What is a Bachelorette Party? A bachelorette party is a contemporary rite of passage for a bride before her wedding day that celebrates her final night(s) out on the town as a single woman.Traditionally a group of close female friends plan and attend the bachelorette party in the bride’s honor. While the bride is away for her weekend getaway, the groom would celebrate his bachelor party with a separate party of close friends. Bachelorette parties may last for just a single day or evening, or it might involve an entire weekend of activities either near the bride’s home or at a travel destination. Typical bachelorette party activities often involve meals at nice restaurants, pampering trips to day spas, relaxation in the form of beaches, pools, or easy hiking, and/or bar hopping and dancing. Who Throws The Bachelorette Party? Traditionally the bridal party—the bridesmaids and maid/matron of honor—throw the bachelorette party for the bride. If the bride has chosen to not have a bridal party, or if it’s not ideal or possible for the bridal party to handle this task, anyone else who is close to the bride can plan the bachelorette party, such as: a sibling a close cousin a group of tight-knit coworkers a childhood best friend of the bride Really, anyone can throw the bachelorette party if she or they meet the following criteria: Is close enough to the bride to know what she will want from her bachelorette experience. Is good at handling logistics, making reservations, and organizing groups of people. Has good communication skills—planning a group event of this nature can involve a lot of emailing and texting! Can keep track of costs and receipts (for the bachelorette party supplies, decorations, food, or entertainment) to make sure expenses are appropriately settled up after the party is over. The only person or group of people who should NOT throw the bachelorette party are the bride’s parents or senior family members. A bachelorette party is typically an event that’s reserved for friends and family of the bride who are close to her in age, and thus interested in the same kinds of “last fling” activities. Who Should You Invite to a Bachelorette Party? The bride should make a list of people she’d like to invite to her special day or weekend. While traditionally this list would have been all women, modern brides with coed or non-traditional wedding parties might want to have their close male friends or siblings also attend. Go with whatever the bride wants here: this is her celebration before the big day! If you’re looking for ideas, these folks will typically make it onto the bachelorette party invite list: The bridal party Close friends of the bride Siblings, soon-to-be-siblings, or same-age relatives of the bride Co-workers of the bride who will also be invited to the wedding The party planner(s) should send out bachelorette party invitations to the bride’s list, collect RSVPs, and begin planning according to the total number of attendees. Invitations to a bachelorette party can be more casual than for a bridal shower or rehearsal dinner, but there are few options when it comes to formal bachelorette party etiquette: Most Formal: If you have the time and prefer formality, print paper invitations and send them through the post. Mid-Level Formal: Use an online invitation company to send beautifully designed, customized digital invites through email. This option can make gathering RSVPs much easier, not to mention it’s less expensive than paper. Least Formal: Send a group email to the list announcing plans for the bachelorette party. This can be a quick way to get the word out, see who can make it, and begin a dialogue for planning the festivities. Who Should You NOT Invite to a Bachelorette Party? While the philosophy of “the more, the merrier” is lovely in theory, there is a limit to whom you should invite to a bachelorette party. This limit has to do with the bride’s feelings, and with making sure that she has the best possible experience relaxing, exploring, and generally living it up with her closest crew. With that in mind, here are some folks whom you might want to keep off the invitation list: The bride’s mother, stepmother, or senior relatives: Having an older generation of relatives around might force the bride to celebrate in a different way than she’d prefer to if there were just her age-peers present. It’s the bride’s special day, so make sure she’s comfortable around the people she’s celebrating with. Anyone who’s not invited to the wedding: Avoid an awkward situation here by only inviting people who will also be invited to the main event. Anyone who struggles with group dynamics: This can be tricky to navigate, but we all know or have those friends who are great one-on-one but lack the social skills for group settings. Whether it’s attention-seeking behavior, poor decision making, or making others feel uncomfortable, consider the group dynamic when choosing whom to invite. Any (current or former) significant others of the bride’s exes: Again, consider the bride’s feelings here. Reminders of her exes are not what she wants or needs on her bachelorette weekend. However, be sure to check with the bride before finalizing a guest list. She may want her mom there, for example, depending on the relationship.