Bachelorette Parties that Rock!
Planning a wedding isn’t always fun. It can be stressful and time consuming, but one thing that comes as a great stress relief during the planning process is the bachelorette party! This isn’t something you have to do much for as the bride, but if you are a bridesmaid and want to throw an awesome bachelorette party, read on…
bachelorette
[bach-uh-luh-ret, bach-luh-]
noun – an unmarried young woman.
The point of a bachelorette party is to celebrate the bride to be. In order to throw a successful bachelorette party, you need to know your bride. Does she want something simple or over the top, close to home or a weekend away at a popular bachelorette party location? Will she want alcoholic drinks as part of the celebration, or not? Will she want a big group of friends or only members of the bridal party to attend? Once you figure out what the bride is wanting you can get to work planning the most FUN bachelorette party ever!
If you decide to plan a bachelorette party out of town here are the top 5 locations that will provide the perfect setting for a great get-a-away! These are listed as the top 5 (from a survey completed by GOBankingRates) because of the great location, safe environment and relative affordability. These might not be cities that you would think would be listed as the top 5, but when you compare price of airfare and the cost of lodging as well as the high safety rating, these are top notch places to go!
1. Cabo San Lucas, Mexico
2. Denver
3. Dallas
4. Vancouver, British Columbia
5. Montreal, Quebec
The top 5 worst places to celebrate your bachelorette party (ranked by the same survey) are 1. Memphis, Tennessee 2. Key West, Florida 3. Chicago, Illinois 4. New Orleans, Louisiana 5. Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Bachelorette Weekend Away
You and the bride have made the decision to have a party away. Here are some pointers to not only have a great time with the bride, but also keep everyone attending happy too!
As the bride or maid of honor, don’t get angry when someone can’t come along. Usually, a friend or bridesmaid will do anything they can to attend this celebration and if someone is coming up with a reason they can’t, then don’t make it even worse by getting angry, they already feel horrible enough without your help. Cost is a huge factor and a lot of times this is the reason someone can’t go to a destination bachelorette party. So, continuing on the topic of cost; make sure when you are splitting the cost of everything that you clearly outline what it is that everyone is paying for. Most of the time people have no problems paying their portion, but if you continue to ask for funds to cover more things and don’t let them know what they are for, you may cause people to get upset. Make it clear what each amount is going towards so guests don’t feel blindsided. Also, try as much as you can to cover the bride’s activities, food and drinks as much as possible. This is a celebration of the bride to be and she is working hard enough paying for different wedding related items—don’t worry, everyone will do the same for you when it is your turn. Another savings tactic (if you are staying in a house rental or hotel with kitchenette) is to get groceries in order to eat a couple of meals at home. Spending $20 per person (by splitting a grocery bill) for breakfast and a couple of dinners for the whole weekend instead of $60-$80 eating out sure sounds great to us!
Have a plan. Do your research. Are there popular things to do in the city you are traveling to? Is there a list of things the bride really wanted to do while in the city? The worst thing you can do is “plan” on winging it. Is your lodging close to the activities you have planned? If not, what is the plan for transportation—uber, taxi, street car? You don’t want to make the bride feel like she has to choose the activities while you are there so make sure you at least narrow it down to a couple of different options to choose from because trying to decide something like that on a whim can make it stressful. Along with the activities you will partake in, you should also pick a theme. If the bride isn’t interested in dressing up or drawing attention to herself, that is one thing, but if she is make sure you have that figured out so you can give everyone enough time to pack accordingly. One great way to include your theme in the attire is to have a tank top or shirt made for everyone to wear one day/night that says something to go along with it. For example, everyone’s shirts could say “bride tribe” and the bride’s shirt says “bride” or “Let’s flamingle, the bride is no longer single” (great for a flamingo/tropical theme). It doesn’t hurt to have a little bit of decoration at this party either. Sticking with the tropical theme example, leis are a cheap and easy way to add a little bit of flare to your party. Guests can wear them, but you can also use them as décor! Always check out examples on creative websites such as Pinterest.com or OrientalTrading.com because they might have free printable options for banners. Don’t forget to be thrifty either—you might get some great finds at local thrift stores for different photo backdrops, props or themed outfits as well. Make sure to bring staple bachelorette items such as a “future MRS.” sash or veil for the bride to wear. You can usually get items like this at any party or craft store. Also, if you want to have a little gift exchange for the bride make sure to include the bride’s lingerie size in the invites.
Lastly, don’t forget to thank everyone that came with a party favor. You can be as simple or extravagant with these as you want. Popular and useful items are little travel kits that could include such items as makeup remover wipes, gum and Tylenol in a cute little bag. Other options (which are a little bit pricier than travel items, but SUPER cute) include stemless wine glasses with the weekend # or something that goes along with the theme printed on them, koozies or little personalized bottles of wine or champagne. A great local place to check out for PERSONALIZED EVERYTHING is The Mark It here in Saint Joseph. Not only can they provide the personalized shirts for the celebration, but they have everything from personalized key chains, mugs, wine glasses and so much more!
With all of these helpful tips you are sure to have a fabulous time celebrating the very special bride to be at her last big girls’ night out before she is a MRS. Stay tuned for our next blog that will give you great ideas for local bachelorette parties! You don’t always have to go far to have fun!
