The Fun Stuff: Planning A Bachelorette Party

What with our upcoming move to Australia (on Sunday!) and visa preparations, I haven’t been thinking too much about our wedding. When I do think about planning a wedding, I start to stress out – my biggest concern is that I don’t want to get sucked into the ‘wedding machine.’

You may know what I’m talking about – the checklists, the must-dos, centerpieces, invitations, favors, hotel blocks, makeup trials, flowers, themes, colors – all of these largely ridiculous and totally unnecessary things that make up the wedding machine. I want no part of it. But, of course, there will be some elements of the machine that I will do, because they sound fun.

Like a bachelorette party/hen’s night. Strangely, I’ve never actually been to a bachelorette party, which is probably a good thing – it keeps me from having any expectations and I’m free to do what sounds fun to me.

Here’s what sounds fun:

• My girlfriends
• Classy, not trashy
• Warm
• Walkable
• Wine and/or craft beer

Here’s what doesn’t sound fun:

• Wearing a ‘BRIDE’ sash and/or tiara
• Drinking out of a penis straw
• Male strippers
• Crowded bars (and crowds in general)
• Unreasonably expensive accommodation and/or activities

Keeping this in mind, I’ve come up with a practical list for potential bachelorette party locations.

Hunter Valley, Australia

There’s still a good chance that the wedding will be in Australia, and if that’s the case, the Hunter Valley is a frontrunner for a hen’s party. We’ll rent a coach for the day to chauffeur us to different wineries, then finish with dinner somewhere in Newcastle. I envision renting a big house for the weekend and having girly sleepovers somewhere nearby.

St. Augustine, Florida

Having just come back from St. Augustine, I still consider it my top location for a wedding in the US. And if we got married there, I’d just go ahead and have the bachelorette party there, too. You can walk anywhere, the weather is balmy, and the town has character coming out of its pores. We could all stay in an inn downtown and no one would have to worry about driving. And I would love to have all of my friends together in a town I’ve enjoyed for so many years.

Edinburgh

While we were in St. Augustine, we met a couple from Tennessee who were planning a trip to Edinburgh. I got all wistful and jealous, thinking about how much I loved Edinburgh and what a good time I’d have there with my friends. This would only work if we randomly decided to get married where we met, in Bruges, Belgium. Then it’s just a little hop over to Scotland. Edinburgh in the summer (it would have to be in the summer) would be ideal.

These three destinations have the most appeal to me, but again – it all depends on the wedding. I’m not going to arrange something on the other side of the world from where we end up getting married. And, most importantly, I’m not going to turn into a Bridezilla if things don’t work out (they all say that, right?)

Because as a constant traveler, the most exciting thing to me (besides being married) is that this wedding is a chance to bring together all of the people we love in one place at the same time – something that might never happen again. That’s way more important than being sucked into the machine.