Planning a Destination Bachelorette Party
Last month we celebrated my sister’s last fling before the ring with a NYC bachelorette weekend. If you are planning a destination bachelorette party, and are not very familiar with the area (like me), here are some tips to make it a great one!
Send the invites early. Ask the bride for a guest list with names and email addresses as soon as possible. The earlier you contact them, the more time they will have to plan ahead and join the festivities. For this one I’m going to recommend either an evite or emailing a blind copy JPG, because you will be planning and informing everyone via email.
Provide an RSVP date. Since this is a destination bachelorette weekend, it will take some time for the guests to confirm their attendance. Make sure you clearly state the RSVP deadline and send email reminders. Besides knowing who is coming, it is also important to know when they are coming. Keep in mind that you will need a head count in order to find accommodations and make reservations.
If you are not familiar with the area, ask for help. When you are looking for accommodations for a group of girls, you will probably look at the cheapest options, but it is very important to know the area where you will be staying. Is it safe? How far is it from the activities you are planning? My advice is to ask people that live there or have been there, including those attending the bachelorette weekend. Besides hotels I also searched for apartments on VRBO and Airbnb.
Start planning what to do. Ask those that helped you during the lodging search, Google “bachelorette party in ________”, and ask the bride if she has any preferences. I recommend to involve everyone on the brainstorming, but limit decision-making to the maid of honor and bridesmaids. The bigger the group and the busier the city, the earlier you should plan. Start booking and making reservations at least one month in advance. (Note: In New York we did the Sex Tips for Straight Women from a Gay Man Broadway Show and Bagatelle’s brunch.)
Have a plan B. If you want to leave some room for spontaneity, feel free to do so, but I strongly encourage you to have planned activities, even if you change your mind. Being aware of restaurants, bars, and clubs is important, especially if most girls are not familiar with the area. The party mode will start going downhill if your group does not know what to do or where to go next.
Keep everyone informed. Once you start planning via email with the group, all the brainstorming will get buried in the email thread, and it will be hard for everyone to keep up. As people throw suggestions or offer to bring something, summarize the information on a word document. Once decisions are made, you can send the document to the group so everyone is on the same page. My document included:
The host’s name, contact information, and arrival/departure times.
Attendees list, with accommodations cost in parenthesis.
Arrivals Friday ($)
Arrivals Saturday ($)
Accommodations
Address and link
Table with cost break-down
Check-in and check-out times
Any instructions (for VRBO/Airbnb)
Information about how and when to pay the host back. (I recommend Venmo)
Itinerary broken down by day
Activities, links, times, costs, any special instructions.
Dress code/theme
Nearby Restaurants
Suggested activities/restaurants/clubs/bars
Shop for accessories. My two favorite places to shop for event décor are Party City and Dollar Tree, so most of what you see below is from there except for the sunglasses (extras from a previous event) and the personalized decals (Etsy.) If you are flying, remember to buy stuff you can easily pack and bring tape or whatever you need to decorate.
Have fun! After all your hard work, there is nothing else to do but have fun. It is so meaningful for the bride that the group traveled to celebrate her, so it is hard for something to ruin the weekend. All you can do is plan, inform, prep, and enjoy.
