Graduation parties are photo events. The graduate stands in front of something with their name on it perhaps forty times in an evening, and that backdrop is what the family keeps.
Ottawa's graduation season clusters heavily in June, which means dates go quickly — uOttawa, Carleton and Algonquin convocations all fall within weeks of each other.
What we set up
- Photo wall or backdrop with custom name and year
- Balloon garlands in school or programme colours
- Number features for the graduating year
- Dessert and cake table styling
- Table centrepieces
- Fairy lights and evening lighting
- Setup and takedown
Book early for June
Ottawa's convocation season is compressed. uOttawa, Carleton and Algonquin ceremonies fall within a few weeks and the weekends around them are the busiest of our non-wedding calendar.
If your graduation is in June, book as soon as the date is confirmed — this is the one part of the year where we genuinely run out of Saturdays.
Home or hall
Most grad parties are at home or in a rented community hall. Both are straightforward for us; everything is freestanding.
For Sandy Hill and Centretown student housing, tell us about stairs and parking early — it is usually the limiting factor.
Ottawa's convocation season is brutally compressed
This is the practical fact that shapes every graduation booking in this city. uOttawa, Carleton and Algonquin convocations all fall within a few weeks of each other in June, with Ottawa U also running a February convocation.
That means the graduation party market does not spread across a season — it lands on roughly four weekends, and those weekends are simultaneously peak wedding season. June is genuinely the one month of the year when we run out of Saturdays.
If your graduation is in June, book as soon as the ceremony date is published. Not when you have decided on a theme — when you have the date.
The photograph the family actually keeps
A graduation party is a photo event with catering attached. The graduate stands in front of one backdrop perhaps forty times across an evening, usually still in the gown, usually with a different relative each time.
So the backdrop has to do three things: carry the name and year legibly, work behind a black or coloured gown without swallowing it, and hold up to forty near-identical compositions without becoming boring. Pale backdrops behind a black gown are the reliable answer; a dark backdrop behind a dark gown is the most common mistake.
We build the name and year into the backdrop itself rather than propping a sign beside it, for the same reason we do it at an aqiqah — a leaning sign is in shot at an angle in half the photographs.
School and programme colours
Carleton red, uOttawa garnet and grey, Algonquin green — programme colours differ again, and families frequently want the palette to match the institution rather than the house.
We match to the actual colour rather than an approximation. Send the institution and the programme and we will work to it, or send a photo of the hood or stole, which is more accurate than any name.
Where these actually happen
Most Ottawa grad parties are at home or in a rented community hall. Both are straightforward for us — everything is freestanding.
The one recurring complication is student housing in Sandy Hill and Centretown: narrow staircases, no elevator, and street parking that is genuinely difficult on a convocation weekend when the whole neighbourhood is doing the same thing. Tell us about stairs and parking at booking. In that area it is the limiting factor far more often than the room itself.
Tell us your date
Send your date, venue and guest count on WhatsApp. Faya will come back to you directly with what fits and what it costs.
Good to know
Questions we get asked
A backdrop with a name feature, balloon garland and dressed dessert table is a typical grad booking and sits at the accessible end.
WhatsApp +1 (613) 883-4969 with your date and venue.
As soon as the date is confirmed. Ottawa's convocation season is compressed — uOttawa, Carleton and Algonquin ceremonies fall within weeks of each other and those weekends are the busiest of our non-wedding calendar.
June is the one time of year we genuinely run out of Saturdays.
Yes — balloon and floral palettes matched to school or programme colours, with the graduating year as a number feature.
Tell us the colours when you book.
Yes. Tell us about stairs, elevator access and parking when you enquire, because in Sandy Hill and Centretown that is usually the limiting factor rather than the room itself.
As soon as the ceremony date is published — not when you have chosen a theme. uOttawa, Carleton and Algonquin convocations all fall within a few weeks of each other in June, and those weekends are simultaneously peak wedding season.
June is the one month of the year we genuinely run out of Saturdays.
A pale backdrop behind a black or dark gown. The most common mistake is a dark backdrop behind a dark gown, which swallows the graduate.
We build the name and year into the backdrop itself rather than propping a sign beside it — a leaning sign appears at an angle in half the photographs.
Yes — Carleton red, uOttawa garnet and grey, Algonquin green, or a specific programme colour.
Send a photo of the hood or stole rather than a colour name. It is far more accurate.
Yes. Tell us about stairs, elevator access and parking when you enquire — in Sandy Hill and Centretown that is the limiting factor much more often than the room.
Convocation weekends make street parking especially difficult, because the whole neighbourhood is doing the same thing.