When it comes to getting ready to get married, the bride is usually in the thick of things. Now, make no mistake a Bachelorette Party and a Wedding Shower is not the same thing. The idea of the bachelorette party came around in direct response to the rowdiness often found at a groom’s bachelor party. Still, while I’m sure there is some appeal to the idea of rowdy women drinking, carousing and indulging prurient fantasies, these ideas suggest something just a little bit different.
The Meal Is the Thing
One of the great parts about getting married is the co-mingling of two families, two sets of traditions and a lot of internal family rituals. This bachelorette party idea invites highlighting this idea. Traditionally, it is the maid or matron of honor who throws this particular party. Begin by inviting close female friends, sisters, mother, future mother-in-law and other female relatives from aunts to grandmothers to cousins.
The invitations should request that they each prepare a dish – something personal that they make whether it’s a family recipe, an appetizer or a dessert. They should write down the recipe for the dish they prepare and put that in their card. The bachelorette party will then be a banquet of potluck dishes and the bride to be is presented with a catalog of recipes for the future.
This can be a really great treat for a bride who doesn’t have a lot of family recipes or who does and has never written them all down. It’s also a great way to pass on new traditions from one generation to the next.
Kleenex and Chick Flicks
Turn the bachelorette party into a pajama party. Rent several tearjerkers from different eras, everything from Titanic to The Runaway Bride to The French Lieutenant’s Woman. You can get them funny, you can get them sad, but you should stick with a positive theme and avoid movies that orient on divorce or marriages that bust up. The sadness of losing the hero or heroine is okay.
Ask the guests to come in their comfy pajamas, make popcorn and light, fruity drinks. Minimize the alcohol and watch the movie marathon. You can also ask the guests to write down the morals of the movies and toss them into a jar. The bride can pull out these little nuggets when she needs some inspiration, a laugh or just a reminder of the positives in life.
The Quilting Bee
Okay, this is a little bit of an unorthodox idea and you are better off doing this type of bachelorette party with friends and family members that sew or quilt. Invite the guests to each stitch their own block and to write down or bring a copy of the pattern. Give them specific measurements – for example 9 inch or 12-inch square blocks.
During the party, elect one person to coordinate collecting the blocks and the patterns. Ask for a tale from each woman about the meaning behind the quilt block. Spend the evening putting the quilt blocks together with the bride’s input and at the end of the night, you’ll have shared laughter, fun, stories and the creation of an ideal wedding present for the bride: a wedding quilt for the marriage bed!