Planning The Bachelorette Party

Now it’s time for the real fun to begin…the bachelorette party! This is the bride’s chance to really go wild and dance all her wedding stress away before the big day. Get free shipping on a $50 order from Bachelorette.com

What’s The Difference Between The Bridal Shower And The Bachelorette Party?

Most brides have a bridal shower AND a bachelorette party on two separate occasions and if you do it like most people, they are VERY different. The shower, although you can make it as fun as you want, often has grandmothers and mothers in attendance, and as a result doesn’t get too wild or loud. It’s typically held at one location, such as someone’s house or a favorite restaurant, and lasts a few hours. Conversely, most bachelorette parties are basically just a crazy, crass night out on the town where the bride is paraded around in ridiculous, embarrassing wedding regalia. Of course, if you’ve learned anything from this site, it is what? Every bride is different. While some will lap up the attention they’ll get from people because they’re wearing a blinking tiara and a Bachelorette sash, others would be extremely uncomfortable and would prefer something more low-key.

What Types Of Different Bachelorette Parties Are There?

The traditional bachelorette party is as we mentioned earlier: a wild night out just for the girls, where the bride is adorned with tiaras, or homemade t-shirts, or any number of phallic-shaped items. A popular activity is to give all the girls in the party a scavenger hunt and put them on teams and the first one to complete all their tasks wins something. It’s a great way to get everyone out and about and talking to people and having fun. Since most bachelorette parties like this involve drinking, it’s a good idea to book several hotel rooms near where you’ll be going out so you don’t have guests driving home. Plus, it can serve as a central meeting location for everyone to get the party started.

However, if your bride is not up for this kind of party, there are plenty of other options. Some brides’ perfect bachelorette party might be simply going out to dinner and drinks with the girls, or to a wine bar, or to a spa for the day. One very fun (and funny) idea is the Ugly Bridesmaid Dress party. Invite all the guests to arrive wearing an old bridesmaid dress to get one more use out of them. Or you could buy a selection of awful formal dresses from a thrift shop or Goodwill to have available for guests and wait for the hilarity to ensue. This party idea makes for priceless pictures and is sure to lead to lots and lots of laughing, a great stress reducer for the tense bride.

Who Is Invited To The Bachelorette Party?

Bachelorette party invitees are typically close friends of the bride who are also invited to the wedding. Depending on how wild you plan to get, you probably don’t want to invite family (other than sisters or close cousins) or elders. But there’s no limit to how many people you can invite-the more, the merrier!

When Should We Host A bachelorette Party?

Get with the bridesmaids and come up with a few tentative dates, then check with the bride. As I mentioned earlier, it’s helpful to do this several weeks or a month before the wedding so she has the time before the wedding to finish up last minute things. Surely this goes without saying, but I’m going to say it anyway: do NOT have the bachelorette party the night before. Even the weekend before is cutting it close to the wedding, because the bride probably intends to spend that last week perfecting her body, skin, hair, etc. A really crazy bachelorette party could lead to a good two-day hangover, which is not a good start to a week of beautifying, is it?

Who Pays For The Bachelorette Party?

Unlike the shower, where it’s never ok to ask guests to pay for anything, the nature of the bachelorette party makes it much more acceptable. It often involves a hotel room and transportation, which you can ask everyone who is using them to help pay for. A typical hotel room that sleeps 4-6 should cost between $120-240, and this truly varies by city and area. Costs for a limo or party bus also vary by area, anywhere from $80 to $300 an hour. And you may go out to a bar which would involve cover charges and the cost of drinks, and guests will expect to pay their own way here (but try to make sure the bride never has to get out her wallet!) Just be considerate-you might be able to afford to stay in an expensive hotel room or book a limo or a party bus, but not everyone can. Just keep in mind that some people may not come if you make the cost of attending too high. The one thing you and the bridesmaid really should pay for is if you plan to provide food and drinks in the hotel room or the central meeting location.

What Do We Do About Invitations?

A bachelorette party is much less formal than the shower usually, so online invitations, such as those from evite.com, are very popular for this type of party. We still can’t condone the use of the store-bought invitations that you write on yourself, but if you must, use them for the bachelorette party instead of the shower. However, there is often a lot of information to convey about a bachelorette party, such as how much they’ll need to pay if you’re getting hotels or transportation, what to expect, etc. It’s difficult to fit all that on one of those tiny hand-written invitations. Like with the shower, you can buy the package of already designed invitations and just lay out the wording with your computer, and they should be sent 3-4 weeks before the party.

Should We Ask Guests To Bring Gifts?

Since you’ve already hosted a shower that required guests to bring gifts, it’s a good idea not to ask them to bring gifts to the bachelorette party. If all the bachelorette party guests weren’t invited to your shower, one idea is to call it a Lingerie Shower/Bachelorette Party, or ask the guests to bring lingerie or naughty gifts from a sex shop-the more embarrassing, the better! Often, people will just bring gifts like this on their own, so it’s perfectly ok not to instruct them to do so, especially if you’re already asking them to pay their own way.

How Much Should The Bridesmaids Help? Should The Bride Get Any Say?

You and the bridesmaids should plan the bachelorette party together, preferably with a little bit of input from the bride just to set ground rules. If you want your plans to be a surprise, that’s ok; just ask her to tell you what she’s not comfortable with ahead of time so you don’t have any hurt feelings the night of the party. Bridesmaids should help you plan, set up, clean up, and pay for things that you wouldn’t ask your guests to pay for, such as food or drinks for the central meeting location.

More Tips for the Maid of Honor

• You can always print off Bachelorette Party games right from your computer!
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