Over the weekend I had the pleasure of watching one of my best friends walk across the stage to receive her PH.D from University of Wisconsin – Madison. I have known Deniece for over 9 years. We met at a speed dating event in NYC and have been inseparable ever since. No, I didn’t meet a life partner that night. But I did meet a friend for life. She is my confident, travel partner and therapist. She is one of the few friends that I have that totally ‘gets’ me and my Pisces ways.
A few months before Deniece’s graduation I was given the task of planning her graduation party. She was working on her dissertation and didn’t have time to devote to party planning. She asked me to plan the party and I graciously accepted. The only hurdle was that I was in Michigan and she was in Wisconsin.
My friend lives in a swanky new apartment building in Madison and they had a nice community room that the tenants could reserve for events. It was super contemporary and it was equipped with everything from kitchen amenities to an audio system that played music from a mobile device. I hadn’t been to visit Deniece since she started her doctoral program. (Shame on me.) So she sent me pictures and videos of the space where the party would be held. It was beautiful and honestly wouldn’t need a lot of decoration. Minimal décor was great because I was party planning on a budget.
I purposely planned to come into town a few days early so I could run around and get décor and party items. My friend really wanted a taco bar from a local Mexican restaurant in Madison, El Rancho. She really liked their food. I was able to place an order over the phone for them to cater her party. José, the owner, was great and accommodating.
The airport in Madison, WI was near campus but flying into Madison was super expensive. Especially since I bought my ticket only two weeks out. So I ended up buying a cheap ticket to O’Hare airport in Chicago and taking a chartered bus up to the University of Wisconsin. Apparently it’s what everyone does. The bus ride was about 3 hours. The time flew by because the bus was equipped with electrical outlets and Wi-Fi. Plus, I slept a little bit.
Once I arrived in Madison, we hit the ground running. It was non-stop the whole time I was there. The day before her graduation and party, my friend had to defend her dissertation. I only had one day to get everything together so while she was defending, I shopped. Thankfully, another friend flew in as well and attended her defense. So she had the support. Honestly, my friend is loved by everyone. Forty people came to see her defend her dissertation. It was so nice to see the support system she has in WI and how they love her just like I do.
Since I was party planning on a budget, I went to the Dollar Tree for décor and party supplies. I don’t frequent dollar stores so I really didn’t know what to expect. But I figured it couldn’t hurt. I ended up finding some really cute things as well as other items I needed like serving platters and utensils. It was one stop shopping. You have to have imagination and think outside the box. Be creative! The University of Wisconsin colors are red and white so I found these cute red mason jars. I figured pops of red throughout the space would be nice. I wanted to keep the party sophisticated and classy. After all, my friend is a doctor now. I filled the mason jars with an assortment of white flowers and used them as center pieces. I was able to find a few red serving platters that I used for appetizers.
Although the food was being catered, I still need to get appetizers, drinks, a cake and other supplies. I was able to find all of those things at Costco. It’s the perfect place to find food and party supplies in bulk and a good price. I ordered the cake from Costco and it was delicious. Please don’t sleep on their cakes, they are so tasty. You can get a nice size cake for under $25. Totally worth every penny. I also purchased Mexican Coke to go with the taco bar and it also worked with the red and white color scheme.
The party ended up being a blast! My friend loved how everything turned out.
