Weddingbee Blog

Mr. Lovebird just got back from his bachelor party this weekend with his boys and from what he tells me~ it was a blast!  The guys really put a lot of time and effort into planning an awesome bachelor party weekend for him in Miami, and I’ve asked them to share with the hive. Commentary by our groomsman, Oliver and pictures by our groomsman, Young:
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I have been given the privilege/duty of recapping the bachelor party of Mr. Lovebird for Weddingbee. As you may already tell, I am uber enthusiastic about this task…. Entries like these are far too rare to cheapen with heavy handed words, so as they say let’s cut to the chase. The bachelor party took place in Miami, so all the groomsmen hopped on a plane bright and early Friday morning from Newark to Miami. Our hotel, the Loews was pretty awesome since it was so central to all the hot spots.

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So, the last time I blogged I was writing about my own risqué bachelorette party.  It got me thinking about the flip side– what do men do to celebrate the end of their bachelorhood?  Yes, yes, traditionally it involves looking at boobies, but these days there seems to be more than that.  Guys have really stepped up the male bonding experience with gambling, paint ball, laser tag, fishing excursions, etc. etc. 

Are you ladies curious about what other people’s guy friends and hubbys did for their bachelor party?  I am!  Leave a comment or a story if you know of some interesting bachelor parties — I want to peek into the world of men for a change!  Hee, hee…

The boys will be doing a whole lot of this. No seriously.

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Mr. Penguin’s Best Man and I were sitting around at champagne brunch one day, discussing his best man duties.  The topic of strippers somehow came up… and by “somehow came up,” I mean that I probably started yelling “STRIPPERS!  STRIPPERS!” or some other equally strange non sequitur, as Miss Penguin + Free-Flowing Champagne = Hours of Ear-Piercing Nonsensical Obscenities. 

Miss Penguin: STRIPPERS! STRIPPERS!
Mr Penguin’s Best Man: Yeah. Strippers. About that.
MP: STRIPPERS?
BM: What would you say if we accidentally found ourselves in a strip club at Mr. Penguin’s Bachelor party?
MP: YES. STRIPPERS. DO IT.
BM: So, you’re okay with strip clubs? I’m gonna remember you said that.
MP: DO IT.

I’m pretty sure he thought I was not thinking clearly, but I really do find strip clubs entirely non-threatening. The women that work there don’t do it because they are looking for Mr. Right, they’re just looking to feed themselves and their families… and I’m willing to bet that they think that guys that visit strip clubs are kind of skeezy anyway. But, you know who IS looking for Mr. Right? A normal, single chick in a normal club. I’m shuddering at the thought of my normal fiance running away with a normal girl and living a long, happy, normal life. YICK!

What are your feelings about Strip Clubs at the Bachelor Party Weekend, and what’s your rationale?

I must confess. I’m not that laid back or calm, but during this whole wedding planning I’ve willed myself to be that way because I can’t be a good planner otherwise. As Mr. Violet can attest, when I have a nervous breakdown, I literally break down. I’m pretty much helpless, that is, until I get over myself and bring myself to get up and move forward again. With that said, I have been pretty good so far as a bride who has gone through a few breakdowns in my life. After I wrote my post yesterday, I thought I got whatever stress I had off my chest.. but I really didn’t. I only added more to my stress.

Mr. Violet and I had a conversation (borderline - argument) right before I left work. I told him that we’d talk about it when I got home. Through our 8 years together, I’ve learned the key to a succesful relationship is sometimes silence. Giving each other time to breathe in what has transpired. During my time of silence, I became more enraged at what was happening. Shouldn’t he realize how much stress this could add to me the day before the wedding. What if something does go wrong, am I to handle it alone? Even if I do have help, there’s only so much they can do for me. They can’t replace him. And when did this became my wedding and not our wedding? And for goodness sakes, what is in Montreal that they can’t do much closer to home? On the way home, I called one of my bridesmaids for advice and to vent, and it really helped. By the time I reached home, I was calm again and not ready for an argument.

