Help! What Do You Like Doing at Bachelorette Parties?

This year, my best friend Angela is getting married and I’m her maid-of-honor. While I plan on taking my MOH duties very seriously — handing her glasses of bubbly, delivering a heartfelt speech, and shimmying on the dance floor ’til the night ends — one of my top priorities is planning an unforgettable and cheeky bachelorette party. Naturally, I’ve been thinking back on all the bachelorette parties I’ve been to, and surprisingly, my favorite bachelorette memory wasn’t at my own party, but at my friend Keeley’s.

We had just finished eating dinner at Olive Garden, and we had been asked to wear cowboy boots but weren’t sure why. Once the check was paid, the maid-of-honor, Megan, said the next agenda item was to bounce around to different restaurants downtown and play games. We started at a restaurant where we sipped drinks that were way too fruity and sugary, while grilling Keeley on all the wedding- and marriage-related things she was nervous and excited for. Then we hit a small road bump. All the restaurants turned into bars at 10 p.m. and thus didn’t allow minors. And Megan was a minor.

So, we ended back out on the streets of downtown, walking around and wondering what to do next. The night was still young, but our options felt limited. After spending 10 minutes googling on her phone, Megan piped up: “I was saving this for later, but it looks like we’re going now! Everyone pile into the car!”

Fifteen minutes later, we pulled into a parking lot surrounded by office buildings. “Where are we?” a couple girls mumbled, as we climbed out of the car and stood under fluorescent street lights. “Trust me,” Megan responded. “You’re going to love it. This is why we’re wearing cowboy boots!” She walked up to a bouncer standing on the corner and showed her ID.

Walking through the doors, we were greeted by a sea of cowboy hats, the twang of an electric guitar, and unified stomps. I remember thinking, “Wait, this is California…” as men and women slid across the dance floor with hands on hips, stepping to the beat of Tim McGraw crooning through the speakers.

Megan had brought us to a LINE DANCING CLUB! Even now, as I type this, I laugh at how shocked I was. No one in our party was a line dancer; we didn’t know even the basic moves. It was hard not to feel intimidated as we watched partners tap their boots in perfect unison. But our eagerness soon won over, and one by one we walked onto the floor and started stomping our heels.

That night of line dancing was one of the most wholesome and thrilling experiences I’ve ever had at a bachelorette party. It felt opposite to the typical clubbing bachelorette scene, which I’m not hating on because we did that at my bachelorette and I had fun! But ending the evening swinging around and learning new moves was the perfect way to bond with friends, cheer on the soon-to-be bride, and get our endorphins flowing.

We danced until after midnight and then sprawled out in our hotel room, all five of us wearing Sephora face masks and watching To All The Boys I Loved Before. I went to bed grinning because I felt something that I hadn’t felt in a long time: the giddiness of trying something new and loving it.

How about you? Did (or would) you have a bachelorette party? What are your favorite memories? Any advice you have for creating special experiences? I’d love to hear your wild and not-so-wild moments.

P.S. 11 wedding dos and don’ts, and did you have sex on your wedding night?

(Photo from Bridesmaids.)