Congrats, you’ve hit that period in life where all of your friends are getting married. Whether you like it or not, this often comes down to the duty of hosting one after the other bachelor or bachelorette party. The bride or groom values your presence and even trusts you in organizing the whole thing. But where to get started? Friendships have been wrecked over a poorly organized bachelor party and plenty of bachelorette parties end in tears, screams, drama or all of the above. To prevent all this from happening, here’s your beginners guide to hosting a bachelor(ette) party.
- Start in time
Whatever you expect bachelor party planning to be like, it’ll undoubtedly be more work than that. So start in time. Whether it concerns invitations, a guest list, the food or the music – at some point you need to start arranging stuff. Leaving the planning to the last minute and hoping for the best will either make you end up uninvited to the party you were supposed to host or flat-out wasted in a bar with the entire group for a lack of organization. However tempting the last option sounds: don’t. The bride or groom won’t have the experience they’re hoping for and the next day will be a major disappointment.
- Confirm the guestlist
Let’s assume you’ve started in time. Before sending out invitations, confirm the guest list with the bride or groom. Chances are they’ll want to invite friends from different friend groups and so people you may be unfamiliar with. To prevent forgetting anyone, or worse, invite people that’ll definitely kill the vibe, check whether all the guests on the list are welcome and actually on the list. This’ll save you the awkward hindsight phone calls inviting people upon first having forgotten them.
- Make your bookings
The plan may be great on paper, when you don’t take action in terms of bookings and reservations, you may as well call it off now. Venues to host bachelor or bachelorette parties are popular and tend to work with reservations a long way in advance. So make sure to put your reservations out there with plenty of spare time to adjust your plans when needed. Additional bookings like an entertainer or band require bookings in advance too. So whether you’re planning to rent a casino for the night, hire a stripper or plan a tranquil wine tasting – make your reservations.
- Appoint a designated photographer
Despite the ambition to take photos during the party, you’re easily tempted to think someone else will do so. In the end you’ll end up with great memories yet no pictures to proof it. Therefore, ask one of the guests to take care of the photos – or do so yourself. Trust us when we say you’ll be glad you’ve taken pictures, even when they’re compromising for the subjects portrayed in them. It’ll be the perfect way to look back on the party in a few years and have a laugh over the stupid things you’ve done.
- Look after the bride/groom
Perhaps one of the most important things to remember is that the bride/groom should have a good time. After all, it’s their bachelorette party. Make sure they get home safely and don’t do anything they’ll regret the day after.
Check, check and check? Enjoy your very first bachelor(ette) party as a host!
