How to Throw a Virtual Bachelorette Party
Learn how to make your bach bash as fun as possible even if you can’t physically be with your besties.
Throughout the coronavirus pandemic, our motto has toggled between “one-day-at-a-time” and “if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em”. The latter is definitely where we stand when it comes to keeping bachelorette party plans in place. And thus, the virtual bachelorette party was born!
Now more than ever, we’re all looking for reasons to celebrate a happy occasion, and a bachelorette party always promises plenty of fun and even more laughs whether everyone in the group has known each other for years or some people are meeting for the first time. Plus, the bride-to-be may have had to alter some of her other wedding plans over the past few weeks. As a result, our opinion is everyone will be happy to have an event on their calendars as something to look forward to.
Obviously, any stay-at-home orders mean you will need to make a few changes, but hosting a virtual bachelorette party can still be equally as fun and (dare we say) even more memorable than your original set-up. The key to a great time, even at a distance, is the same as one that happens in person: create a plan. Whether you choose to host via Zoom, FaceTime, Google Hangouts, or another virtual gathering program, we’re walking you through how to host a virtual bachelorette party in 10 steps below.
How to Have a Virtual Bachelorette Party : A Step-by-Step Guide
Step 1: Curate Your Guest List
The guest list for the bride’s bachelorette party may feel obvious, but because you’re hosting an at-home experience, you may want to consider adding to the list. The bridesmaids are obviously all invited, but you may want to invite their partners for part of the time, especially if pairs will be seated together at the head table. Kicking off the night with cocktails together is a great way to break the ice as a group now to create an even more fun experience later! P.S: If there were guests who couldn’t attend the original planned bachelorette for any reason, make sure to invite them to this experience. We’re all at home and looking for distractions!
Step 2: Send Invitations
While a quick email or text might make you feel like you can cross invites off of your list, we highly suggest reconsidering. Think about mailing bachelorette party invitations to your guests (receiving mail is always a highlight!), or create an evite you can send via email with the link to your virtual hosting platform. No matter how you choose to send your invitation, receiving one will help to ensure the virtual bachelorette party is still viewed as being just as special as the original in-person plan.
Step 3: Mail Gifts
Whether you’re planning to gift the bride lingerie or something more heartfelt, make sure to mail gifts to her in advance. Then ask that she pauses on opening each one until you’re all live on Zoom at her virtual bachelorette party. Part of the fun of giving gifts to the bride-to-be is watching her open them!
Also, brides, if you were planning to present your bridesmaids with something to wear for your bachelorette weekend or on your wedding day, send your gifts to them in the mail! Ask them to do the same thing – wait to open until you’re all together, albeit virtually.
Step 4: Choose an Experience
How you spend your time together at a bachelorette party is one of the key factors that makes it a success, and there are still plenty of activities you can do from home! Here are a few ideas:
At-Home Spa:
Ship guests a kit of at-home spa essentials, like scrubs, lotions, masks, and nail polish, or ask them to gather their own favorite products together. Then, spend part of the party doing manicures, pedicures, and face masks together over Zoom.
Workout:
It feels like every fitness studio is now offering virtual classes, so choose one to take together! Another idea is to contact a local fitness studio or one you know the bride loves and inquire about one of their instructors joining your party from her home to teach your group for a session. Think about yoga, Pilates, HIIT workouts, or even dance classes (TikTok, anyone?).
Craft:
Tie-dye is back, and it’s easy to make tie-dye shirts, sweatshirts, and even sweatpants from home. Send each guest a tie-dye kit, ask her to choose her item, then dye your projects together live and make sure to hold up your results.
Cook:
If you were planning to attend a cooking class together, keep that plan in place! Contact an instructor to see if they can coach your group through creating a meal, or plan to simplify things and bake cookies or make your own pizza or tacos.
Netflix Night:
Thanks to the new Netflix Chrome extension, Netflix Watch Party, you can host watch parties from home! Think about watching a rom-com together or pull up a comedy special, especially if you had plans to go to a comedy show together. Taylor Swift’s Reputation Stadium Tour and Beyonce’s Homecoming are also both on Netflix, so you can feel like you’re at a concert.
Celebrity Sighting:
Spotting a celebrity is fun, but what if you could host a virtual bachelorette party with one in attendance? We found out BACH just launched virtual bachelorette experiences. Groups can now enjoy appearances from comedians Taylor Tomlinson or Rosebud Baker for a roast of the bride, toast with Real Housewives’ Vicki Gunvalson, or play The Bachelor LIVE with Blake Horstmann from Becca Kufrin’s season of “The Bachelorette”.
Step 5: Get Dressed
The tip here is simple: change out of your daytime pajamas or leggings and put on the outfit (or at least a version of it!) you had planned to wear to the bride’s in-person bachelorette party. Getting dressed to go to a party is half of the fun!
Step 6: Suggest a Menu
To make it feel like you’re all together in person, suggest a menu for guests to enjoy from home. If you’re all attending from the same area, consider placing orders for delivery for each guest in attendance, so you can literally all eat the same thing!
Step 7: Start with Games
Almost every party needs an ice breaker, so kick things off with a few games! We’re the most drawn to games that don’t feel corny, so we suggest playing “Never Have I Ever”, Heads-Up from Ellen DeGeneres, Bachelorette Balderdash (this one really does sound like fun!), or even Guess the Panties. We shared some other freebie game ideas in our Wedding Freebies post!
Step 8: Make a Timeline
Just like a wedding, a virtual bachelorette party should follow a general timeline. Start by determining your start and end times. Then add in cocktails, games, dinner, your experience, and time to catch up again before you all sign off at the end of the night. Knowing what you would like to do and for how long will help your party to have a flow that’s fun and prevents anyone from wondering, “What’s next?”.
Step 9: Take Breaks
When we’re in person, we don’t hesitate to step away for any reason. However, when we’re online it can feel awkward to suddenly disappear from our screens. So, encourage guests to pause if they need to or build in natural breaks before switching activities.
Step 10: Embrace the Experience
It’s safe to say we are all ready to gather together in person once more. But, the key to hosting, attending, and enjoying a virtual bachelorette party is embracing it – all of it. Remember that no one can gather together in groups right now, so you’re definitely not alone in having to alter your plans. In the end, it’s far better to do something together virtually than skip over the opportunity altogether. Plus, we promise you will feel so much joy as each guest pops onto your screen. One of the very best things right now is having the ability to see faces and talk together rather than only being able to hear your favorite people from the other end of the phone.
Are you hosting or attending a virtual bachelorette party? How are you making it a great experience for everyone, especially the bride?
📌 Pin This! 📌
