So, you’ve been crowned the Maid of Honor for your best babe’s big day – congratulations! Your duties aren’t without their stressors, though, of which, the bachelorette party takes the cake; from finding everything you need to organizing non traditional bachelorette party ideas. So, we recruited the experts to help! The bachbox is weighing in with 5 bachelorette party planning tips that will ensure the perfect – and most insta-worthy – celebration!
She asked you to be her MOH and now you’re in full bachelorette party planning mode. Exciting? Yes. Overwhelming? Double yes. Some of you are probably asking – where do I even start!? Bachelorette party planning can be daunting, especially if you’ve never planned an event before. Add the pressures of pleasing a girl squad made up of all kinds of personalities and preferences, striking the perfect balance of “ballin’ on a budget” and keeping it fun, cute and “insta-worthy”, and girlfriend, you have your work cut out for you! But don’t worry, I got you.
Like any good friend, you want to plan the bachelorette party of your bestie’s dreams, but you also have to take into account the other girls on the trip. It’s a delicate balance between planning a weekend that’s fun for everyone, and is in everyone’s budget, while ensuring you’re choosing restaurants, bars and activities that your bestie will love. After all, these are the places you’ll soon make memories to last a lifetime!
As the Founder and CEO of The Bachbox, I know the pressures of bachelorette party planning, which is why I am offering my top 5 tips on how to plan the perfect (and most insta-worthy, because…2018!) bachelorette party for your best babe!
1. Bachelorette Party Planning Takes Research, Research Research!
Yelp is your friend, Social media is even better, and recommendations are the best! First things first. You need to create an itinerary. As the head of bachelorette party planning, it is your job to research the coolest and hottest spots for the girl squad to eat some delicious food, drink some amazing cocktails, see some sights, experience the local culture, and eventually in most cases, get their groove on. Researching can be daunting because there is SO much information out there, but I have narrowed it down to three easy steps.
Yelp
Yelp can oftentimes be very helpful, yet also kind of a vortex of information. I know in my experience, Yelp is extremely helpful when it comes to finding out what a restaurant’s best dishes are, or how good (or bad) the service is at a bar. But other times, looking up where to go on a Friday night can be frustrating, because all I can find are close-up photos of the food and drinks, when I’m really trying to learn what the ambiance, atmosphere and overall vibe of the place is. The worst thing that could happen is choosing a spot for your girl squad to have dinner and drinks based on its Yelp reviews (albeit all 5 stars!). Then, come to find out it’s a more modest establishment with no sight of cute boys anywhere. Fail!
Enter – Instagram. Instagram has become the go-to platform to find the newest and hottest EVERYTHING. Brands, restaurants, hotels, bars – you name it. If it isn’t on Instagram, it may as well not exist. Scrolling through a “vibe-y” feed transports you (quite literally) into the overall brand and feel of a place. You’ll instantly know whether or not this spot is cool enough to be added to the bach itinerary. My advice is this – take your top picks from Yelp and stalk them on Instagram. If they have a “vibe-y” feed (read: cute models posing on pool decks with fancy cocktails in hand), and an overall cool vibe, then check! Chances are, the place is a cool one, and will be poppin’ on a Friday or Saturday night. You will soon be drinking those fancy cocktails on that pool deck with the rest of ‘em. Yasss girl.
Recommendations from Friends
People LOVE sharing recommendations to places and things they love, and they especially love to share where they’ve enjoyed eating, drinking, and visiting while traveling. While you’re scrolling away on Instagram, why don’t you post a story that tells your friends where you’re going and ask for recommendations? The handy “ask a question” feature on Instagram stories will instantly get you recommendations from friends. Take any and all referrals you can and add them to the list as you research. Use the same strategy on Facebook, and you’d be surprised at how much feedback you get.
Before you know it, with the three platforms above in mind, you’ll have more than enough options to present to the ladies.
