Bachelorette parties have literally gone from one extreme to the next. Dwindling are the one-nighter get togethers celebrating the bride becoming a wife – hopefully old Bachelorette party traditions don’t completely die off! Hello to long weekends, crazy party destinations and one hell-of-a-hangover.

Nonetheless, the Bachelorette party is one to be spent having the time of your life – er, well, what is considered to be your last (I’m joking). I still like to think the Bachelorette is not a time of mourning singlehood, but embracing and welcoming wifehood!

Maybe you got it all figured out – down to the last “Bride Squad” TEE. Or you have no clue where to begin, or where to start planning your last “single” gal randevu. Here are 5 tips to planning a Bachelorette party – coming from a rather “traditional” yet not-so-average bride.

5 tips to planning a bachelorette party

[one epic last fling before the ring!]

Figure out the budget

First and foremost – whether everything will be split among the group, or paid for in full by one person. If you, the bride, or someone else is paying for the party it is important to to lay down the line on budget, and stick to that.

Unless you don’t have one – then skip this part altogether.

If you are splitting the budget, it would be the considerate thing to keep in mind what others might only be willing to spend, or be capable of spending. This might be your big night, and your wedding after all, but money is still money. If your friends don’t have it, it might boil down to knowing what is more important to have present – all your friends being there, or getting every aspect you want.

One-nighter, or long weekend?

Multi-nighter Bachelorette parties are obviously the thing today. Again, with budget factored in – a long weekend will be costly compared to a one nighter (considering the hotel, flight, dining and multiple nights out). Although with one night you might be limited in destination options, you will get to splurge in other areas (such as staying in a 5-star hotel for a night, having a really fancy dinner out, getting VIP at the club, the stretch Hummer, or sipping on that $200 bottle of champagne).

In my opinion, I’m not much for the long Bachelorette weekend parties. It defeats the purpose, to be honest. Though I’m not against a long weekend at the beach, or exploring a new city with my group of girls – I personally didn’t have the budget for it. Plus I wanted to keep true to tradition of the “last night out as a single girl“, so I kept my Bachelorette to one night.

Want to go way out of the norm? Day-time Bachelorette parties are the underrated “hush hush” trend! Let’s be real – it’s cheaper (as far as drinks and saving on a hotel goes). Plus, you are left with so many different day-time options that are just as fun – like theme parks, a wine or beer tour, horseback riding, a beach day, or a day at the spa!

So based on your budget, see what you can play with. If you can get away with doing a road trip instead of flying, or getting a sweet deal on a hotel – you might think about doing a long weekend. If your budget is limited, without much room to wiggle, keeping it to one night or during the day will help you stick to budget.

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In town, or destination?

Once you have your budget and your decision for either one night or a long weekend, time to decide whether you want to keep it in town or do a destination party.

Obviously, staying in town is the easier option (in more good ways than one). You save a lot of time and money – for both you and the group – plus you save yourself the hassle of detailed planning and making reservations well in advanced. In no way does that mean the party will be any less fun staying in town.

My friend and I actually shared out Bachelorette night in town (how often do you see that happen?!) and it was just as fun! Her and I stayed in one of the most expensive hotels in our downtown hot spot, met up with everyone else for dinner, then to a “Magic Mike-like” show in the area and spent the rest of the night bar hopping downtown.

To be clear, you absolutely can do a destination and also pull a one-nighter! A destination doesn’t have to mean fly across the country or the ocean to an island off of Figi. You could simply stay in your nearest major city – somewhere just a few hours driving distance away. If that doesn’t suffice, then you will need to decide how far you are wanting to go that will make the time worth while for you.

Managing the group

I’ve seen them all – Bachelorette party groups larger than 20 and less than 5. Whether you follow the bridal party only rules for the Bachelorette – that is up to you entirely. I didn’t follow that, mostly because I didn’t have a bridal party in the first place.

It might be easy to throw down that list and start setting dates, but wait. First figure out your budget and who or who all is expected of paying or pitching in. The last thing you want is to be stuck with non-refundable flights and a deposit at the Four Seasons (that was meant for a group of 20) in the Bahamas with now less than 10 willing to pitch in.

Figure out your list, then talk with each on your list. Discuss the time frame, your idea(s), the budget and what’s expected of the group. Because unless you are willing to compromise, it may come down to your list dropping from 20 to 10 or 4 to 2 because half the group doesn’t have the budget, or the time to spare. If it’s important to have everyone in on your list present, it does help to keep an open mind when planning specifics. Otherwise, it may be wise to narrow down your list to those who are most important versus inviting acquaintances who are likely to step down.

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Keeping it simple, or go all out

The custom sashes, hats, cups, robes, shirts, goodie bags (do they really still do that today?), the penis cake, games, matching outfits and shoes, or the stretch limo, male strippers, mini bottles of champagne, and the VIP section at the club.

Does that all matter to you?

Reason I ask is because I think the “going all out” factor is similar to having a birthday party at a young age. Without any games or decorations, what’s the fun in that?

If not, then don’t worry about it. Splurge in other areas!

If so, make that a priority from the start. Again, bear in mind your budget (as well as your group’s). Not all of those things come with a cheap price tag – depending on the number of people. Get your custom orders in well ahead of time – in case there are any mishaps, changes or mistakes along the way.

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