Leslie’s Savannah Bachelorette Party

Late Friday morning, months and months of planning finally came to fruition as my sister and I drove to Savannah with her friend Alison. We were on our way to meet up with a big group of girls (17!) to celebrate Leslie’s bachelorette party.

When we set out to pick a location for Leslie’s bachelorette party, we wanted to find a fun city that was drivable for most women attending, super fun and very walkable. Savannah fit the bill and a location was selected late last autumn. When a Groupon popped up for a hotel located right in the heart of the city – within walking distance of River Street and Savannah’s City Market – our wallets were quite grateful and we quickly reserved four rooms at the Inn at Ellis Square for the weekend. (We called two days before to request rooms next to each other which worked really well!)

Going into the weekend, Leslie was mostly in the dark. She knew we were going to Savannah and I mailed her a very short and vague clothing guide a few weeks prior, but other than that, she didn’t have any information!

Once we hopped in the car, Alison and I gave Leslie a modified version of our weekend itinerary that looked like this:

I printed off detailed itineraries for all of the other girls that had additional information. They were emailed the information ahead of time, but I also had hard copies ready for them at the hotel. Information overload was key in keeping our group of 17 together and on the same page all weekend!

Arrival in Savannah

Leslie, Alison and I arrived in Savannah around lunchtime and quickly met up with a small group of girls for some food and drinks at Tubby’s, a rooftop bar and restaurant located on River Street.

We dined outside and everyone was in a great mood! The weather more than cooperated, providing a light breeze that warranted sweaters but didn’t require heavy coats and hats.

After our late lunch, we walked to the hotel so we could check in and everyone could change and get ready for dinner and a night out.

I shared a room with Leslie, her childhood friend, Colleen, and her two best friends from high school, Alison and Shannon. These three girls are so much fun! I initially joked that I was the outsider on this bachelorette party since I was obviously the only family member attending, but Leslie’s friends were all so kind and welcoming to me that I never felt like I wasn’t part of the group.

While Alison, Shannon, Colleen and I got ready in our room, we had Leslie finish getting ready in another room with some of her best friends from college so we could transform our room into a fun and festive location for the first night of bachelorette fun!

Prior to our arrival in Savannah, I sent out a list of crafting ideas to everyone attending. I actually got this idea from my friend Ashley who did something similar before our friend Merri’s bachelorette party. I know many people really want to help and contribute something to bachelorette parties, but all too often people simply say “let me know what I can do to help,” and I’m unlikely to assign tasks to people because I never want someone to feel like they are stuck doing something they don’t actually want to do. By sending out a list of ideas, people were able to respond to me and take over certain projects that they felt comfortable handling which was great!

Alison C. was in charge of banners and made three adorable banners that said “Bride-to-Be,” “Cheers to Leslie” and “Pop, Fizz, Clink,” which was the theme of Leslie’s bachelorette party!

Allison S. made these adorable “just in case” kits. They were a huge hit! (She found the little white bags at The Dollar Store.)

I brought fun sunglasses and light-up rings for everyone since people seem to love accessories during bachelorette parties!

I also decorated glass chalkboard mason jars with everyone’s names that we then filled with sangria once everyone arrived. (I used paint pens rather than chalk so the names would stay in tact.)

Once everyone arrived back in our room, Leslie joined all of us looking absolutely gorgeous in a pink Tart infinity convertible dress that I bought for her on sale during the holidays on HauteLook. (The rest of us wore all black so she would stand out even more!)

Leslie’s college roommate Christina had Leslie close her eyes while she outfitted her in an adorable personalized sash and a fun veil!

 

And then it was time for our first bachelorette activity: The Bachelorette Party Question Book Game! This game is a blast and always makes the entire group laugh. Plus, it’s a great way to incorporate the groom in the fun!

We had fun reading Ross’ answers to the questions I sent to him and Leslie made all of us laugh when she guessed his answers on Friday night.

Once we were done with the game, it was time to boogie! We walked to Garibaldi’s for a nice dinner before heading off to Savannah Smiles Dueling Piano Bar for the night.

Our dinner was fantastic – Garibaldi’s risotto and mussels are amazing – and Savannah Smiles was the perfect place for a bachelorette party! We danced and sang to live throwback music all night and the place wasn’t overly crowded. A big win!

  

Our weekend in Savannah was off to a great start and the fun only continued the following day!

More to come!