7 Tips To Plan a Ballin’ Bachelorette Party

Being asked to plan a bachelorette party is quite the honor.  Friends, special occasions, and memories are all entrusted to you. I agree, although it’s sure to be a blast, the preparation can also be quite stressful. I’ve got some tips that helped me plan my sister’s ballin’ bachelorette party that will help guide your planning.

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Recently, I planned my sister’s bachelorette party. We went to Folly Beach, S.C. with a group of five girls. It turned out to be an awesome trip.

When I returned, I realized that it had gone smoothly due to a couple procedural steps I took.  I’m not a master-level-party-planner by any means, but I get super excited to organize and coordinate. I believe a few early decisions made the whole operation go smoothly.

With that in mind, I wanted to write out the steps I took that I think helped things go so well.

In order, here’s where to start on planning the perfect bachelorette… with lots of little things to do along the way:

1.) SET THE DATE

First and most importantly, pick a date!  You truly can’t begin to plan until you know when you are going. Everything else revolves around the date. Take a poll of the ladies invited to see what dates are absolute no-gos.  For example, my sister had her high school reunion one weekend, and there were some other weddings already planned.

Once we picked the date, I told everyone to immediately block it off. [amazon_textlink asin=’B07DNLVCQ5′ text=’Put it on the calendar‘ template=’ProductLink’ store=’poms2moms-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’4697c290-d1a5-11e8-8321-0357403fc9cb’] and don’t let anything come up. With the weekend reserved, I was able to start focusing on other aspects, many of which revolve around the time (weather, events, travel arrangements, etc.)  Moving on….

2.) PICK THE LOCATION

Now that the calendar has dates, decide where you’re going. Sandy beaches?  Nashville? Vegas?  Now that you know when, the where becomes easier to decide because you’re able to assess important details like weather.  Weather is so important — do you want to be on a boat? Ski trip? At the poolside cabana at the Vegas hotel?

Knowing the likely temperature at the available date range helps decide the majority of the trip.

3.) PICK A THEME

Last Fling Before the Ring // Bride Tribe //  She’s Tying the Knot, Buy us a Shot // Etc.   Now that you know when you’re going, and where you’re going, you get to the fun part: picking a theme.  This is where your knowledge of the bride and the atmosphere she most enjoys comes into play.

This is also where you exercise some control as the planner. Is your bride woefully shy?  Is she the best karaoke singer? How about dancing after perhaps, say… a little tequila?

Pick a theme that allows the fun to shine through, especially considering your inside knowledge of what the bride most enjoys. It’ll also be the theme that [amazon_textlink asin=’B07D8XQ6XY’ text=’helps everyone pick out the outfits. ‘ template=’ProductLink’ store=’poms2moms-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’82c7dd6c-d1a7-11e8-b9eb-77bc18b75ecd’]

Creating a theme can really contribute to the perfect calibration of the formality level, the color scheme, and the overall vibe at the bachelorette party.

4.) COMMUNICATE

Relay all the info to the group.   Anticipation is the best part, right? Let the group know the 5Ws so they can begin their own preparation. Plenty of shopping, appointments, and packing to do!

Express what you will be providing, and what you won’t. Let them know what kinds of necessities are required. For example, if you’re renting a house, are linens provided?  Are you bringing some of the booze?

I created a group text to push out all this info, but a group Facebook messenger would also work.

5.) ADD EVENTS

Make that itinerary productive (as you define it, of course). We were so close to Charleston, we wanted to take advantage of it in an organized fashion.  We ended up doing a pub crawl with some history sprinkled into it. When researching options, these are some other ideas I came up with:  

• bike tour
• boat tour
• wine tasting
• [amazon_textlink asin=’B00PR5L02U’ text=’canvas painting and wine‘ template=’ProductLink’ store=’poms2moms-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’c705a748-d1a7-11e8-8945-e51243acdbf4′]
• spa day

This is the time to live it up. This is the time to make the environment collide such that you and the ladies can make the most of the time together. It doesn’t always have to be spent at the bar. Cater your party to the right shape that suits your bride.

 

6.) SHOP.   

I did an embarrassing amount of research on t-shirts. Like. Spent SO MUCH time looking at everything. Here’s what I learned:

Etsy is a good idea, but don’t forget other stores. Old Navy had some super cute ones that match well, so did Target, and so did Express (especially the sale rack). If you intend on getting things monogrammed, [amazon_textlink asin=’B07BR1CTG4′ text=’Amazon bulk is best‘ template=’ProductLink’ store=’poms2moms-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’868b313e-d1a8-11e8-bbb9-4b19a16fef9a’].

Ultimately, I went with Etsy because I wanted the shirts to match the champagne-related theme of my party. I also picked a shirt for the bride that she can wear MORE than just at her bachelorette party (the same goes for our tank tops, for that matter).  

You can really break the bank with the Bach-themed items. I recommend instead simply buying matching items that are NOT personalized, but pair well with your theme. Then, things are cohesive but you haven’t spent an arm and a leg to make things hyperspecific.

7.) SOAK IT ALL UP.  

The planning is over. . . Hallelujah! Now, let’s get ready for the wedding!

What is your favorite part about a bachelorette party?