If you are in your twenties or early thirties it is inevitable that you will have one of those years where every weekend is devoted to weddings.  Your calendar will be filled with showers and ceremonies, or trips to the Bed Bath and Beyond bridal registry.  This is my year, people, I am experiencing a wedding filled 2017.  I am in three weddings, and invited to attend many more.  I didn’t know I had so many friends!  But I honestly shouldn’t complain, one of my college friends had a year where she was either in or attended 11 weddings!  But even with my whopping 7 weddings on the horizon, it is making for a very busy fall.

Because of this, I have gotten really really good at knowing just what to do for each event:  what to buy, what to wear, and how to plan.  This became even truer the past two weekends when I was the host of two very different, but very fun bachelorette parties.  It seems like I’ve got a bachelorette party formula down with only slight alterations necessary to fit each bride.

Here are some simple tips and touches that will make your bestie’s bachelorette bash one for the books:

• Know Your Bride  

Does anyone still hire strippers for bachelorette parties anymore?  Surely someone is out there doing it, but chances are, the bride to be isn’t all that interested in a sweaty man (other than her own) bumping up on her.  The point here is, plan activities around what your bride might actually want to do.  It’s a day or a weekend to celebrate her, after all, so keep the bride’s style in mind.  

Is the bride a party animal?  Good, take her out to a club, let her dance the night away.  Is the bride shy?  Cool, so maybe don’t make everyone stare at her while she opens gifts.  Pick activities that your bestie is sure to enjoy, that won’t make her feel uncomfortable, like a *cough cough* stripper.   If you’re in her bridal party, then you know her best, so make sure her style is in mind when you’re planning her bash.

• Bride First, but Guests Second

You want the celebration to feel true to the bride’s style, but remember that you’re still the hostess of a party, and you have to entertain the other guests too.  This means picking activities that everyone can enjoy.  If you’re in my group of friends, that means drinking.  A bachelorette party formula that has always worked in the past is starting the day with brunch, then heading out to a pool for some fun in the sun.  Not too many people I know would object to that.  Keep the activities light so that everyone can have fun.  Make sure there’s good music playing, and enough food and drinks for everyone.

On that same note, be sure to have a variety of food and beverages.  A bach party I threw recently had two girls in attendance that had gluten allergies.  That meant ensuring we ordered pizza with gluten free crust and had some hard ciders on hand.  We knew that the rest of the group would want to drink wine and champagne, so those were the drink options.  This goes back to being a good host, know your audience, and prep accordingly.

• Don’t Skimp on the Photo Ops

This is a weekend to remember, but also one where things get a little bit fuzzy, if you know what I mean.  You will want this fun filled weekend well documented.  In an era where everyone has a phone in their hands 24-7, take this opportunity to have extra special pics of the bride and her gals.  My recent Columbus bach extravaganza was full of great photo ops.  One of the bridesmaids made an awesome photo cut out with the bride’s name.  We also had big balloons in our hotel room to pose around.  My next bach party started out at my house, so I made a little photo booth area for guests to pose in front of.  We also live in a magical time of Snapchat filters, so make your own geo-filter for the night.  It’s quick, cheap, and really ups your social media game.  

 

Also, and I cannot stress this enough, make a bachelorette party hashtag.  You can go online and get hashtag options generated, or come up with one yourself, but it’s a great way to catalog the weekend events, and something the bride will probably want to look at time and time again.  Hashtags are the future people!  And if you’re still coming up short, ask me for help.  It’s one of my greatest joys in life.

• The Devil is in the Details

I’m typically not one of those girls that thinks that every party needs to have a theme, but sometimes with a bachelorette party, it helps.  For big bachelorette parties, like the one in Columbus, a theme helps keep everything organized, like party favors, and decor.  Because my friend’s bach party fell on the same weekend as the Lollapalooza music festival, we decided to make the bach party a festival theme, we called it Bride-a-palooza.  We had flower crowns, VIP passes, temporary tattoos, etc.  We set up a tepee in the hotel room for the bride’s gifts, tie-die plates and cups.  Everything went down to the smallest detail, and it made all the difference.  

Again, not everything has to have a theme, but you still want the party to feel cohesive.  My Dayton bach party didn’t have a theme, but I made sure to put effort into creating the right atmosphere with food, cocktail napkins, and decor.

Because it’s still a party, it’s important to have a little fun with it.  The bride we were celebrating in Dayton is getting hitched to another bride, so penis straws were out.  Instead, I baked boob cookies, that’s right, nipples and all.  

As with every party I throw, paying attention to those extra details may mean a little extra time, but it will translate to your guests as an extra special event.  This is your best friend, we are planning for, right?  That extra mile will mean the world to her, so plan around a theme, buy those balloons and make those boobs!

• Be Gifted

Bachelorette party gifts are sort of a strange territory.  I can’t tell you how many times over the course of attending or planning a bach party I’ve asked my friends “So, what are you getting for her?”  A bach party is not the time or place to buy the bride something off of her registry, it’s a time to have fun with her present, be a little silly.  Some brides want wedding night lingerie options.  I did not, no no, I did not want to hold up panties the size of a tent in front of my friends.  Good gifts include personalized jewelry, fun clothing, undergarments, and even a silly *gasp* toy can make for very good options.  

Bachelorette parties have really transformed from the days of drunk girls stumbling around with veils on their heads.  Trust me, there are still plenty of drunk girls, but they have become a much different type of party, a party that requires more effort than penis shaped crowns and tequila shots.  It’s the last chance to get super silly with your girlfriends, have a ball, and throw back a few drinks (or chambongs, because, let’s be honest.)  Keep these few bits of advice in mind and your bride-bestie is going to have the time of her life, and that’s what it’s all about.