on surprising Jacqueline with a leisurely lunch at one of our neighbor’s pools (they weren’t home), and that’s when we gave her the graduation “program” that detailed the events of that evening…

It included a cocktail hour (AKA the champagne tour around the neighborhood), a commencement address (in other words me playing Elle Woods’s commencement speech on our TV), a guest speaker (my mom and I reciting a poem that we wrote for her!), the call of candidates (my ever-patient boyfriend reading out a script we pulled from online and presenting her with her diploma… we were losing it at this point haha), and closing remarks (which entailed a 20 minute video we shared that featured 30+ of our closest friends and family members sharing their well wishes for her!). 

After presenting her with the graduation ceremony program that detailed all of that at the pool, we ended up heading home to get ready. That’s when we popped the first bottle of champagne and I gave Jacqueline her graduation gift from me, which was this Smeg kettle + these clear coffee mugs–she’s been wanting both of them for forever! Then the graduation evening began… 

Champagne Tour & Ceremony

While Jacqueline showered my mom walked around the corner to one of our neighbor’s driveways to pick up the black VW bug convertible that she had rented and decorated in black and gold (both Vanderbilt and Theta’s colors!)… and we timed it so that I had Jacqueline dressed and ready when she pulled into our driveway! 

Jacqueline was shocked at the over-the-top car and was the cutest graduate in her white Lilly romper, popping a bottle of champagne outside of the car and then hopping in for a drive around the neighborhood (my mom was driving it, not to worry!).

Our neighbors set up adorable “champagne stops” for us to pull up to and cheers them from a safe distance. We rolled up to each one with gold tinsel and stars flailing everywhere, Liberty sticking her whole body out of the car, and Taylor Swift blaring on the speakers. We were a sight and also elicited a lot of honks from every random car we passed 😊.

After the caravan around the neighborhood, we returned home for dinner, where we had Jacqueline’s current favorite meal of pesto chicken and rice, key lime pie for dessert, and lots more champagne. That’s when we continued with the rest of the program, and cracked ourselves up through the whole thing! 

It was definitely an evening we all will look back on and remember as the day that we took our lives back from the quarantine and gave it our best shot of fun with a party. 😊I’m so thankful for this silver (or should I say gold?!) lining that has come out of this, and will forever cherish this time with my chicks (our dad was back at work unfortunately!). 

I saved the Instagram stories that I took to this highlight, so definitely take a look at that if you want to see more videos from the day– they’re too good! As always, thank you for following along and celebrating right along side with us. Jacqueline felt so loved and special, and we are sending our biggest congratulations to every graduation right now. Cheers to you!! xx