Non-overnight bachelorette party

hales2010

So I have been given the task of planning the bachelorette party for a good friend of mine. I have planned one before so this usually isn't hard. This one , however, is hard because so far out of the 5 girls she told me to invited (6 girls total if I include the bride) 4 girls cannot stay overnight. This would leave me and bride to stay the night at this point if we did. Sadly no one (including me) can kick everyone out of our houses and hotel rooms for 6 people are expensive and some do not want to pay for it. Also 3 of the girls have kids and have to go home to them at the end of the night (and I respect that 100%). That being said though I am having a hard time trying to plan a bachelorette party that doesn't include all the girls staying the night. I am needing help with this now because her wedding is in September so I have to start planning it. If anyone has advice that would be great. Thank in advance for any advice. 

kwiksilver

I don't understand the problem. If they don't want to/can't stay the night, why would you have to kick them out?

Anyway, this is simple. Plan an activity the bride will enjoy for early afternoon (for example, mani/pedis or painting pottery or paddle boarding, whatever. Afterward everyone can have dinner and drinks. Then people can go home. See?  Easy  

geebee908

I'm glad to hear you're planning with the invitees' budgets and schedules in mind. It might work best for you to plan for several activities for the day and/or evening. Maybe everyone could plan to be somewhere for a nice dinner out, but not go to other activities or just to one of the other activities. It may be just you and the bride who attend all the activities you have planned. Poll people for their availability and budgets and see what kinds of fun activities are in the local area.

MobKaz

hales2010 said:

So I have been given the task of planning the bachelorette party for a good friend of mine. I have planned one before so this usually isn't hard. This one , however, is hard because so far out of the 5 girls she told me to invited (6 girls total if I include the bride) 4 girls cannot stay overnight. This would leave me and bride to stay the night at this point if we did. Sadly no one (including me) can kick everyone out of our houses and hotel rooms for 6 people are expensive and some do not want to pay for it. Also 3 of the girls have kids and have to go home to them at the end of the night (and I respect that 100%). That being said though I am having a hard time trying to plan a bachelorette party that doesn't include all the girls staying the night. I am needing help with this now because her wedding is in September so I have to start planning it. If anyone has advice that would be great. Thank in advance for any advice. 

Who assigned you this task?  Shouldn't this be voluntary?

I agree with @kwiksilver.  If staying out late/overnight is difficult, plan an earlier event.  In addition to late afternoon ideas, there are often early comedy club events, too.  Not staying overnight doesn't prevent the event, it merely changes the game a bit.  If the idea behind the hotel room is more to deter drinking/driving, apply a small portion to what would have been a hotel room(s) and hire a car for the evening.

lovesclimbing

I have never attended an overnight bachelorette party. Why not just plan a non-overnight one?

missJeanLouise

My friends and I went to dinner and then dancing, then we all went to our respective homes.

ei34

Do any of the guests have to travel OOT to attend? If not, why would it be an overnight thing? My own BP as well as two that I planned were dinner and drinks at a fun restaurant, followed by more drinks and some dancing at a bar.  No one stayed overnight.

If any of the guests live OOT and choose to attend, they'll be able to book their own accommodations.  You don't have to make it a group thing.

Edited to clarify my last sentence: you don't have to make staying in a hotel a group thing.  Obviously the party activities themselves will be enjoyed as a group 

charlotte989875

My close friends all live in the same city, so I've traveled in for their B-parties, but none of them have been overnight things. Most are afternoon activity (mani/pedi, shopping, or outdoor thing) followed by dinner somewhere nice and dancing/drinks. Everyone has gone home to their own places and I make my own arrangements. 

Are any guests OOT? You don't need to be responsible for making plans for them. And if it's jus you and the bride that want to do an overnight could you invite her to stay over at your place?

LondonLisa

I have been to several hen do's where I haven't stayed the night. I just communicated roughly what time I had to leave with the organiser, and they let me know what I could be included in. For example: I went to dinner, a burlesque show, but they were later getting a table at a club so I left before then. 

