The Graduation Planning Checklist

Write down the ceremony date, time, venue and the ticket allotment per graduate Most schools cap guest tickets. If your family is bigger than the cap, ask for extras the day they're announced — they go by request order

Decide who gets a seat, name by name — and tell the people who don't, now, kindly

Request accessible seating if a grandparent needs it — it's a separate request with its own deadline

Check the graduate's own deadlines: application to graduate, fees, cap & gown order window

Book hotels and flights for out-of-town family Graduation weekend sells out the hotels near campus first — book before the party, not after

Draft the party guest list — usually bigger than the ceremony list; this is where the people without tickets get their moment

Pick the party date: same day after the ceremony, or the next day Same-day means the family that just sat through a three-hour ceremony hosts a party. Next-day is kinder to the hosts

Book the party venue, or confirm the backyard and a rain plan

Order food by headcount — caterer, restaurant or the family cooking (assign dishes, in writing)

Send invitations — mail or message — 4–6 weeks before, with an RSVP date

Order the cake and any decoration in school colors

Start the photo display or slideshow now — collecting photos from relatives takes weeks, not days

Decide on gifts: a card box, a fund, or "your presence is the gift" — say it on the invitation

Cap & gown, stole, cords, honors regalia — ordered and picked up; confirm the school's pickup dates

The outfit under the gown and comfortable shoes — the walk across the stage is short; the standing in line is not

Book portraits, or pick the person with the good phone and tell them they're on duty

Order announcement cards if your family sends them

Final headcount to the caterer or the cooks

Tickets in hand — printed or downloaded, one person holds them all Digital tickets on five phones is how one relative ends up outside. One holder, one folder

Parking plan and arrival time — ceremonies start on time and the good seats fill an hour early

Name the meeting spot after the ceremony — a landmark, not "by the entrance" — and share it with every guest

Timeline of the day, shared: ceremony → photos at the spot → party start time

Iron the gown; steam it again the night before

Leave earlier than feels necessary. Everyone else is leaving at the "right" time

Someone who is not at the ceremony sets up the party — so the family gets to watch, not work

Phones charged, the meeting spot confirmed one last time — the crowd after is where families get split up

Photo list, short: graduate alone, with parents, with grandparents, with everyone. Then stop and go eat

The graduate's job today is to walk and wave. Everything else is yours — and it's already on this list.