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Mr. Peppermint and his squad of groomsmen just got back from his big ol’ bachelor party. You may be wondering why the party is so early–we’re getting married in five months! Mr. Peppermint’s brother (and Best Man) is in his senior year of college and is taking the first semester abroad in Denmark this fall. That means he won’t arrive back until a few days before the wedding (I’m a little nervous about jet-lag!), so this was the perfect time to get everyone to go.

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Just a small update on my previous, somewhat controversial post on my surprise bachelorette party. First off, I just wanted to say that my last post on this subject obviously wasn’t written very well, because the fact that I was ABSOLUTELY honoured and very grateful that my MOH wanted to plan this party for me was somehow lost. I was always very happy that this party was being planned in my honour, all the post was supposed to convey was that it just threw me for a bit of a loop. I just wasn’t expecting it. So, I am sorry if I disappointed anyone with what appeared to be a flippant attitude about the party. That was not my intention at all.

Whew! Now that that’s cleared up, we can move on to the fun details! I still don’t know very much about the party, but as most of you predicted, if I was patient, my MOH would slowly slip the details out to me (because she absolutely knows that I am not a fan of surprises!) and I would start to get more and more excited about the party. So this is what I know for sure:

1. It is a joint party with Mr. Pumpkin! I am not sure if it is quite in the Buck & Doe tradition that I talked about in the comments of my post on Groom’s Showers, but I do know that this is both Mr. Pumpkin’s Stag and my Stagette rolled into one. Read more…

I am going to make such a good wife. Seriously. I was at Target yesterday and saw these shirts for sale.

I picked up one for Mr. Strawberry and all seven of his groomsmen. I thought it would be perfect for them to wear while in Vegas for the bachelor party. I’m so supportive. And awesome. He’s so lucky to have me. Heheheh.

Mr. Strawberry is going to Vegas for his Bachelor Party. I completely trust him. His friends…not so much. I’m sure they will do everything in their power to corrupt him! As a joke, I found this “contract” that I’m going to have him sign before he leaves.

Of course, it’s all in good fun and I don’t expect him to abide by it at all! You can download a copy for yourself here.

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Mr. Spider and I liked the idea of having a Jack and Jill combined bachelor/bachelorette party since before we got engaged. We envisioned a crazy, drunken ride on a decked out party bus to Atlantic City, followed by debauchery throughout the night culminating in a hangover brunch special of sheepish grins and secret jokes. When I learned that it was not exactly appropriate for the bride or groom to plan their own bachelor/bachelorette parties, I reluctantly stepped aside and handed over my whistle and clipboard.

I can’t remember where I first heard of Jack and Jill parties (aka Stag and Doe parties) but I do remember watching Ryan and Trista’s joint party and thinking, that’s what I want. As far as I knew, Mr. Spider was in on the plans with me as we often joked about what crazy things our wedding party would together. All seemed sweet.

Enter idiotic machismo obsolete dogma that every man deserves a “real” bachelor party. Enter tacky catch-phrases like “last night of freedom” and “rite of passage” and moronic pleas of “can’t you respect what the groom wants” and “it’s not just about you“. All of which sounded to me like little boys looking for excuses to be bad and laugh and point at the evil controlling ball and chain.

The truth? Jill could care less that Jack wants to go see strippers. In fact, seeing strippers separately (say that 10 times fast) had been worked into the night’s festivities. What Jill can’t get with, is the idea that a joint party is being thrown out the window because of cheesy ass definitions of what a bachelor party should and should not be. Fun - YES; Joint Fun - apparently NO.

Thus far, we have not succumbed to any outside pressures on our wedding plans. When my dad expressed an interest in having a Chinese banquet, I chased that thought out of his head. When Mr. Spider’s mom suggested I rent a wedding gown instead of buying one, I gave her a bug eyed look and politely declined. To now have to accept that plans need to be trashed because of the manipulation of exterior opinions peeves me deeply. To have to accept the implications that I tried to control, deny and disrepect my future husband by wanting a joint party (that included separate party time) eats at the core of me.

Alas, my dreams of an awesome Jack and Jill have turned into a nightmare.