Graduation is one of those strangely bittersweet moments where you feel a mix of excitement, relief, grief, and a little bit of “where am I going in life?” After years of hard work, late nights, and deadlines that never really seem to end, it’s finally time to celebrate! But sometimes it can be challenging to balance celebrations with budgets.
Finding the perfect graduation dress and planning the best party can be super overwhelming, especially when you see elaborate parties online left and right. And while it looks glamorous and like a dream come true, the reality is that it’s entirely possible to look amazing and throw the best party within your budget.
dresses
I’ve been searching high and low for the best dresses so you don’t have to. I’ve tried both affordable and high-end brands in my search for the dress and here’s what I found.
Princess Polly: After doing my research online, I found that Princess Polly is a great place to get your grad dress. They have a wide variety of white dresses for reasonable prices, and the girls on TikTok are into it. Plus they offer tons of cute and affordable clothes.
Oh Polly: This shop primarily makes dresses, and while they’re not typically as cheap as Princess Polly, they are still affordable, and the quality is definitely what you pay for here. So many styles and so flattering.
Showpo: This shop is a good mix of affordable and more high-end dresses. But no matter the price, the quality is top-tier. Not to mention they have some really chic styles in any color you could ever want.
House of CB: This brand is incredible. If you want a dress that snatches you, this is the store. They offer a lengthy list of white dresses that give “whimsical milkmaid”. While the quality is amazing, it’s definitely not affordable.
parties
Graduation parties can be awkward. You want to celebrate with your friends, family, and possibly extended family, and then all of a sudden you have to host 30+ people. You could go out to dinner, but then how do you split the bill, or do you just cover it for everybody? You could have everyone to your place for dinner, but what if you live in an apartment? The challenges go on, but there are ways to get creative.
Dessert & Drinks: The struggle is real when you need to find a space to host. Venue prices can be astronomical and you don’t really want to wear your white dress to a park gazebo, right? A great way to avoid this and the whole “bill, dinner” situation is to invite everyone over to your place for desserts and cocktails after. It’s a far simpler way to have many people in a small space, but it can also be done super casually by the community pool or lounge area.
DIY Decorations: In the age of Pinterest, it really wouldn’t make sense not to DIY your grad decorations. There are literally endless tutorials to make decorations that are not only super cute but also unique and inexpensive. Not to mention, the decorations in stores are uglyyyy.
Catering: Simple catering is the way to go. Burgers, tacos, pasta — the options are endless not to mention most everyone likes those foods. It’s typically a lot cheaper than going to a restaurant and always just as good.