Bacheloretting The Sane Way

Today’s post comes from guest blogger Phara, who has some wise words for anyone out there planning a bachelorette party (tips that I fully agree with).  Coming soon, guest blogger Christina will tell you some ideas for throwing just such a party Chi town style, but in the mean time, read on for a few “best practices” for planning a fabulous fete that won’t end in hurt feelings or lost sanity!

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While the bachelorette party is certainly a milestone for the bride, it is often a source of tension among members of the bridal party.  Here are a ten tips to make this process go as smoothly as possible, and to help keep the focus on fun rather than funds.

1.  Organize a casual get-together for the bridal party early in the process.

 I think it’s important for members of the bridal party to all know one another in a fun, social way before they have to start making decisions together. 

2.  Follow the leader.

Next, someone needs to take charge.  Generally, this is the Maid of Honor’s responsibility.  However, in certain cases, your Maid of Honor may be young or out-of-town.  In that case, the bridesmaids should offer to take care of the party, but it’s still the Maid of Honor’s decision whether or not to let them.

3.  Do not involve the bride.

Ask the bride very early on who she wants to invite to her bachelorette party, and confirm the party’s date.  The bride should not be involved in the bachelorette party after this.  The bride should not be made aware of petty disagreements, or decisions about what to do or where to go.  In my opinion, members of the bridal party should know the bride well enough to know her likes and dislikes.  (A drag queen club is not necessarily the best idea for a bride who likes to strictly spend her evenings with wine and a good book.)  Other than that, why add more stress to the bride’s plate? 

In my case, early in the process, my sister (Maid of Honor) complained to me that my friends (other bridesmaids) were being “mean” to her and shooting down all of her ideas.  While I understand that my younger sister’s automatic action is to complain to me about everything, this is not something that I was willing to get involved in.  I reminded my sister that she is the Maid of Honor, and therefore, the supposed “leader” of this party.  I explained that she just needed to be confident and establish herself as that leader.  In all honesty, I think my friends still think of her as the ten year-old girl trying to tag along with us teenagers.  She’s now a 23 year-old law student – she can handle it.  As soon as she did that, there were no more problems.  However, if I said something to my friends, I would have gotten in the middle of small conflict and made it a big one.  No need for that, and everything was resolved without me.  I haven’t heard a thing since.

More tips after the jump… Continue reading »

Sale at Wedding Chicks!

Attention attention!  If you follow the Wedding Chicks, you’re going to love this.. a monster sale on their super cute tanks and tees for your wedding- or maybe for your friend!  Oh and did I mention free shipping?  I swear they aren’t paying me, I just think their stuff is adorable, and I may or may not have just scored super cute tops for myself and my sister on the big day.  Click here to see more!  (images from Wedding Chicks)

Barn Bacheloretting: The Fun!!

As you may recall, my bachelorette party was held at a gorgeous converted historic barn, and we seriously had an amazing time!  When I arrived, bridesmaids C., R. and T. had food and wine waiting for me, along with a scrumptious chocolate cake (which had the added bonus of looking like a part of the female anatomy, thereby resulting in us giggling like 13 year-olds).

The ladies also purchased for me the all-important “bride” veil and garter set, which I am modeling below.

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Barn Bachelorette

Its true in real estate, and its true in the world of bachelorette parties.  Location matters!   Which is probably why so many ladies I know have opted to travel to Vegas, Miami, etc. for their bachelorette festivities!  But not me.  My good friend C. and my sister B. were already flying in from out of town, and let’s face it, the economy stinks, so jetting off to a foreign country, however appealing on paper, wasn’t a good idea.  Rather, I asked my ladies to plan something a little closer to home, and to keep things on the lower-key side.  And they deeeelivered.

My bridesmaids found literally the most perfect possible place for us to stay- a converted historic stone barn on an 88 acre farm in the hills above the Delaware River.  It had a dramatic living room with a glass ceiling that kept us warm while allowing us to enjoy the feel of the original high ceilings.  The ground floor (former home of the animals) had an enormous kitchen with a barn-beam table, and the entire place used reclaimed barn wood for things like doors and cabinets.  Ping pong, rocking chairs, musical instruments, tennis courts, swimming pools, hiking trails, wood burning stoves- I’m telling you, it was country swank like I’ve never before seen, and the most supremely appropriate place for a relaxing ladies weekend.

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