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Last Updated on December 20, 2023
Once you nail down the essentials of the bachelorette party, such as budget, date, and what the bride wants to do, you get to focus on the details. Those include reserving the space, shopping for fun bridesmaids’ gifts and weekend wear, plus planning all the activities. If you’re the bride’s maid of honor, you might want to hire a personal assistant just for planning this shindig. Let these tips make it easier.
Reserve a Fun Airbnb or Hotel Room
Not only does a getaway provide added fun, but 5.5 million US couples also live together before marriage and that makes it tough to throw a women-only party. You’ll need to wrestle the bride-to-be away from her fiancé. Choose a destination near your home that you can road trip to within an afternoon. This leaves you more time to enjoy the destination, which you might make a glamping cabin at the lake, a winery like Azur Wines with bed and breakfast nearby, or a beach hotel.
Stick With One Big Activity Per Day
If you only have time for a quick party, essentially a girls’ night out, this won’t apply. If you make it a weekend, then enjoy yourself. You can do more than one thing per day, but only plan one big thing that requires reservations, or you plan in advance. You can experience too much togetherness and you may want a break after your wine tasting or scuba diving. Leave time for each person to spend a little time on their own. Some of your bridesmaids might want a workout while others might want a massage. Leave time for everyone to do their own thing, then gather together for dinner.
Try a Local Shopping Spree
Rather than purchasing their bridesmaids’ gifts and making them all the same, provide each bridesmaid with a Visa gift card and go on a local shopping spree. Try a mall on your road trip with pop-up shops. These small shops erected in kiosks and tents comprise $50 billion of the US small business market. These kiosk stores carry items like brass and silver business card cases, makeup, sunglasses, etched or engraved jewelry, etc. Each of the ladies in the bridal party can find the ideal item for herself and you can pull it all together by having each item engraved or embossed with the date and event name.
Make Goodie Bags
Whether you encapsulate it all into one night or your friends and you go on a weekend getaway, make the women in the wedding party goodie bags. These might include t-shirts commemorating the weekend, tote bags, themed rub-on tattoos, photo frames, etc.
Don’t Drive If You’re Drinking
Let’s get serious about the after-party though. Take taxis or Ubers when you go out. Even when you celebrate in the Airbnb or hotel room, make sure no one will need to go anywhere. Besides the truthful age-old adage, ‘Friends don’t let friends drive drunk.’ You should also consider the monetary fines and jail time. For instance, just a first-time DUI offense in Maryland can cost you a year in jail and a $1000 fine. Not to mention that if you get hurt, you’ll be wearing the cast at the wedding. No cast goes with a bridesmaid dress and accessorizing them already provides a challenge.
Enjoy the last girls’ night as a single woman. If you’re reading this, one of your sisters from another mother is about to get married. While we’d like to think nothing changes, the truth is you will see her less once she ties the knot. Enjoy her bachelorette party as a bonding moment and make it special.
