Alpha Phi Formal & Senior Send-off!

This post is coming a little late, but two weekends ago I celebrated my last formal weekend with Alpha Phi, so I wanted to make sure and tell you about it! My sorority does its formal a little different than others. Our formal function is not dedicated to one night alone, but an entire weekend of time spent with your sisters and their dates. It's not a mandatory thing, but different groups from Alpha Phi get cabins together for the whole weekend. My friend Gwyn chose our cabin this year and it was absolutely beautiful! We had it from Thursday night until Sunday and there were about 25 people total.

Isn't it beautiful?!

The house was three stories, five bedrooms and had a beautiful porch that wrapped around the entire house! We were in heaven.

The living room featured a cathedral ceiling with a chandelier made of antlers. 

I made sure to enjoy the leather couch before the rest of the crowd arrived.

The kitchen was wonderful as well, complete with granite counter tops and stainless steel appliances. Even inside the house, I felt like I was living in the wilderness. Tree bark was used as an accent on the walls, in the bathrooms and anywhere else it could be applied.

The actual formal was on Saturday night at the Archer's Inn on Beech Mountain, a good 30-minute ride from where we were staying. We made sure to take some prom-style pictures with all the girls and guys before heading to dinner.

The house had the prettiest fountain outside, that they called "Diamond Creek". I wanted to make sure that Jake & I got a picture in front of it!

My sweet friend Jill did my hair and makeup for the night! Thank so much, Jill for all of your help!

Here we are at the restaurant about to have dinner! The dress that I wore was a black, floor-length, mermaid-style from Cache. It belonged to my little Sharyn, who was sweet enough to let me borrow it for the occasion. She wore it to her prom in high school. 

Every year at formal, they give out all types of awards, Best Big/Little, Little Miss Sunshine, Most Genuine, just to name a few. At the end of the night, I went home with two awards, Favorite Senior and Miss Southern Belle. What an honor!

The next morning was Alpha Phi's Senior Send-off! This is a fun event to honor the seniors, where they can bring all the Alpha Phi items that they've accumulated over the years and pass them down to younger sisters. The seniors dress really funny and tell stories about the items they're giving away. This thing has been known to last more than 5 hours!

I was picked up that morning by my little Katy and her roommate Laura. My outfit was complete with a queen's crown, given to me by Katy (to symbolize my transition from the Princess Family to a queen after graduation). I also wore a shirt that two of my new members made for me when I was their pledge mom, and a white sequined tutu from lipsync a few years ago.

One of my favorite items that I sent off was a clear popcorn bowl. My little Katy was the lucky recipient! I'll save that story for another day;)

Though it's sometimes sad to give away the things that you've received over the years, it's a tradition that means something to all Alpha Phis at my school. It also reminds me of the memories I've made over the past three years that will be with me forever.