2. Plan a Variety of Bachelorette Party Activities
You will want a variety of excursions and activities for a well-rounded trip that everyone can enjoy. Your best friend is a total girly-girl who loves to dance, while you are more on the conservative side and would be content drinking beers at a dive bar. Some of the babes in your group are homebodies, while others love to paint the town red. At the end of the day, you’re planning this bachelorette party for the bachelorette. However, you want all of the girls in the group to have a good time. While planning the itinerary, keep the activities, restaurants, and bars well-rounded, both in style and in price.
For example, plan one night as the “main night” and make dinner reservations at a fancier restaurant, maybe in the downtown area or at a hotel. Make sure to tell the girls what the attire is well in advance so they can plan for it. The next day, maybe you plan a boat cruise or wine tasting tour during the day, and that evening is spent in the hotel’s hot tub for a relaxing night in. Some of the girls can always choose to go out later in the evening, but it’s important to not make anyone feel left out.
3. Think About Bachelorette Party Costs
Unless all of you gals have healthy salaries and endless budgets, not every meal on the bach weekend has to be at a Michelin 3-star. Sometimes, the best local flavor can be found in the most hole-in-the-wall places. Consider planning a group grocery shopping trip before checking in to the hotel or Air BNB to keep breakfast (and hopefully mimosas!) at “home”. This will make morning meals cheaper. Plan no more than 1-2 fancy dinners out, while lunch can be kept minimal and local, yet still cute, like a cafe or deli. One night can be bar-hopping downtown, while another can be reserving a table at the trendiest lounge. Try to stay away from chain restaurants and bars to ensure you are getting the most of the local scene.
4. Keep Everyone’s Personalities In Mind
Any time you get a group of girls together in a social setting for multiple days at a time (especially when there’s alcohol involved), there’s bound to be a little tension at some point. As the MOH, your job is to be the peacemaker – the liaison between your bestie and the other girls, and the orchestrator of all the bachelorette party planning. It’s going to be a long weekend – some of the gals on the trip might not be used to drinking heavily, and might get grumpy and tired by the third day. Another might be fighting over text with her boyfriend, while another might work a stressful job and have to work remotely in between activities. When addressing the group as a whole, try to keep calm and act in a very diplomatic way, even when emotions are running high.
Remember – if plans need to change, they change. If you miss a dinner reservation, it can most likely be moved, if not for the same night, to another day. Remember why you’re there in the first place – your best friend chose all of you to be the ones to celebrate with her for her last fling before the ring. So, make the most of it. She’s getting married!
5. Order a bachbox!
If keeping all of the above in mind while bachelorette party planning wasn’t enough, on top of it all you have to make sure the girls have matching outfits to wear – and what about fun decorations for the hotel room? All of those “instagrammable” cute-sy things that will turn this weekender into a party. Oy Vey!
Well, I have good news for you, babe! The bachbox is a perfectly curated collection of bachelorette party planning decor, attire + instagrammable details for you and your girl squad to enjoy. Instead of spending weeks searching high and low for the perfect props, getting shirts made and decorations ordered, we deliver a perfectly customized box straight to your hotel room or airbnb. Plus, it’s complete with scotch tape, thumbtacks and a balloon pump for super easy and quick decorating.
It all starts with a quiz. You’ll tell us about your bestie (the bride), what her favorite color is, whether she’s girly or edgy, where she likes to shop. Then, you’ll tell us about your squad, whether it’s an all girl-gang or a coed group. You’ll tell us your beverage preferences, and you’ll choose the theme of your box. We then search, and we shop, and we customize, just like we are an extension of your girl squad. From balloons she is going to love walking into the hotel room to, to pool floats that you KNOW everyone will have to get a selfie on, to matching shirts + sunglasses, the bachbox is meant to take your party up a notch.
The bachbox was created with busy girls in mind, and girl, we know you’re going to be busy with the rest of the details of bachelorette party planning – leave the decor and the cute stuff up to us.
For more info, visit bachbox and use code BACHBOX10 for 10% off of your first box! What other tips are you looking for when it comes to bachelorette party planning?