Why can you not just get a room for the two of you if you want to stay in a hotel with the bride? Just plan the night and communicate the natural breaks between activities to the participants. If its just drinks in a club later where everyone pays for their own cover, why does it really matter if someone leaves a tad earlier? 

Why do you need to have a house or a hotel room? Can you not go to a nail salon? or a nice dinner? Or wine tasting? Or dancing? 

Why are your only options hotel room or someone's house?

SP29

I am also confused as to why this needs to be an overnight thing. I've never attended an overnight B-party.

I agree to plan an earlier activity, do dinner, then drinks/dancing/bar/pub, and guests can leave when they need to.

thisismynickname2

Activities that don't necessitate staying overnight anywhere:
-spa stuff
-meals
-sports events
-comedy clubs (early shows)
- painting classes
-jewelry making
-boat charter/tour
-other kinds of tours
-beach day/pool day
-wine tasting at wineries
-theatre
-concerts
-strip shows
-casino activities

climbingsingle

There's a ton of activities you can plan for the day. I'm not sure where this party is happening but you could a winery tour, or fun things on the water(kayaking, paddle boarding). A baseball game, museums, a spa trip, a beach/lake day, a fun tour of a local city, a yoga class and a fun brunch or lunch, a bike tour, a play or musical. 

Most of the bach parties I've attended have been just a night out, where no one stayed over. 

ahoywedding

I've only gone to one overnight bach party, and it was out of town for all of us and a whole weekend and honestly kind of a PITA. When I traveled for OOT bach parties, I usually arranged to stay with someone else who lived in that city, or stayed with the bachelorette (if she offered!). If it was within 30-45ish minutes, I usually didn't drink a whole lot, offered to DD & drove home that night.

Like PPs have said, there are about 8 billion things you can do during the day that are super fun! If everyone is local, you could make it a long-ish day too. Morning yoga, mani/pedis, brunch, winery tour, dinner with anyone who wanted to go. That would leave guests able to return home for children if they wanted, and anyone who's still around after dinner could go for drinks. You could also pick activities that have start times or things you'd have to make appointments for, so that if someone wanted to come later or leave earlier, they'd know where you'd be and when.

hales2010

It doesn't have to be an overnight thing. I have never planned one or attended on that hasn't been overnight so I was just needing some advice. I wouldnt be kicking anyone out because they can't stay the night. I had worded it to show that no one else except me and the bride would be able to stay which in that case of course none of us will stay. I guess I just worded it wrong. I was just trying to think of some ideas that would help me plan it just because I have never planned one like this. Just trying to think of the other girls and their budgets when planning it so that no one has to stress over it. None of the girls are from OOT. Thanks for the ideas so far! Definitely helps with giving me some ideas on what to do. 

JediElizabeth

Some options that you could drive/uber home from in most towns/cities:
- Bar night. Go to a bar/nightclub you usually wouldn't go to, or on a night with a cool DJ. We have a few speakeasies around here, which would be a neat idea
- painting and wine (or whatever you like to drink)
- tour a local winery or distillery or craft brew spot
- escape room (depending on the crowd)
- local boardwalk/amusement park/tourist spot
- local science center nightlife with open bar (I've been to these in Jersey City and SF...look and see if they have it in your area)

There are so many possibilities that don't require staying over. Just set up something fun, thats probably a bit more special than a normal girls night, without being over the top.

bookmaiden17_

We did a fun afternoon of painting, food, and drinks for one of my best friends. The local art association does private party for paint nights. We just did one during the day. They supplied all of the painting supplies we just brought in the food and drinks. Everyone had a blast.

ernursej

My friends planned a pedicure or manicure at an inexpensive salon and then tea after. I think I heard that each guest paid $50.00 each to cover everything. It started at 1000 and went until 1400. I love this and it was nice to know that everyone still had their evening free. The couple of ladies that had children said childcare was easier during the weekend day then at night.

Mircakes

As PP said, wine tasting is a great option, and pretty popular for bachelorette parties. You can do some wine tasting (if you live near a big "wine country" like Temecula or Napa, there are bus tours that will take you to various vineyards/wineries), have an early dinner, then call it a day.