HOW TO PLAN AN AMAZING BACHELORETTE PARTY!

Before we even begin, I know you must be feeling super excited and at the same time overwhelmed! Planning an AMAZING bachelorette party is quite a task but we will help you get that down! First of all, isn’t it an honor to be your best friend’s or sister’s maid of honor? Not just anyone can get that title! So why not plan an amazing bachelorette, this will be a highlight for you as a maid of honor.

Honestly, if you want to be remembered as MOH years from now by others, planning an amazing bachelorette for your bride is key! Doesn’t mean you have to do this all by yourself, you can have the bridesmaids help you out. In order to help you through all the bach party planning, I’ve made a guide for you. I have included anything from choosing your destination to coordinating props and attire. First thing first create a group chat with the bridesmaids and additional friends attending the bach! Remember always be in communication with your bride, as she will tell you what she whats and what she dislikes.

Planning before Bachelorette – 7 months before the selected date 

Local vs Destination Bach: 

One thing I recommend is to talk with your best friend/sister and narrow down where she wants her bach to be.  Planning a bachelorette locally is way different than planning one abroad.  This is all on personal preference, the bride will have to weigh her pros and cons. For instance, the cost of travel and lodging, will her friends be able to make the event due to location/cost, or the bride may choose to stay near the hometown. Nowadays, destination bachelorette parties are becoming more common, for instance, I ended having my bachelorette in Aruba and I loved it! At the end of the day, it depends on where the bride wants to have her bachelorette and if the environment suits her as a person. If the bride wants nothing to do with beaches, then its best you choose a destination like Rome and etc.

As a maid of honor, yes, you do have a lot of tasks but it will be worth it. Take one step at a time and help the bride decide what she wants best.

READ NEXT: PLANNING A TRIP FROM START TO FINISH

Choose a location: 

If it’s a destination bachelorette, determine if she will like a beach getaway/city getaway. Sometimes your bride will already have the location in mind which makes your job ten times easier! For instance, I had Vegas, Nashville, Puerto Rico, or Aruba in mind.  It was hard for me to decide, I had to base it on how many people were going and their budgets as well. As a MOH is your duty to help your bride narrow the places to at least two. When helping her do this, take the following factors into consideration: the personality of your bride (would she like the place), the season of the year your traveling, and overall budget. Often times, you can both narrow down to two or three choices and start your search with the bridesmaids. You will need to take into consideration that the bridesmaids will need to agree as well since the cost of traveling is not cheap.

Select Date: 

What a relief you now have the location down, the next step is selecting a date.  In most cases, is best to narrow down to two months taking into consideration the location that was chosen. For instance, if the destination is Puerto Rico, take into account that their hurricane season is mainly July and August, you might want to avoid those months.  Usually, bachelorettes are from either Thursday-Sunday or Friday-Monday. In my case, my bachelorette was from Thursday to Sunday and it was perfect since Thursday is the start of the weekend technically.

Some brides would rather have their bachelorette closer to the wedding but it’s a case-by-case scenario, if your bestie’s wedding is on January you might have to rethink that. Unless your BFF wants a fall/winter celebration, most brides like a summer bach. As for the dates, you will need to confirm that everyone can make the following weekend. Some members of the bridal party might come a day after or so, or even depart at different times based on the individual’s location. Everyone still has a real-life to take care of so as long as you all have one full day/night together the bride will be more than happy!

Lodging and Travel:

Once the when and where has been decided, you are halfway there! Now it’s time to decide how you will travel there and where you will stay. Searching early on for the flights and/or stay will save you money since the closer it gets to the bachelorette, things will just keep getting more expensive. Yes, it’s up to each bridesmaid to look for their own transportation but you should still keep everyone up-to-date with flight times and prices. This will help keep the bridal party traveling together if they live in the same area. In my case, some people were traveling out of state so we had to travel separately, only four girls ended up traveling together. It completely fine if you all arrive at different times, as long as you know where to meet. While you are looking into flights, don’t forget to look for lodging in the area. Your bride might want to keep the group as close as possible. Consider booking an Airbnb or VRBO since they are usually cheaper, offer more, and easy to split the cost. Depending on the location, Airbnb or VRBO might not be a thing, so you might want to consider at that point going with a hotel.

