The Fun Stuff and Where It’s At …The Bachelor and Bachelorette Parties

While Vegas and New York City remain super-hot destinations for the “last night of Singlehood,” staying local is just as popular for this age-old rite of passage. Take cues from the bride or groom about their comfort level with craziness, and come up with things everyone will thoroughly enjoy. Bachelor and bachelorette parties usually take place during the week of (but not the night before) the wedding. 

When it comes to the bachelor party, boys will be boys, and many plan a whole day’s worth of fun-filled activities like go-cart racing, paint-balling, deep-sea fishing, or golfing. Sometimes the best man will set up something with the groom’s input, but often, it is a complete surprise to the guest of honor! A lot of parties and all-day excursions include a “drink-and-be-merry” attitude — with designated driver or rented limo on hand. And a stripper. But take heart. Supposedly this is really for “the guys” and not the groom. They just use him as an excuse to hire one. There are all sorts of rules in the guy-code that prohibit discussion of actual events that took place at the bachelor party — and heaven forbid someone brings a camera along! So, don‘t be disappointed when he says he “had a great time” and leaves it at that. You leave it at that, too.

For the girls, a princess weekend of spa luxury with intermittent fine dining and their own cocktail party is a favorite way to go. On the other hand, if the bride is known to be a party lover who enjoys going out for a fun night on the town, the gold standard of bachelorette parties remains the bar crawl, replete with veil and sash, candy necklaces, and all manner of tacky male-body-parts-paraphernalia. And sometimes, the girls also hire a stripper. For their own enjoyment, of course!

With the average age of brides and grooms being mid to late 20s, many have passed the “party-all-night” phase and would prefer to spend a fun and memorable evening or weekend with their closest friends — and still be able to remember it the next day! And truly, aren’t most people so much cooler on the front end of 20 cocktails? ~AW