Wedding Blog
I am a very lucky bride — my bridesmaids have been working tirelessly to plan a super fabulous cocktail-party themed bridal shower for little ol’ me. Since I am fortunate enough to be having more than one shower, the shower from my bridesmaids will be exclusively for all my fabulous girlfriends to attend (and of course my fabulous mom and FMIL). I can hardly wait to see all the amazing details they have come up with for my shower (and I know they have lots of surprises in store — all they’ll tell me is the date, time and location, and I pretty much have to guess the rest!).
My shower will be around 5:00 on a Saturday evening (since it is a “happy hour shower,” if you will!), so hopefully my lady-friends will hang out into the evening sipping fabulous cocktails and doing things that ladies do at showers. All but one of my ’maids live out of town, so I am grateful that they’ll be coming into town for this shindig, and I have a handful of other out-of-town friends who will be invited as well.
The only minor dilemma this has created is that now we’re all a little stumped as far as what to do for a bachelorette party. A lot of brides have their shower and bachelorette over the same weekend to accommodate travelers, but this might be a bit tricky for me since the Saturday night spot of that weekend will already be jam-packed with bridal shower splendiforousness. I’m infamous for being a waste of life when Friday nights roll around after a long week of work, so planning something the previous night would probably not be the best idea. A weekend trip somewhere isn’t really a possibility since we’re all a bit busy this summer and I don’t really want anyone to have to go to any huge expense (since they’ve already put so much time and I’m sure money into my shower), and I’m also not so much the “let’s go club-hopping, do shots and see strippers” type of gal.
I’d love to go for dinner and drinks somewhere and then go out to do something…. but what? And when???? I think I’ll be a little too overwhelmed in the few nights before the wedding to do anything then, but I’m having a hard time figuring out another time that my girl friends will actually be able to get together.
So hive, I need some opinions: what fun, non-traditional bachelorette parties have you been a part of? Did you/are you planning to have yours in the few days leading up to your wedding, or farther in advance? Should we just let my bridal shower double as a bachelorette party and call it a draw? Or, will I regret not having a raucous night out somewhere with my favorite ladies?
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The most recent ones I’ve been to:
1) dessert out and then a “slumber party” at brides house, filled with simple boardgames & movies, and brunch the next day
2) nature day (hikes, bike rides, reading books/mags in the park) follwed by dinner & dessert
3) early dinner followed by drinks & a drag show
It is great that everyone is treating you to such a fun shower. I love the idea of it being more on the later - night time side.
If you feel like you might have smaller group for your bach-party do you think you might be into switching it to a day luncheon and spa day. The breakfast for dinner idea. Even if you have just a few girls I think it could be great.
I was planning on going out on the town in Seattle, but it didn’t work out for various reasons (namely misaligned schedules). So now we’re just going to do something after my Saturday shower. Unfortunately, I have to fly the next day for a work conference 
So not only do we not get a whole weekend together, but we can’t go too crazy.
While I still am not interested in a drunken, plastic penis filled night, I’m sad to miss out on my bachelorette party. So we’ll be doing a “married girl party” after the wedding!
What about checking out a “pole dancing” class in your area. Here we have a studio that has lessons as well as a girls night menu that allows a party to learn to pole dance. I thought it sounded really cute, and gives all of us girls a chance to wear our high heels and boas!
I would say just pop on a tiara and feather boa and head out to the nearest karaoke bar/80’s night/etc right after the shower with all the girls. Seems like a perfect continuation of the night, and since everyone will have been enjoying cocktails they will be up for some dancing.
Perhaps bowling? Lucky Strike is fun and hip enough to qualify as a night out, but I think someone here on WB previously mentioned North Bowl, which I thought looked *very* cool.
I know some Philly brides who’ve done Dave and Busters, which has the added benefit of being attached to Hibachi!
The spa thing is a fun idea, too, but what about a Philly scavenger hunt to show your out-of-town BMs around the city?
I agree with Sarahbe on the spa/luncheon idea. I have to admit that although I had fun when celebrating my friends’ and sister’s bachelorette’s parties with all the drunken revelry and phallic props, I would not be up for it now. I have nothing against a drink or two (or four or five!) but my idea of a fun bachelorette party would be a little pampering and then drinks and dinner (or a lovely luncheon - mimosas and bloody marys optional!) You could always do a raucous night out after you become a Mrs. and show that you can still shake what your mama gave you! Good luck!