Some people that haven’t yet tried it but click here to receive $40 off when you book with my link.

Research the location: 

A month before the bachelorette, you might want to do some research regarding different attractions, nightlife, activities, top-rated restaurants, and etc. Your bridesmaids can help you research too, you don’t have to do it all yourself, however, you need to have an itinerary planned. Make it an unforgettable bachelorette! You don’t have to plan out every minute but just have the main activities planned. I suggest making a list together of different attractions, activities, and restaurants. Things to keep in mind about restaurants are that some can be more formal or if can be a beach restaurant where your toes are dipped in the beach while having your most delicious dinner.

Airbnb/VRBO hosts and hotel concierge also have great tips regarding attractions and etc. Most of these hosts are local to the area, make sure you reach out to them.

*TIP: Make sure the Club/Bar is fairly close to your hotel. This saved us from paying expensive Uber rates. We rented Jeeps to travel around the island during the day!

READ NEXT: TIPS FOR STRESS-FREE TRAVEL

 

Decorations: 

This is a must for your bride, you want her to feel special during her weekend celebration. Decorations are key to bringing your rental to an aesthetically pleasing party pad and make it Instagram-able! The best thing about decorating for a bachelorette party is that you can be inappropriate and it’s totally acceptable! Things you must have in a modern bachelorette are cute floaties, drinks, and even matching bathing suits. Matching bathing suits for me were important since I wanted to capture a picture I envisioned.

Tip: Some hosts decorate the room for you at an extra charge which can be worth it if the brides arrive at the same time.

If not the bride either has to stay outside or if she arrives later that day it will be even better!

Bridesmaids Match:

If your bride is like me, you have to have matching bathing suits! You can have anything from matching tank tops to bathing suits that say “Bride Tribe”, “Bride Squad” and of course, “Bride-to-be”. At the end of the day, is up to you to talk to the bride and decide what she would like the girls to match so they can know what to pack. Most times on the first fancy night the Bride wears a white dress and the girls are in black. During the day, usually, girls wear matching tank tops when going out drinking. It varies depending on the activity.

Hangover Gift bags: 

Now, that you have coordinated the outfits, the next step is to gather some goodie bags.  The kit is to help with the hangover of the bride and her bridesmaids. This kit can include anything from scope to Advil to hair ties and lotion. My MOH which was my sister did a hangover kit and the girls loved the goodie bags!

FINALIZE EVERYTHING:

Everything like lodging arrangement, activities, decorations, packing list, transportation from and to the airport, and goodie bags. Once you have checked multiple time, make sure the bridesmaids are on the same page. If each bridesmaid is in charge of bringing something, make sure they pack it. Make sure you talk to your bride again, to know there are no changes. If you all are coming from different states/countries make sure all your gals know the address to the hotel/meeting point.  It’s important that they know the address since you might not have cellphone reception in the place you are in.

Shared Photo Folder:

Everyone will have tons of captured memories of the bach weekend. Instead of sending all the pictures through a chat, is best that you store them all in one place. You can share all the pictures/videos through iCloud, Google Drive or Dropbox. It’s best to keep them all in one place. You will be reminiscing over these memories for years to come!

It’s a WRAP! 

PARTY ALL WEEKEND LONG: After all the hard work and dedication you have put into planning the bachelorette, party it up! I’m sure your BFF will enjoy this weekend to the max! Yes, there will be a few hiccups here and there and all of the girls might not get along but at the end of the day, everyone will have a blast! One important advice is to eat well, stay hydrated, take lots of pictures and the rest doesn’t matter!