So one of your best friends (or family members) is getting married, and it’s your job to plan the time-honored tradition of the Bachelorette Party. This is a tremendous honor, and also a lot of responsibility so you want to make sure that it is a success, and more importantly, that it’s what the bride wants.
On that note, if you’re planning the bachelorette party, it’s probably safe to assume that you and the bride are fairly close; i.e. you’re probably either in the wedding, a family member, or a very close friend that she trusts well enough to allow to plan such a big event. So, since you know the bride, you probably have a pretty good idea of what she wants and what she wouldn’t want. For example, if you know the bride is fairly conservative and not much of a partier, it would be a bad idea to plan a bar-crawl followed by a surprise performance by a male stripper.
To make things easier on yourself (the party planner) and all of your guests, it helps to be as prepared as possible so to ensure that things go well. Listed are a few tips and ideas to get you started.
Tips
Decide Who You’re Going to Invite: Bachelorette parties are typically pretty small; more than 20 is usually too many, 10 and under is probably ideal. Wedding Etiquette typically states that whoever is invited to the shower must be invited to the wedding, but this rule isn’t necessarily true for the bachelorette party. Most of the bachelorette party guests are the bride’s girl friends, who are already attending the wedding, but it’s also okay to invite neighbors or co-workers who may not be invited to the wedding if it’s smaller or out of town.
Pick a Date: In the movies, characters typically have their bachelor/bachelorette parties the night before the wedding, which leads to mass chaos and hangovers on the big day. In “real life” this just simply isn’t how it’s done. Typically it is ideal to have the party a couple of days before the actual date, and give your guests at least 2-3 week’s notice beforehand so that they can plan ahead also.
Getting the Word Out There: There are several ways to invite your bachelorette party guests. You can simply call your girls on the phone and give them the low-down if there’s a manageable amount of them to call. You could also buy a set of cute party invitations, and send them out the old-fashioned way, or you can be super creative and create your own if you love to scrap-book and create that would be right up your alley!
Themes
• Ladies Night: One of the most popular bachelorette party themes is to take the bride to her favorite restaurant for dinner and drinks, and then out to a local hotspot. This way you can dress the bride up in obnoxious bachelorette party gear, and spend the night on the town wherever she wants!
• Spa Day: Pamper the bride (and yourselves) by spending the day or weekend at a spa. You’ll love getting massages, manicures, pedicures, and the works, even if you do have to give up some of the junk food and alcohol consumption that usually accompanies bachelorette parties.
• Scavenger hunt: The Scavenger hunt is a popular game to play at bachelorette parties where the bride and her ladies go out on the town, or can even be used at the house where the party is taking place. You can get as creative as you want with this, creating maps, clues, etc. as long as you’re having fun and it is something the bride would enjoy (since it is all about her).
• Fondue Fun: What’s not to love about melted cheese, chocolate, gossip, and giggling? A fondue party makes for a great bachelorette party at home (if you have all of the equipment), or you can even go out to a fondue restaurant if that is more convenient.
• Camping: If the bride is an “out-doorsie” kind of gal, she might just love a camping or an outdoor adventure of some kind. Set aside a weekend for the girls to get together and go on a camping trip, hiking, canoeing, swimming, fishing, or horseback riding!
• Yee-Haw: Is the bride a little bit country? Then why not take her out for a night of line-dancing and have everyone dress in cowboy boots, hats, and cut-offs!
• Chauffeur Night: Should you choose the pool hall, the sleazy club down the street, or the dance club down town? Why pick just one when you could hire a chauffeur and arrange for a time and a place to pick everyone up and go where you please. This way, you will all be able to drink without having to worry about a DD, and feeling like a celebrity!
With all of these themes, you may opt to have your crew dress a little more uniform by customizing your own bachelorette party tees! Check out our galleries and get customizing!