What Is a Bachelorette Party? A bachelorette party is a gathering held in honor of a woman’s upcoming marriage. It is typically attended by the bride’s closest friends and family members.

While there are many opportunities to fête a couple and married life during the wedding planning process, only one event focuses on celebrating the bride and the bride alone: the bachelorette party. The bachelorette party has also evolved from a low-key dinner or luncheon held the day before the wedding into a full-blown destination weekend, complete with matching swimsuits, private boat charters, and its own hashtags.

Bachelorette parties are notorious for being memorable, special and unique occasions to celebrate the bride-to-be before the big day. But how planning and pulling off the actual event itself? We’ve got you covered—take a deep breath, and check-out these do’s before planning a bachelorette party with friends that’ll make the whole process easier, so you can plan the best bash ever.

Here are our tips for planning the best bachelorette party with friends

bachelorette party

Determine the guest list

This is the perfect excuse to get all your favorite people together, say our experts, who advise brides to decide who their core bachelorette attendees will be before determining a location. Group size will impact decisions about lodging and activities. 

Pick a location 

Several factors go into selecting a bachelorette destination. The first few—climate, vibe, and activity preferences—are obvious. Do you want hot or cold weather? Do you want it to be alcohol-free? Do you want to party in a club or relax in a secluded cabin? Do you want to go hiking in the woods or hit up fancy restaurants in a big city? Asking these questions will help whittle down options. From there, you’ll also want to consider your time of year and the cost of flights. If two destinations offer similar amenities but one is less expensive to travel to, your decision can sometimes be made for you.

Figure out your date 

The host of the bachelorette party should work with the bride to select two to four dates that work best for her. From there, we reccommend to get in contact and ask the invitees on which of those dates they would and would not be able to attend. The final date can be selected from there. For the best options in accommodations and lower travel rates, we reccommend selecting your date and destination at least six months in advance. 

Book your lodgings 

For destination bachelorette weekends, we reccommend a group house rental over hotel rooms almost every time. If you’re going the hotel route, we suggest booking at least one suite. That way there’s a communal place for people to pop in, have a glass of Champagne before they head out, or just hang out in during the morning. Because lodging is the bulk of the expense for a bachelorette weekend, it’s a good idea to ask invitees for the price range they’re comfortable spending per night before booking your accommodations. 

Plan your activities 

For a regular two-day weekend, we recommend two to three activities, plus some pre-scheduled downtime. Whether it’s the night you arrive or a full day if you’re staying three days, there’s nothing wrong with [hanging out] at your house rental pool or doing something more low-key. Beyond hitting up clubs and bars, bachelorette activity options often include boat charters, spa activities, outdoor picnics, private yoga and fitness classes, walking tours, and group classes like candle-making or cooking lessons.

Arrange group meals 

If you’ll be heading out to dinner or brunch with a large group, there are certain steps you can take ahead of time to make handling the bill less of a headache. See if the restaurant is willing to put together a limited menu for the group that’s a set price and includes a certain number of drinks, we suggest. If that’s not possible, she recommends announcing at the beginning of the meal that the bill will be split evenly, and everyone should take that into consideration when placing their orders.

Set up a group chat

Once the schedule is done, it’s time to reach out to the lucky ones who made the VIP list. We suggest doing this early on to get a grasp of how far people are willing to travel and what an appropriate budget would be. Start a group chat to talk to everyone in one place. 

Confirm attendance 

Four months ahead of the bachelorette, the host should have a good idea of base costs for lodging and activities. At this point, it’s a good idea to get back in touch with the group and share estimated costs, so invitees can make their final decisions about attending. Make it clear that attendees will still be on the hook for their portion of these expenses if they cancel after a certain date.