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Saturday, June 13, 2009

Oh Yes, It's Ladies Night!!!!

Bachelorette Parties come in all shapes and sizes. From tame, small and refined to crazy, wild blow- outs. The one thing they all have in common is a group of girlfriends coming together to celebrate and love a future bride. This post will go into just a few of the ways you can host a bachelorette and also, how you can document it creatively.
We will start with more civilized ideas for the event at hand, and get more raucous as we go on.

First up would be a great idea for your friend the foodie or the wine lover.
A Wine Tasting.
This can be done on any scale. You can take a few friends to a local wine bar or restaurant. Or you could tour a local winery. And if you want to go whole hog, you could always hop on a flight to wine country and have a whole wonderful wine filled weekend.
Some sites to check out are http://www.novusvinum.com/winemap/main.html , which is a listing of local wine organizations by state, region, and country -- Hong Kong anyone??
Also, check out http://www.napavintners.com/ , i may be a biased Californian but nothing is better than Napa when it comes to wine, food and scenery.
Here are two common sense tip for any kind or size bachelorette party. A) Never let the bride pay or have any part in the organization - this is her time to be pampered and B)make sure all the ladies involved know how much they are going to be responsible for financially. Will you be the sole host in the financial department, or is everyone splitting it?? You don't want bitter bridesmaids, do you??

This is a scrapbook from a bachelorette wine tasting I hosted. All the ladies split the cost, and I was the compulsive planner/ den mother. In advance I booked the hotel, made spa appointments for all the ladies, had a wine tour set up for us and dinners at some very nice restaurants. Also, I booked a local driver, because you can never be to safe when copious amounts of wine are involved. Once the weekend started I had a welcome basket for all the girls in our suite. It is not only a sweet gesture, but also a necessity. You need fuel to party!!
Some things you may want to provide are water, power bars, fruit, champagne, sweet treats, chips, and aspirin.

Also included in the scrapbook was the calligraphy shown above. I had all the girls write notes to the blushing bride and then I calligraphied them and mounted them on separate pages. Each note can then face a page with a picture of the author and the bride. A special memory for special friends!!

An event that would be more close to home, or actually in your home is a sleepover. That is what I did for my bachelorette. I knew I didn't want to break the bank, and also wanted something low key ( no strippers here, please!!). So we went local.
The night started at one of my favorite old school celebrity dive, Chez Jay in Santa Monica. We ate drank, and we were very merry!! Then we headed over to the Fairmont hotel for our old school sleepover, only this time we had wine and beer!!
At the hotel my friends had disposable cameras, and enough make-up, nail polish and at home spa treats for the whole gang. It was just like seventh grade, only without the acne. We painted each others nails, had fun with face masks, and enjoyed the ocean sounds drifting up to our room. it was amazing. As the night ventured in to morning we ordered pizza, ate cake and watched some of my favorite movies; "Clue" and "Grease".
Then we all cuddled in to bed and slept for a few hours. I couldn't have had a better night or better friends.
When scrapbooking a casual event like this try to mix posed photos with candid ones. It tells a great story!!


Another fun idea is either a day at the beach or a beach weekend. So nice to get away from the hustle and the bustle of your day to day, especially when their is a future bride to pamper and spoil. Again, it is the kind of event that depending on time and budget can be small and casual
or an all out beach retreat.
If you decide to go local, and you are the host make sure to take into consideration which beach you will be heading to. Here in southern California many beaches charge for parking, and not all public beaches are equipped with bathrooms. Do your research, you don't want a relaxing day at the beach turning into a sweaty stressed out event.
Also, make sure you pack a bag of amenities for the whole group Sunscreen, water, food, drinks, magazines.
A great gift idea for the bride would be a beach bag full of some of her summer faves. Great books, a gift card to a surf shop, high end sunscreen or after sun lotions, hair treatments, and a
big yummy towel could all be things to give the lucky lady.
Also, try to find a beach with an eatery near by. After a long day in the sun nothing is better than some beach food and a cold beer.

When it comes to a bachelorette, you can stay close to home with a pool party, a luncheon, a swank catered dinner affair or venture out to hot spots like Miami(clubs), New York (always a winner with cosmos), or Vegas (The original adult playground).
But, no matter what you do though the most important thing is to think of the bride and what she would love!!
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