The end of the school year is such an exciting time for the graduating class, but for those tasked with planning all the graduation events, it can feel a little overwhelming. Hosting your graduation at an event venue guarantees a successful and smooth graduation day, and so we’ve put together a guide on how to host your graduation at our banquet hall and what other events you should host to celebrate your graduates.
Here’s everything you need to know about working with a banquet hall for graduation!
How to choose the right venue for your graduation
A banquet hall offers flexibility, customizable options, and ample space, so it’s a great choice for your graduation. You’ll need to make decisions about what exactly you need from the space in order to find the right venue for you, but the events team will have lots of experience in hosting graduations and can help answer your questions. Some things to consider:
• Format of event: is your graduation auditorium style seating with a stage, are you looking to host more of a banquet, or some sort of hybrid? This may help narrow down the type of venue that’s best for you.
• Guest count: how many students are graduating, how many faculty will be present, and how many guests are students allowed to invite? This will determine how large of a space you’ll need.
How to personalize the graduation ceremony
Adding personal touches to your graduation is one of the funnest parts of the planning process! Graduating classes often bring in balloons and arches in their school colours, create slideshows of baby pictures of graduates, and customize the tablecloth and napkin colours. Consider collaborating with the student council or a parental committee to ensure the decor represents the graduates well.
Other events to consider hosting for your graduates at a banquet hall:
Prom and other dances
Perhaps the most highly-anticipated event in a graduate’s final year, prom is the perfect event to host at a banquet hall. If you’re in charge of planning a graduation for younger grades instead of high school, then any celebratory dance is also a great option.
To host prom for the graduating class, you’ll need an event space that does catering, has event staff, has room for seated dining as well as a dance floor, and most importantly, makes your graduates have fun. And if you’re just looking to host a celebratory dance, then you still need all of the above, just for an event that’s a little less fancy.
Graduation rehearsal and meal
For those who are in charge of planning the graduation ceremony, consider also planning a rehearsal event followed by a mealtime, like a breakfast or lunch. To avoid chaos on the day of graduation, it’s helpful to make sure that the graduates and participating faculty know what to do and where to go. And to incentivize everyone’s attendance, a congratulatory meal to follow would be very much appreciated. Be sure to book your graduation ceremony and rehearsal + meal at a venue with a layout that can accommodate this set-up!
Graduation is a very important milestone, and so it’s important that you use all the resources you can find in the planning process to ensure that you plan the best graduation you can! Here at St. Joseph’s Banquet & Conference Centre in Oakville, we’ve hosted many graduations of all types, and we’d love to help you plan your end-of-year graduation. Contact us today to learn more.