DIY Cupcake Bachelorette Party Flags

Pretty Chicky has a great freebie-DIY Bachelorette Party Cupcake Flags.  Each flag has a saying like so good, naughty, or sinful.  So cute and perfect for a bachelorette party!

Bachelorette Party: Mobile Spas

Can't get the girls to go away for a weekend of spa treatments and pampering or maybe you can't all afford it?  Have no fear-a wide variety of mobile spas can come to you.  These mobile spas allow you to have manicures and massages in the comfort of your own home.  And if you're looking to have a bachelorette party spa day, the mobile spa is a great idea.

• Sparty is billed as a blend of spa treatments and cocktails. Their bachlelorette bash option allows you to choose from an assortment of bridal-themed drinks, food, massages and goodie bags. You can also select from add-ons like custom cakes, photographer, strippers, or belly dancing classes.  Sparties are available in NYC, Chicago, Los Angeles, Atlanta, Miami, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Philadelphia, Boston, Washington DC, and Detroit.

• Mobile Spa offers facials, body treatments, massages, and manicures and pedicures. Try the Half Day of indulgence / relaxation for $175 which includes Body Exfoliation - Full Body Glow,  30 minute L'aromatherapie Massage,  SPA Pedicure and SPA Manicure with locations in Atlanta, Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, Maine, New Hampshire, Richmond, and Vermont

• The Mobile Day Spa offers Girls Night in with 5 facials, 5 manicures, 5 pedicures, fruit tray & herbal tea for just $575 plus travel in the Atlanta area.

• Zen, a mobile spa, in the Denver area offers many affordable packages like the Short and Sweet where for $75 per person you can have a 30 minute massage and a 30 minute facial.

Expect to spend about $150 to $300 per person on average for the spa parties although prices can vary dramatically depending on what services everyone gets.  

To keep costs down, consider getting services that you and the girls would have done anyways like manicures or waxing.

"Girls Night In"

5 Facials

5 Manicures

5 Pedicures

Fruit Tray & Herbal Tea

           $575 (plus travel)

Bridal Shower Idea: Make Your Own Floral Arrangements Classes

Finding unique bridal shower or bachelorette party ideas is never easy which is why we were thrilled that 100 Layer Cake featured this DIY Bodega Flowers class.  The idea behind this class is simple: most of us don't know how to arrange flowers and yet buying professional arrangements on a daily basis is expensive so the brilliant ladies at Blossom & Branch came up with this class to teach women how to shop for and clean/prepare and arrange flowers all using their own containers.  This class featured roses, tulips and carnations with the savvy instructor showing all of the guests how to transform them into stylish arrangements.

This would make a great bridal shower, bachelorette party, or just a plain ole' girls night out. 

Want to do it? Here's how.

Get an instructor. Don't live in the NYC area? Don't worry-you can find floral instructors throughout the country. Contact local florists and ask if they're willing to teach you and your friends for a class.  Many community colleges have floral arrangements classes-contact the instructor.

Or try the Flower Party-in-a-Box by the floral geniuses at Flower Duet which includes a How to Create a European Wrap Bouquet DVD to instruct you and your guests, flower recipes, floral cutters for every guest, and to-go vases. No instructor required! The image below is one of the gorgeous floral centerpieces you can learn to make from the DVD.

 Image copyrighted-FlowerDuet

No need to decide what to give out. At this party, the flowers serve as the favors. 

Keep the supplies simple (and cheap). Ask the instructor what she recommends, although you might want to ask her to purchase the flowers for you at wholesale prices or give her an idea of what your price range is.To keep costs down, go for in-season flowers and look for farmer's markets or wholesale florists where you can buy the flowers in bulk. We suggest tulips, gerbera daisies, stargazer lilies, and roses.

Don't want the floral arrangements to be the entire party? Take our suggestion from before and have as favors a floral potluck.  With a floral potluck, keep bunches of flowers available for guests to make their own arrangements.

Bachelorette Party Idea: Patsy's Bridal Shower

Live around Mesa, Arizona-if so the Broadway Palm Dinner Theatre has a great bachelorette party idea for you-Patsy's Bridal Shower. Patsy's Bridal Shower is an interactive comedy (think along the lines of Tony n' Tina's Wedding) that chronicles the first encounter by two dissimilar families on the eve of their children's nuptials. The groom's family heralds from a gated community in Paradise Valley, while the bride's family of modest means resides in a trailer park. aka cash meets trash When unexpected relatives and friends drop in, sparks fly as the couple finalizes plans for the wedding. Best of all, as a guest at the bridal shower, you will play along to help make decisions about the upcoming wedding, including playing bridal shower games. Staged in a intimate room, you will feel like a part of the family. Best of all, the cast will leave it up to you to decide which family. Critics have raved that Patsy's Bridal Shower "overflows with wackiness" and "explodes with goofy fun that will have everyone laughing." This show would be a great bachelorette party or the beginning of a great start to one.

