Inside Gabriella’s Dreamy Poolside Graduation Party Featuring Our Mobile Crostini Bar Cart

This weekend we got to bring our mobile charcuterie cart to the sweetest high school graduation pool party for Gabriella, and honestly the whole thing was just SO pretty.

Everything was very soft and summery and upscale without feeling overdone. Think parasols for the heat, blush pink slushies, wood fired pizza, poolside lounging, giant white balloons, and girls in long pastel dresses all day long.

At one point I overheard Gabriella say her buttery yellow dress was actually her prom dress she never got to wear and I swear that detail made the whole party make sense to me. It just felt really special and thoughtful and feminine in a way that’s hard to explain.

Welcome table | Mama + Daughters | Sip & Social Slushy Cart

Lauren from Polka Dots and Picnics planned and styled the whole event and she absolutely nailed it.

There were beautiful little details everywhere without it feeling stuffy or too formal. Desi from Blown PDX did the balloons and backdrop, Sip & Social PDX had the cutest slushie cart with watermelon and lime slushies, Andy the Bartender was on the adult cocktails and Ash Wood Fired Pizza was there making fresh pizzas throughout the afternoon.

And then there was us with the cart. ☀️

We set up poolside under our fringe umbrella serving fresh crostini bites and little grazing-style snacks for around 80 guests throughout the party.

Honestly this is exactly the kind of event I pictured when I started building the cart. Not super traditional catering. Not giant buffet lines. Not overly formal. Just really good food that feels interactive and fun and pretty.

For this event we served:

• traditional tomato basil bruschetta with balsamic glaze and flaky sea salt

• strawberry hot honey crostini with apricot cream

• manchego with parmesan tapenade and muffuletta

• olives, pickled garnishes, and little sweet/salty snacks to pair with it all

• toasted ciabatta and cranberry crostinis were the perfect toasty base for the bites

  
  

One of my favorite things about the cart is that people naturally keep coming back throughout the party. They try one thing, hang out for awhile, then come back to build another bite with different toppings.

And for pool parties especially, it just works.

Nobody really wants to sit down for a super heavy meal in 90 degree weather. People want to snack, mingle, swim, grab a slushie, come back for another crostini, and just hang out.

The strawberry hot honey crostinis were probably the biggest hit of the day. We paired strawberries with a creamy apricot spread and hot honey and they disappeared constantly. The tomato basil bruschetta was another favorite because honestly it just tasted like summer.

Fresh tomatoes, basil, balsamic glaze, sea salt, crispy bread. You really can’t go wrong.

The manchego with tapenade and muffuletta ended up being more of the savory option and the adults especially loved that one. Super salty and briny and good with drinks.

But honestly beyond the food, the whole vibe of the party was just beautiful.

Girls carrying parasols around the pool. Pink slushies melting in the sun. Everybody taking photos. The giant umbrellas blowing around in the heat and wind! People gathered around the cart all afternoon trying different combinations.

It felt elevated without trying too hard.

I think that’s why I’ve been loving these mobile catering setups so much lately. They feel more personal and interactive than traditional catering. People actually engage with it instead of just walking through a buffet line once and being done.

This party especially felt very Oregon summer to me. Hot weather, huge trees, backyard pool party energy, but also really intentional details everywhere you looked.

Honestly I left feeling really inspired and really excited about where this little cart idea is headed because this is EXACTLY the kind of atmosphere I want it to create.