How to arrange a Bachelorette Party

Every bride is unique, and every bachelorette party should be unique too. A bachelorette party takes a lot of planning and preparation, from decor to finding the perfect destination. We have rounded up a list of everything you need to know about throwing a fabulous bachelorette party that every soon-to-be bride deserves!

A bachelorette party is the perfect mix of great friends, great food, and lots of drinks to create an event that the bride will remember forever.

The person to arrange a bachelorette party is typically the most organized person in the friendship group - you are probably the person reading this now! Well, do not panic, we have compiled a bachelorette checklist to help plan the perfect celebration.

But before you read on, the thing you’ll need is the ability to pool all of the money from everyone who is coming to the party. We’ve got you covered there too - download Collctiv and start collecting money today!

Bachelorette themes, games, and gifts (that suit the-bride-to-be)!

Ultimately the only reason a bachelorette party is happening is because of the bride. For this reason, the bride should always be included in the initial bachelorette planning phase. This is the ideal time to find out the bride's thoughts on a bachelorette party, what would be her ideal and her worst nightmare!

A conversation about the guest list would also be useful as you may not know all of the bride's friends and family that she would want to be there. Once you have a completed guest list and picked a destination you can then send out the invitations.

Bachelorette Game Ideas

A bachelorette party is not a party without some games. It is one of the easiest ways to get a party going. Whether it be sharing some embarrassing stories, truth or dare, or drinking games, they are bound to get the party started!

Here are 3 bachelorette game ideas:

Bachelorette Balderdash - One person in the group reads out a question to the group. They then have to write down a made-up but believable answer and hand them all back to the person who read the question. That person then reads out all of the groups answers as well as the real answer in a random order and the group has to guess which one is the correct answer

Guess Who? Drinking game - This is a great bachelorette game to use as an icebreaker to help guests get to know each other better. Each player has to write down a secret about herself (it can be anything PG or R-rated), fold it up, and put it into a bowl. Each player takes one of the papers and reads it out loud to the group and has to guess who it could be. If the person guesses correctly then the person who spilled the secret has to take a drink, but if they are incorrect then the person guessing has to take a drink.

Bachelorette Party Scavenger Hunt - Someone has to create a list of activities that need to be completed by splitting the guests into equal groups. Each team has to work through the list and the quickest team to get through the list wins and a forfeit is created for the losing team/s. Other alternatives to this are creating riddles to make it more difficult or making it more fun and doing a photo hunt.

Bachelorette Party Gifts

Bachelorette party gifts can be anything from personalized presents to pamper gifts. The right bachelorette party gift should be something the bride-to-be will be able to treasure and remind her of the amazing memories created at her bachelorette party. Every bride is different, with some preferring comical novelty gifts and some wanting practical gifts that can be used throughout her marriage. Some great bachelorette party gift ideas for you:

Personalized gifts - such as matching robes, loungewear, t-shirts, or tote bags
Gift cards or gift sets - such as hampers, a spa day, or restaurant vouchers (see our blog on why vouchers are a great option here)
Creative and thoughtful gifts - such as a photo book or something handmade
Couples gifts - such as passport holders, honeymoon gifts, and matching towels
A keepsake from the party itself - for example, if it’s a pottery making party, create a plate and have all of the attendees sign it

Bachelorette Theme Ideas

From having the initial bachelorette conversations with the bride and with some help from friends and family the bachelorette theme should be pretty simple to choose. Bachelorette themes are constantly evolving with changing trends and new theme ideas, however, this is your chance to tailor the theme to suit the bride. This could be from her favorite movie or tv show to her decade of choice or music icon. Here are some general theme ideas that you can personalize:  

Relaxed and free-spirited - Boho bash, garden party, pamper me pretty or girls night in
Girly, Glitz and glamour - disco fever, Barbie girls, Gatzby-inspired or Disney princesses
Vacation obsessed - pool party, final sail before the veil, or glamping
Holiday lover - any holiday in the yearly calendar (Christmas/Halloween)

Bachelorette Outfit Ideas

When finding the perfect bachelorette outfit, you have to take into account the location, time of year, and theme. The type of outfit should be stipulated in the invitation to the guests so they know what to wear and what to bring. For example, for a spa day, a swimsuit would be needed as well as an evening outfit or walking boots and appropriate clothing if going on a hike, etc.

