My best friend’s wedding
Text: Roxanne Fagri & Candice De Canha. Photography: Inpra/Rex Features; Elitephotoagency/Shutterstock
Source: This article is taken from the September 2011 issue of Cleo Magazine.
Here’s your essential guide to planning a fabulous bachelorette on a budget.
Once upon a time, classy ladies gathered to sip tea and eat finger snacks to celebrate one of them getting hitched. Fast forward about 10 years and these kitchen teas have become a little more debaucherous. If you’re lucky enough to be a bridesmaid or maid of honour at your bestie’s wedding, you’ve been crowned the party starter.
So, if you – like Annie (Kristen Wiig) from the totally relatable film Bridesmaids – are flat broke and lack in the creativity department, we’re here to help. Here are a few ways to spoil the bride-to-be, without breaking bank. Ready, set, throw … an awesome party. Here’s what to remember when planning the do:
Social selection.
You first need to draw up a guest list consisting of the bride’s friends and family – those who are invited to the wedding. The more colourful the personalities, the better – but don’t bombard the poor girl with drunken aunts, twice removed. It also wouldn’t hurt to ask the groom about guests you’re unsure of.
Top tip: Being the bride’s bestest pal, you (hopefully) know who goes under the ‘absolutely not’ list. Getting those out of the way is a good start.
Theme team.
Always consider the kind of person the bride-to-be is, and the guests who’ll attend the event. Oiled-up male strippers might be a tad inappropriate if Great Aunt Gertrude is around. Hosting a pamper party where a beautician delights all the gals with a treatment or two is a safer option. But if you are looking for something raunchier, why not hire a pole-dance instructor to teach the girls how to shake it.
Top tip: You don’t want to cause bodily harm. Blindfolding the bride-to-be and sticking her into the boot of your car? Not ideal.
Quality not quantity.
Pick a budget and stick to it. It’s traditionally up to the bridesmaids to cover costs, but this doesn’t mean that once the party is over you’ll need to scavenge for food to make it through the month. Consider the cost of hiring things such as entertainment, catering companies and party buses. Also factor in the costs of entrance fees if you’ll be clubbing.
Top tip: Many clubs offer specials for bachelorette parties at reasonable prices, which can include bubbly and shooters.
Road rage.
Nowadays you can hire a double-decker party bus – with a sound system, bar and even a bathroom – without it costing an arm and a leg. Cut costs by charging a small entry fee as your peeps step onto the bus. The girls won’t mind pitching in for something this fun – plus, there’ll be no drinking and driving. Safety first!
On the catwalk.
Celebrate the night with a lingerie contest. Each gal gathers unlikely materials (tissues, tape, coasters and paper) from different locations to make up their very own lingerie set. At the last destination, show off your creations to the bride-to-be, who decides who the winner is. Make sure there are awesome prizes to be won.
The amazing race.
Send the bride-to-be on a scavenger hunt, leading clues up to an awesome bar or lounge you know will be well populated. Split your group into teams and hunt for things along the way (a hottie’s number, traffic cones, a pair or undies, etc.) or perform tasks, like downing tequila, singing karaoke, or getting a guy to buy you a drink. Don’t forget to take pics, or, even better, film it. It really won’t matter who the winner is, but note to self: let the bride-to-be win.
Potty mouth.
Take the bride-to-be to a club or bar that you know she loves, give her a pot to carry around and any lucky guy who drops a coin in gets to give her a smooch – all PG of course! The money collected can be used to pay for drinkies for the evening, or she can keep it all to herself!
Go karaoke.
To add a bit of flavour to the evening, create your own playlist of girly songs to sing (or shout) to. This way you don’t need to hire an expensive DJ.
Golden oldies are always winners:
- Bonnie Tyler – Total Eclipse of the Heart
- The Weather Girls – It’s Raining Men
- Pink – Get the Party Started
- Shania Twain – Man! / Feel Like a Woman
- Cyndi Lauper – Girls Just Want to have Fun
- Europe – The Final Countdown
Stay connected
To up your game as the potential maid of honour (Annie vs Helen (Rose Byrne) in Bridesmaids) here are just a few sites to get you started.
Missbehaviour.co.za
Manhattanclub.co.za
Partybushire.co.za
Teambuildingsouthafrica.co.za
Gilroybeers.co.za
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