Shows are available on Friday and Saturday nights as well as Sunday afternoons. The show is also available during the week for private performances. The show will run until May 9.

Friday and Saturday Evenings
6:00 PM Dinner, 7:30 PM Show
$39.00 - Dinner and Show
$24.00 - Show Only

Sunday Matinees
11:15 AM Lunch, 1:15 PM Show
$39.00 - Lunch and Show
$24.00 - Show Only

For tickets go to the Broadway Palm West Theatre website.

Bachelorette Party Planning Checklist

Excited but nervous about planning the bachelorette party? Have no fear-our checklist will keep you on track and help the party go smoothly.

3+ Months Before

• Decide what type of bachelorette party the bride wants. Completely X-rated? A weekend at the Bellagio in Vegas? A day at the Spa at Four Seasons? A lingerie shower in the bridesmaid's living room?
• Set the date-usually bachelorette parties are held on a weekend one to two weeks before the wedding. Keep in mind though that destination bachelorette parties are often held earlier (to ease the financial pain for most guests) and likewise if lots of the guests are from out-of-town then the party might have to be the day before the wedding.
  
• Create the guest list. Bridal party gets invited as do other close friends of the bride. Don't invite those who aren't invited to the wedding.
  

2 Months Before

• Start seeing if there's any conflicts with the party date. Easiest way-send e-mails or make phone calls. During wedding season, weekend dates book up so expect that many guests will say they have another wedding and other parties to go to.
• Start putting together a list of possible party games-keep it a surprise for the bride.
• Make reservations, order tickets, and start putting together all of the lodging and party transportation details.
  

1 Month Before

• Send invitations. Emailing and calling are acceptable too. Make sure your invitation lets guests know how much they will be paying for the party.
• Put together an itinerary of the night's festivities. Example, manicures at 5, followed by dinner at Buddakan, then drinks at Swanky Bubbles.
  
• Figure out transportation. Drinking and driving are a no-no. Decide who will be the designated driver or arrange for a limo or taxicabs to transport the group around.
  

1 Week Before

• Confirm all arrangements-all RSVPS, transportation, entertainment.
• Pick up the accessories like the veil or tiara or the other props your group wants.
• Finalize the list of the games and activities throughout the night.
  

1 Day Before

• Remind guests of the meeting places and times.
  
• Get ready to have fun.

Keep in mind-this checklist is a starting off point.

• If you're planning on a weekend (or week) in Napa Valley or Cancun, then allot for more planning time to allow everyone to save up money, take vacation time from work, etc.
• In certain cities, allow extra time for reservations. Even two months ahead of the date might not be enough time to get a table for 12 on a Saturday night.
  
• Same with transportation arrangements. Limos and party buses fill up quickly during prom and wedding season.
• Before planning, it's a good idea to get an idea of how much people are willing to spend. Many potential guests might only be assuming that the night will be just dinner-or only have the funds to pay for a nice dinner. Before doing all the planning, ask the guests what they expect or take your cue from your group's last bachelorette parties.
• Get money ahead of time. Trying to get cash that night is hectic plus some guests won't have all of the money.
  

Bachelorette Party-French Lingerie Brunch

What an exciting bachelorette party. We love the idea of lingerie showers and lingerie bachelorette parties. Here's the happy bride proudly standing by all the goodies she got at the shower. Displaying them like this is a great idea-it works for lingerie showers and baby showers too!
Invites-It definitely sets the tone for the entire event. I'm sure the guests were super excited about it after seeing these.
Favors- little hankies by Design Design-they were packages of 10 pretty tissues that say "I See London, I See France, I Travel the World in Frilly Underpants!" How cute. (The host found them at Hobby Lobby stores.)
The Food-It looks delicious and had a French theme. The menu:

• Mimosas, of course!
• Croissants, danishes, and muffins from the local Memphis bakery: La Baguette
  
• Mini Quiches
• Fruit and a simple fruit dip
• Petit Fours
• Orange Pecan French Toast Casserole

Decorations-A bust decorated with lingerie. Cute decoration or a nice way to display the frilly gifts.

A fun game they played-When the bride opens up each lingerie gift, all of the party attendees have to give the item a name. They then wrote tags with the names down and attached to each outfit with ribbon. On the bride's honeymoon, the groom gets to pick out her outfit each night based on the name alone. Some are cute, silly, sexy, and everybody gets a good laugh!

The idea of a brunch for a bachelorette party is also a great one. It's a nice alternative if you're looking for something to do thats not alcohol-filled and it can be a great way to start off a day of partying.

The rest of the bachelorette party can be found at Keeping up with the Jones's. Thanks so much Kendall for allowing us to feature it.

