Recently, I had the pleasure of planning a bachelorette trip to the city of New Orleans for a dear friend. The trip was incredible and I think every single person had a great time, and of course the bride. However, planning this trip came with a few little bumps, especially when you're planning a destination bachelorette trip for 14 girls all who live no where near each other. So, I'm here to offer a few tips for planning a bachelorette party learning from my experiences, as well as offering up a few recommendations for New Orleans.
Who's in Charge – Thankfully, me and another girl basically took charge of planning this trip. With email & text these days, it was easy to stay in contact.
We did send group emails to all the girls and asked for the opinions so they felt included. Tip: All the girls should get together or get a group email or text going asking for opinions and maybe decide who's in charge of what or put one girl in charge of it all. That way, it makes it easier for decisions to get made.
Budget – Again, me and another bridesmaid just took charge of planning and ordering everything. So, we really didn't have a budget. That wasn't a big deal to us and we loved surprising the girls with all the goodies we got. However, we did have a budget with the hotel. The bride didn't want everyone to pay a ridiculous amount on the hotel, especially since every girl was having to travel for this trip.
We did talk with the bride and all the girls about how much they wanted to spend. Thankfully, we found a great location at a wonderful price at the Country Inn & Suites New Orleans French Quarter. Tip: Talk with the girls about how much they are willing to spend. Tell them what you are wanting to buy and do for the bride and give a per person price.
Bachelorette Theme – Of course, you don't have to settle on a theme. The norm is pink & black. With our bachelorette party, we really want to do something classic with colors that aren't normally used. We chose Tiffany Blue & lavender. We also found cute invites saying "It's time to drink champagne and dance on the tables", so we played off that throughout the theme. Tip: Be sure to stick with the bride's personality.
Bachelorette Goodies – We had fun with ordering the bride's goodies. A bridal sash, veil, bachelorette essentials party favors, personalized cups & koozies, cake, cookies, banner and a Dum Dum bouquet are a few items we purchased. All within the color scheme and suited for the bride. Tip: Stick with the theme.
Lingerie Shower – This was easy. We chose a night, talked our decision over with the bride and put her sizes, as well as ALL of the details in an itinerary we made for all the girls so they knew what was planned for each day. The girls did great in knowing exactly what to get her!
What to Do – We did our research, plus many of us had been there before so it was easy to find things to do. A few of us arrived on Thursday and we walked around a bit before checking into our hotel. We also decided to go to Cafe Du Monde since the line was nonexistent, which is not the normal.
Again, Friday we rested and hung out waiting on the other girls to get there. Saturday was when we did our shopping and made it down to the market, Jackson Square and French Quarter. We asked the bride if she wanted to do other things, but she was satisfied with doing what we planned.
During the night, we always just headed out to the French Quarter. It was within walking distance, Halloween weekend and a great time! Tip: Ask the bride what SHE wants to do, this trip is all about her.
Where to Eat – Again, we did our research. For breakfast, we always stuck with the hotel. You can't beat free. For lunch, we ate at Manning's, which pays tribute to Louisiana's first football family. We also ate at Cafe Maspero, which was a that place looks good, lets eat here.
Since Friday night was the lingerie shower, we planned on staying in to eat. However, we found a delicious little pizza place, called Reginelli's Pizzeria. Saturday night was the only night we made reservations and of course we had to dine at Saints and Sinners in hopes to see Channing Tatum.
All in all, it was a truly unforgettable trip. We had SO much fun and it was definitely a weekend to remember!
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