So you’re going to be in a wedding. You’ve ordered the bridesmaid dress, requested for the day off work the day before the wedding to accommodate travel, and checked in with the bride about how you can help take things off of her plate. Regardless of whether you’re the maid of honor, it’s important for the entire bridal party to work together to ensure that the bachelorette weekend runs smoothly.
Here are some tips and tricks to ensure that it’s as successful as possible:
-Ask the bride what she wants to do. While the bride may or may not want a hand in the actual planning of the party, it is important to at least check in with her about what she would like to do, and when she would like for the party to occur. This can be as general as what town she wants it to be in, or as specific as touring the Biltmore and attending a private wine tasting (ummm, yes please!).
-Determine the guest list. Whether you’re incorporating other close friends or just including members of the bridal party, it’s important to ask the bride what she wants to do early on in the planning process. Even if some couples opt to have a small bridal party, there is often a larger group of ladies that the bride wants to incorporate into other elements of the engagement period.
-Start the conversation. If you’re the designated point person for planning the weekend, introducing yourself and starting the conversation about possible plans sooner rather than later is always helpful. That way you can touch base with everyone on availability, budget, and their interest level in assisting with the planning process. If you are someone that dreads planning trips or managing groups, don’t be afraid to delegate tasks along the way.
-Schedule some downtime. Consider the fact that you will be scheduling around many different personality types, so while you may be an early riser that takes 5 minute showers, there may be other girls who sleep late and plan to curl their hair every morning. It’s also a good idea to leave a break in the activity in the middle of the day, in case anyone wants to take a nap before going out that night.
-Pay the Bride’s Way. When accounting for budget, don’t forget to divide the bride’s expenses amongst the guests, so that she doesn’t have to worry about paying her own way. It’s always nice if you can budget $15-20 from each guest for the bride that can go on a Visa gift card, so that she can spend it freely however she likes over the course of the weekend.
-Hire a professional. In the event that you’re traveling to a new place and you’re unfamiliar with the area, it’s not a bad idea to enlist a professional to assist with creating the itinerary, booking group rates for outings, and finding guest accommodations and travel options.
TIP: Did you know that we offer bachelorette party planning options for bridal parties, even if the bride hasn’t booked us for wedding planning services? Packages can be as basic as planning the itinerary, or as detailed as sending a coordinator to serve as your tour guide for the weekend (which is a GREAT way to avoid being “the bad guy” at any given point during the weekend).
Whether you’re planning a low key beach trip, or a full fledged destination weekend, I hope that these tips will make planning your next bachelorette weekend adventure just a bit easier.