Never in a million years would I ever think that I would be writing about my virtual bachelorette party. Who would have ever thought there would be such a thing?! Also, I’m not going to lie, I went into my virtual bachelorette party still a tad bit sad and feeling sorry for myself that it wasn’t the real thing. We had originally planned my bachelorette party for Miami, and I was looking forward to being on the beach, enjoying the sunshine with a pina colada in hand. While I appreciated my gals still hosting a bachelorette party for me, I was still bummed that my vision had not played out.
However, my maid of honor, Allison, is incredible. She managed to make a virtual bachelorette party that I will remember for the rest of eternity as one of the best nights of my life! Almost all of my bridesmaids were able to make it, plus a few other close friends of mine. We met over Zoom and everyone was dressed in beach apparel; bathing suits, cute cover-ups and sunglasses. I had my “pool boy” (yes, it was Alex, and I’m shocked he still wants to marry me after this!) bringing me fruity drinks all evening while I played games and chatted with my girlfriends. What was supposed to be a “happy hour” bachelorette party lasted nearly 5 hours! I cannot tell you how good it was for my soul to be able to have that time with my girlfriends. I laughed so hard the entire evening, and it truly was just as good as being with them.
I truly mean it when I say that my virtual bachelorette party will be a night that I will never forget. I am so incredibly grateful for my maid of honor, Allison, for planning everything. She even sent me little gifts in the mail leading up to the bachelorette party to help me prepare, like the “bride to be” sash, and some risque drink accessories 😉 She set the beach theme by sending different beachy backgrounds for us to set on our Zoom, and had everyone dress in beach attire. Between this, what was supposed to be the actual bachelorette party, and other bridal activities, I’m really convinced that Allison needs to make a career change into event planning.
I know that this post is about the virtual bachelorette party, and I promise that I am going to be posting some tips later on in this post, but I have to take a minute to introduce Allison to you all! We met freshman year of college at the University of Dayton. We were in the same sorority, and as a part of our “new member” period, we were paired up for every social event with another new member, so we could all meet and get to know each other. They called this the “buddy” system, and there was one event where I was paired with Allison as my “buddy”. It was expected that we went to the event together and spend time getting to know each other. The funny thing is, I was so intimidated by her! I didn’t know a single thing about her, other than she was drop dead gorgeous. Seriously, to this day, she is the prettiest person you will ever meet.
So naturally, I just assumed that Allison would be a “mean girl”, as most drop dead gorgeous girls that I had known in the past were. Although we were “buddies”, we attended the same pre-game together, but didn’t talk. I was too scared to approach her! So, the rest of freshman year went by, and Allison and I remained in separate friend groups within our sorority. Sure, we would talk here and there, but I was still intimidated by her!
It wasn’t until sophomore year when we both decided to run for positions on the executive board of our sorority that we really became friends. We were both elected to positions, so we spent a lot of time in meetings together. As I got to know her, I realized she really wasn’t all that mean 😉 Actually, she was a very sweet girl! About three months into our roles, and we had an executive conference for our sorority. We (over)packed our bags and headed to Chicago, where we would meet with tons of other executive board members from our sorority from all over the United States. It just so happened that Allison and I were roommates on this trip, and that’s when we really bonded. I can’t tell you what we talked about (probably sharing our mutual love for devouring Skinny Pop and binge watching and The Hills), but we were inseparable after that conference.
We often call each other our “spirit animals” because through everything in life, she’s always the person that just gets me. Since college we’ve gone on completely different paths, but she still remains that one person that I will always go to for everything. Not only is she literally the prettiest human you will ever meet, but she’s truly the best friend that a girl could ask for, and I am so thankful for her!
Well, now that I have gotten all of my sappy emotions out, I’m finally going to share some tips to throwing your bride the most perfect virtual bachelorette party. Most of these things Allison did for me, so I’m really just stealing her ideas and sharing with you all because I believe every Covid bride deserves a virtual bachelorette party like I had!
Tips for Throwing the Best Virtual Bachelorette Party
- Stick to the theme. As I mentioned, my original plans were to be on a beach, soaking up the sun, with a drink in my hand. Although there was no sun, there definitely was a theme! We all threw on our bathing suits and had beach backgrounds to pretend we were there. It might sound cheesy, but it really was so special to me! It made the Zoom go from “just a happy hour” to a bachelorette party!
- Have some games ready. My bridal party is unique in that all of my bridesmaids are from a different “era” of my life. I have two of my closest friends from high school, two of my closest friends from college, and then two of my closest friends from my post-college life. So, not everyone knew each other, which might have been awkward. We started off by introducing each other and sharing how they met me (most of these were pretty funny stories), and then went on to play games like “what would the bride rather” and “never have I ever”. These games led to natural conversation, and they were so fun! I mean, who doesn’t love playing “never have I ever” after a few cocktails?! 😉
- Remember the bride! Obviously, there wouldn’t be a bachelorette party if there was no bride. I loved how my friends sent a little “bride to be” sash and other accessories to help make the virtual bachelorette party special. I certainly did not expect these items, but they were so appreciated and helped me feel like a bride, and not just another Zoom call with my friends (which I love, don’t get me wrong!) One of the things that had me so sad about all of this was missing my “bridal” experiences. I was so looking forward to living all of those bridal moments, and these small details really helped me feel like the bride!
- Have some fun drinks! Obviously you all won’t be in the same place, so it may be difficult to all have the same drink. Think of your theme and what your bride loves! For example, most of the girls were drinking rose during mine because they know that is my absolute favorite wine! Also, since Alex was in on the secret, he went out during that week and made sure we had ingredients for palomas, because those are my favorite cocktail. Encourage everyone to have the brides favorite drink, or if possible, send someone to get ingredients so she can make hers! I’m telling you, it’s the little details that make these so special!
Whew! Did you make it through?! If so, thank you SO much for taking the time to read this post! I am so grateful for everyone in my life who has made this Covid-wedding season as bearable as can be, especially my best friend. Hopefully this inspired some brides out there, or bridesmaids, to still continue with bachelorette plans. I promise you will not regret it!
Link to all “bachelorette” items in the first photo can be found here.