Bachelorette Party Dilemmas

Miss Mary Jane from WeddingBee had a dilemma: she went to a bachelorette party where, although she was younger than the bride in actual age, she felt out of place. Meaning the bride had a bouquet made of Blow-Pops and was encouraged by her friends to sell the lollipops to strangers with the line: “Suck for a buck?” And of course the bride was downing shot after shot all night. Needless to say, Miss Mary Jane ended up leaving with the older folks like the bride's aunts and mom by 11:30. Now Miss Mary Jane was questioning-did she do the right thing? Did she end up ruining the bride's good time by being a fly on the wall? Should she have stayed home?

These questions led us to thinking about the bachelorette parties all of you are planning: What should you do if one of the guest at the bachelorette party is obviously not having a good time.

Our suggestions:

• Make sure guests know ahead of time how raunchy or naughty the party will be. Put it on the invitation or spread the word-you'd be surprised how people's definitions of parties or girls night can vary and you want the guests to know ahead of time how raunchy the party will be.
• If you know that some of the females who will be going to the bachelorette party (or who the bride would like to be there) aren't the type to enjoy shot after shot of tequila or a strip show by Ivan the firefighter, then plan a different type of party. A bachelorette party does not have to involve hangovers.
  
• At the party, try to get all of the guests involved. It's possible that some of the guests don't know each other or need ice-breakers.
• Planning a two-part party is a great idea. Have something like drinks and dinner and save the clubbing part for later on in the night.
  

DIY: Bachelorette Party Survival Kit

What are survival kits? Survival kits for bachelorette parties are more or less goodie bags for the guests filled with the necessities a gal might need on her night out.

This DIY survival bag was filled with items like

1. Lip smackers
2. Advil, individually packaged and sewn between two sheets of Martha Stewart velum
3. Tic Tacs
4. Candy Necklaces
5. Condom, sewn between two sheets of Martha Stewart velum

She put the kit in little Chinese takeout boxes. What a cute idea!

Of course other items to put in a survival kit will vary. We suggest:

• Breath mints
• Gum
• Condoms (if the girls are like that)
• Lip gloss
• Aspirin, Tylenol, other OTC meds (for the next day)
• Nail files
• Stain removers (Shout wipes)
• Charmin to go (toilet paper)
• Mouthwash

Be sure to include vital information in the survival kit like:

• Map and itinerary of the party's events i.e. dinner at 6 p.m. Buddakan, 10 p.m. drinks Blue Martini
• Names and phone numbers of party hosts and designated drivers
• Name and phone number of the hotel you're staying at

Don't feel like putting one together-try the cute ones at Classy Girl Gift Co. where the " Classy Girl" kit boasts Advil, Band-Aid Travel Pack, Bath Bomb by Elixir, Candy Necklace, Candy Ring, Charmin Tissue To Go, a DVD, Gel Eye Mask, Hair Ties, Handcuffs (plastic with key), Mirror Mints by Little i, Makeup Remover, Ms. Manicure Matchbook Emory Boards, Scope Mouthwash, AND Shout Stain Wipes all in a cute tote bag.

DIY: Blinged Out Bridal T's

We've all seen those T-shirts and sweatshirts-the ones with the rhinestones that say "Mrs. So-and-So" or "The Bride." After all, at every bachelorette party every girl sports one saying "Bridesmaid" or "Maid of Honor" while holding her cocktails and taking photos of the bride doing everything.

Now, we've found a great DIY bridal bling tutorials so you customize the bachelorette party apparel to say anything you want-Kim's bridesmaid, Girls Night Out, monograms of the bride's initials, etc.

Project Wedding has a great DIY Bridal Hoodie How To that shows you how to affix rhinestones to clothing like hoodies.

Bachelorette Party Idea: Make the Bride a Pin-Up Girl!

When the umpteenth bachelorette party rolls around, most of us are looking for something a little different. Yes, pounding down 10 beers at the local dive joint can get old. So for the more adventorous brides and bridesmaids, there's a new option to think about.

What about making pin-up photos?

Yes, pin-up photos-the ones seen in retro magazines, vintage ads, the ones that made men in the 40s and 50s drool...and still do.

Celeste Giuliano in Philadelphia offers a Pin-up Party Package. The package includes professional hair and makeup done at the studio; vintage wardrobe, costumes, and props for the shoot; and airbrushing done on the photos, as well as much, much more.

How awesome would this be for the bashful bride? Make some tasteful photos to give to the groom as a wedding gift. (Btw, there's even special prices for those who have loved ones in the military.) Give her a chance to pose as Veronica Lake, Marilyn Monroe, or Bettie Page and be the sexy bride that we all know she is.

And since everyone will be feeling incredibly good afterwards, with their hair and makeup will be done, hit the town afterwards.