What about a brunch either for your shower or do the whole shower thing and maybe a brunch the next day? You could do mimosas and have some fun the day after the shower… you could do a “toy” party if you really want to get silly (and your mom won’t be there lol)
I’m adding another vote for the “spa night in”. I was MOH for my best friend and threw her that exact bachelorette party and she loved it, also not being a “drunk/naked/phallic/stripper” kinda gal. It was great to hang out in pyjamas and watch wedding themed movies and do facials and nails and all that girly stuff!
For a friend’s bachelorette party we went camping and then spent the next day white water rafting. Very affordable and a new, fun bonding experience for most of us!! 
i agree with both vyeta7 and misssauce: karaoke or bowling. i love both. they always ensure a good night out!
My sister was my MOH and she hired a Pure Romance consultant to come to our hotel room and “demonstrate” all sorts of naughty products. Might be something you could do Friday night, since it would require minimal physical effort on your part. Or just invite the girls over for a slumber party, play games, order pizza, mix drinks. Something tells me that even though you normally crash on Fridays, going through the week and the day of anticipating some fun might be just the boost you need to keep you energized long enough to enjoy it. I would definitely stay on the chill side of things; have the party brought to you - whether it be strippers or spa treatments - to minimize exerted energy. You could still do the brunch thing the next day, and turn it into a weekend of sorts that way!
I rarely drink at all, and I hadn’t been to a club in years before my bachelorette party, but it was actually really fun to have some friends put an “I’m the Bride” sash and tiara on me and take me out to a swanky bar and club. I think I just really enjoyed all the positive attention (almost none of it creepy, surprisingly!)- it made me feel really special and “yay, I’m the bride!” like. And I’m usually so used to worrying so much about having or being the designated driver, and making sure the bill is taken care of, and all that stuff, that it was nice to have an excuse to let other people worry about that kind of stuff and have a completely atypical, out-of-the-ordinary, carefree kind of night.
I’m totally seconding the pole dancing idea. I went to a bachelorette party that included that and it was FUN!
Or how about a Sunday dessert and wine event that isn’t too crazy but let’s you indulge in some of the “I’m the bachelorette” fun?
THE CAVE!!!
haha, totally just kidding. When my shower/bachelorette was supposed to be in Philly (for about 5 minutes), that was the one thing I vetoed. =)
i take classes with sfactor (a pole dancing studio, the one featured on oprah) and TONS of the girls do bachelorette parties there. there are studios all over the US but the closest one to PA is NYC.
if you end up going with another studio– as lame as it might sound, make sure to pick one that DOES NOT permit alcoholic beverages because you could hurt yourself and if they DO let you drink and pole, they are probably not really keeping your safety in mind =)
i love wine myself so i think it would be really fun to visit a vineyard or arrange for a wine tasting, like some of the other girls suggested.
@sarahbe: That’s a great idea — since I’m having an evening shower, why not have a daytime bachelorette party? That might be a fun way to unwind the day after the excitement of the shower!
i just went to one where we went to a local paint your own pottery place. if you’ve got crafty/DIY friends, it’s a lot of fun! they let us bring in our own drinks/food, and we had a good time just talking and painting. then we went to a swanky dinner/drinks place after.
I’m also not a clubbing, doing shots kind of gal. We had a great time at my bachelorette. My girls planned perfect activities they knew I would like:
afternoon tea (for lunch)
photo scavenger hunt
spa (pedis and massage)
dinner (hip peruvian)
private karaoke booth
Ohhhhh…. I have a good idea for you…. Remind me to tell you about it on Monday
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Mrs. Cupcake, Philadelphia
Age and Occupation: 27, Graphic Designer
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 29, Construction Project Manager
Engagement Date: February 10, 2007
Wedding Date: September, 2008
Blogging Since: December 7, 2007
Venue: The Desmond Hotel in Malvern, PA
About Me: Mr. Cupcake and I hit it off at a Halloween party and immediately began a long-distance relationship. After two years, he moved to my neck of the woods, and a year and a half after that, he proposed at the “place we fell in love.” I am a true perfectionist who enjoys designing and creating more work for myself, so wedding planning is my perfect outlet. Mr. Cupcake and I are both old souls, and we hope to weave that aspect of our personalities into our wedding day.
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