Formal & Traditional Graduation Announcements

The graduation of your son, daughter or other young family member is a bittersweet time. Whether it’s a high school or college graduation, it’s a major milestone in his or her life, a great source of pride as a parent and a wonderful opportunity to celebrate the journey into adulthood. There’s no better way to announce your son or daughter’s graduation than with beautiful, classic graduation announcements. However, you may be wondering about etiquette when it comes to designing and writing formal announcements for this important occasion.

To create classic graduation announcements that are stylish, sophisticated and impactful, there are two elements to consider: design and etiquette. We’ll take a look at several ideas and suggestions to help you check both boxes.

Choosing a Formal Announcement Design

First, it’s important to choose an announcement design that celebrates the grad’s style yet offers a timeless look. If you love the formal, elegant style of traditional graduation stationery and you’re looking for custom-made designs, personalized classic announcements are a good choice. These graduation announcements feature a traditional design style but offer plenty of personalization options to make your cards unique and expressive.

Work with your grad to choose which elements you’d like to feature on the announcements. Do you want to include a photo? A well-chosen professional portrait (or several photos) of the proud graduate can elevate the look of the announcement instantly. Don’t forget about colors; many designs can also be customized to match your grad’s school colors for a personalized touch.

Announcement Etiquette & Wording

Wording is a major aspect of what constitutes a classic, formal graduation announcement. Even if you customized a beautiful, traditional card design, the formal effect will be lost if the announcement’s wording is overly casual or relaxed. While many of our classic announcements already include suggested wording to make the process easier for you, you may wish to customize the text or write your own from scratch.

If that’s the case, begin by determining what information you want to include in the announcement. To start, you should include the following:

• Graduate’s full name
• School name
• Date, time and location of party or commencement ceremony (if applicable)
• Future education plans (such as college attending or degree pursuing, if known)
• Degree obtained (if college graduation)

With this in mind, here is an example of a formal high school graduation announcement:

With great joy and pride,

Mr. and Mrs. Hughes

Announce the graduation

Of their daughter

Haley Samantha Hughes

From St. Francis High School

Saturday, June 30th, 2018

Please join us for a reception

At our home at 6:00 PM

You can find more templates and suggestions for your specific needs by checking out our Graduation Announcement Wording Ideas.

Formal Finishing Touches

Remember that the design of your announcement doesn’t stop at the card itself. It is traditional to include other customized stationery elements to achieve a professional-quality, formal announcement. Finish your envelopes with classic address labels and consider opting to have your envelopes addressed by us to avoid the stress of hand-writing each one.