Real Life Bachelorette Party Ideas

So you've decided to host a bachelorette party. Not the stay-out-all-night and drink till ya drop kind of gals? Oh, the pressure to plan a clean, yet fun, night on the town! The good news is that many have come before you, and they have conquered. Here's a sampling of some fantastic real-life bachelorette parties, straight from the brides, bridesmaids and guests themselves.

Co-Ed Bash

Our wedding party was made up of a lot of mutual friends from college so we decided to do a co-ed bachelor and bachelorette party. We started the night at my maid of honor's house with tons of beer and great food in the backyard. The guys and girls split up after dinner - we went dancing for our portion of the bachelorette party and the guys went to do their "guy" things. Then at about midnight we all met back up at the house for more drinks and ended up having a loud, spontaneous dance party. I may be partial but I think it's one of the best bachelorette party ideas I've ever heard of!

Wine Themed Bachelorette Party

Last year I went to my cousin's bachelorette party with a wine and cheese theme. The bridesmaids got a big hotel suite and brought in glasses, plates and cloth napkins from a party rental place so it was a pretty upscale event with about 15 or so people. We were having a great time until the cops showed up. Turns out they were actually the evening's "entertainment" provided by the maid of honor! My cousin was SO surprised but loved that her fancy little bachelorette party turned out to have a little naughty side too.

Taste of the Tropics

I have about ten girlfriends from college and between us we've come up with some pretty great bachelorette party ideas over the years. My favorite of all the parties was a tropical night theme in the dead of winter. We were all instructed to come dressed appropriately and some people went all-out with grass skirts and bikini tops. We rented one of those executive coaches and after driving around for a while listening to Jimmy Buffet and drinking fruity drinks, we went to a Polynesian restaurant for dinner. Afterward we hit the clubs and attracted a lot of attention with our tropical outfits - it was a blast and probably the best bachelorette party I've ever been to.

Beach Bonfire

I knew my friend wasn't going to be into the club scene or a drunken scavenger hunt for her bachelorette party so I was looking for some non-traditional bachelorette party ideas. I got a permit to have a bonfire on the beach and we had a big cookout on a beautiful night in August. I had a couple of the other bridesmaids bring all the supplies to the beach about an hour before.We grilled hot dogs and made s'mores and they even managed to somehow sneak a keg out onto the sand. We had a great time just telling stories and laughing. My girlfriend has told me about a million times that her bachelorette party is one of her best wedding memories.

Bowled Over Bachelorette Party

This is one of those parties people are skeptical about at first, but turned out to be so much fun. We hosted the bachelorette party at a bowling alley and made it a 70's theme. We reserved four lanes for the night and we all dressed up in hilarious outfits. We ordered a bunch of food and pitchers of beer, and about an hour after we got there, the bowling alley shut down the lights, switched to "glow in the dark" pins and played disco music at full blast. I thought it was a great bachelorette party because some people really got into the bowling, others just wanted to sit at the tables and talk and some of us even got up and danced, so there was a little something for everyone.