Ultimately all guests should wear whatever they feel confident and comfortable in so here are some ideas to help you decide:

Fancy dress outfits - for a themed event
Glamourous outfits - for a night out on the town whether it be dresses and heels or smart pants and top
Comfy outfits - for a night in whether it be pyjamas and slippers or sweat pants and baggy jumpers
Stretchy outfits - for outdoor activities such as gym leggings, sports bra, and trainers

Bachelorette Party Destination Ideas

The bachelorette party destination is one of the main parts of the bachelorette planning process, with accessibility and affordability being major planning considerations. The bachelorette party destination should be one of the first things arranged so that it can be booked far in advance for the best deals and availability.
Here are a few bachelorette party destination options to help you choose:

Las Vegas - for casinos, entertainment, and some of the hottest nightclubs and pool parties around
Los Angeles - for shopping, sunshine, nightlife, and beaches
New York - for tourist spots, shopping, food, and nightlife
Orlando Florida - for the Disney experience
Stay closer to home - for the familiar places

Bachelorette Party Budget

Before you get carried away with all of the fun planning, it is important to set a bachelorette party budget. With so many things to take into consideration here are a few things to think about when setting it.

Duration of the bachelorette party - whether it be 1 day, the whole weekend or an entire week.
Destination - places like New York will be more expensive compared to staying local due to the travel, accommodation and living costs.
Party group size - more people will mean being able to split the cost more, however, the more people the more difficult and expensive it can be to book things
Food, drinks and activities - bar tabs, splitting restaurant bills and the cost per person for activities
Extras - including decorations, gifts and if you are all paying for the Bride's share.

How to pool money from a group of people

Every element of a bachelorette party costs and one thing is for certain - it isn’t right or fair for you to be left sucking up the costs for them. Yes you are the person that can get this done on time, on budget and to the highest of standards, but that doesn’t mean you should be in the hook for all of the outgoing money.

There’s lots of options you could choose. Firstly there are bank transfers. Super easy if someone already has you set up as a recipient which will be the case I’m sure for some of the bachelorette party, but when you’re looking at a group of 10+ it’s highly unlikely that everyone has your bank details.

So then you enter the realms of friction for all those who don’t. And what does friction create? Non-payment. Remember what it’s like to set someone up as a recipient on your internet banking. Logging in, flicking between screens endlessly trying to ensure you are adding the details correctly, one-time only security passwords or two-factor authentication…people invariably say ‘I’ll do it later, I’m at work or I have three kids hanging off me right now’. Then they don’t. And you are left without the cash. And then having the socially awkward scenario of having to tell Barbara, the mother of the bride, that she still owes you $250.

But then there’s neo-banks like Monzo that easily let you send a link to other Monzo users…but in that line lies the key to why that’s tricky. In the modern world, there are so many different banking apps that people use, the chances of your entire bachelorette group being on the same app as you are incredibly low.

Then there’s cashapp…Venmo…..Zelle…..same thing. Fine if someone has it, not so fine if they don’t. Not only do you need to chase them for money, you also need to chase them to download an app, create an account, verify it…..let’s be honest, it’s just not going to happen!

What’s more, even if someone has these apps already, when they pay in it creates yet another job for you, and this is a big job! You’ll have to go through your account and identify all of the payments made by different people, separating them from your own daily bills and Starbucks splurges.

How can you see who has paid for what, how much they’ve paid in total, and you probably don’t know everyone’s surnames! Nightmare!

How about a solution that keeps all the funds ring-fenced in one place, separate from anything else? A solution that allows people to pay in easily with ApplePay, GooglePay or their card without the need to download an app, create an account or do any banking? Sound good? If so…

Download Collctiv and start collecting money now!

Organizers bring people together

Since 2019 Collctiv has helped over 550,000 people from 97 countries come together by making it simple for Organisers to collect money from groups. Whether it's a bachelorette party, group holidays, or grassroots sports teams - download our free app today and start bringing people together!

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