Destination: Bachelorette Weekend

Planning a friend's final night in the land of the singles? Trying to decide between the lingerie shower, bachelorette weekend, or Vegas blowout? After experiencing the excitement and borderline panic of planning one of these social rights of passage I think I now have some insight on the "bachelorette" concept that as a simple party goer you might not grasp.

WEEKEND AWAY OR ONE NIGHT ONLY
As a planner, I gave my friend and soon to be wifey three options:

• Lingerie Shower
• Bachelorette Night
• Bachelorette Weekend

It is not safe to plunge ahead into the details of a party unless you understand what your bride actually wants. For instance, if I was planning for another friend she could have just wanted one big night out and a separate lingerie shower. So many times I hear of brides going to showers and parties that really don't reflect anything about them or their personalities.

Ask your friend what they want. Even if they say they don't care, let's face it...we're women, of course we care.

DELEGATION IS THE KEY TO SANITY

Unless your title is, "Official Party Planner Extraordinaire," there is a good chance that planning this party solo will cause you to age five years and completely deplete you bank account and max out your credit card. 

Chances are your fellow bridesmaids have a variety of talents, one of which probably includes being able to go to the grocery store and grab a bag of chips. This is not your burden to bear, but your ability to delegate. I know I suffer from "I'll do it myself" complex, but praise God I'm getting better day by day. 

Truly, the bachelorette weekend wouldn't have been a success without all the help I received.

DON'T GET LOST IN THE DETAILS

I am extremely detail oriented...to the point where I way overcomplicate due to my need for everything to be just so incredibly perfect! (Do you hear the crazy coming out?)

If you have the basics down and have properly delegated (see paragraph above) then all you really need are the people and the party will party itself.

What are the basics you may say? Well I'm glad you asked...

• VENUE - It can be your bride's house, a hotel suite, or in my case an adorable rental farmhouse at a bed and breakfast. You can pick something that needs a lot of decorations or a place, like the farmhouse, that requires minimum decor (for those of use who are Pinterest challenged). Just check with your budget, your bride, and booking availability.

• FOOD - Ladies, this is important! No one wants to go to a party at 5pm that only has pretzels and wine. For the sanity of your guests, inform them whether to expect only desserts at dinnertime, light snacks, or a fully catered buffet. I went budget friendly but still delicious. Walking tacos for Friday night with assorted desserts and Moscato punch, an eggs and bacon morning, and a fruit, cheese, and bread picnic for Saturday. When there is plenty of food leftover you know you did it right.

•  DECOR - This is not my strong suit. I would rather run a marathon and take a crack at bull riding then craft for an hour. Crafting to me is a necessity for an end result. That is why I chose a venue that was already adorable, so I could do as little decorations as possible. However a couple things I did do were sweet, simple, and all about my bride. Little mason jar's with tea candles helped bring a fun atmosphere, a front door bunting personalized the venue, and some pictures of my bride and her guy made it all about her...which every friend needs to realize...it is all about your bride.

• THE LINGERIE - Whether you are just doing a gift pile or the process of opening and giggling, it's important to plan some time around your friend and her new "wardrobe". As fun as the shower games are I decided against the toilet paper lingerie and wedding Madlibs. Instead I interviewed the groom to be and quizzed my friend on how much she knew about her fiancé. I knew she would want to do some kind of game but didn't want a structured night of activities. So we just made it all about the lingerie, and if you have a good group of girls, honestly, you don't have to plan much else.

FLEXIBILITY MEANS MORE FUN!

It's tempting to organize the crap out of something and then protect that well-oiled schedule with your life. However, things change, your bride may have another idea, or simply not be in the mood for whatever you planned. Have a plan but be willing to let it go.

Most of Friday night was planned out, but I had options for Saturday based on how everyone was feeling. We could have gone bike riding by the river in Tulsa or gone to the Vintage Market Fair in town, but everyone was feeling a night out in Tulsa, so we donned our cute dresses and took to the town. When plans changed after that, we got take out from a cute coffee shop, slapped on our jammies, and lived it up watching Pitch Perfect...and it was awesome.

I know so many bridesmaids stress when assigned to bachelorette duty, but honestly, how much fun to create an entire event around one of your best friends? It's like a three day present.

Just remember to make it about your bride, have fun, and take lots of pictures.

Don't forget to adventure today!

-Ray