Back in January I had the honor of hosting a Bachelorette Bash Weekend for a very special bride! Her name is Megan and I've known her since before she was born. Our families have been like family for decades and I remember feeling her kick while her mom was pregnant with her. I helped coach her YMCA soccer team with her mom, helped her parents throw her Hawaiian themed 12th birthday party, cheered her on at swim meets, and altered her prom dress. Fun fact - one of the first outings Chris and I had as a couple was for her dad's birthday almost 16 years ago at a Mexican restaurant and somewhere there's a group photo of all of us gathered around him and the giant sombrero he had on. That might've actually been the first photo of Chris and me. Anyway, I love her like a little sister and I had to make sure she had the best bachelorette weekend!
Megan wanted a really intimate and relaxed weekend with the girls because everyone has their own busy lives in different corners of the country and it was a precious opportunity to see so many of her friends again. We setup our house as party central on the second floor and a sleep away camp on the third floor. I got an air mattress from Amazon, new sheets from Target, and a new Kate Spade deco dot duvet cover from Homegoods and made room in our guest room and my office to sleep six girls.
I spent a lot of time on Pinterest getting ideas for decor and I ended up loving the end result! I got a ton of 12 inch and mini balloons in white, clear, rose gold, solid gold, and gold dotted from Party City and a roll of clear balloon arch tape on Amazon to make a couple of balloon arches. I attached the bigger balloons in a random pattern and then filled in the gaps with mini balloons. I attached the arches to the wall with white and gold twine and command hooks. I also found super cute hanging engagement rings from Party City that I hung from the archway closest the kitchen. I ordered the "love" script balloon and rose gold letter balloons from Etsy. I got white hydrangeas and pink and white roses from Trader Joe's and arranged them in short glass vases from Target.
I spent a lot of time planning the gift bags for the bash too! Each girl got a custom made workout tank and shirt with their name and the bash logo printed inside. Not all of the girls invited were bridesmaids so I went with "brides babes" so everyone felt equally included. I had the shirts hanging on a white garment rack from IKEA so they were the first thing the girls saw when they came up the stairs. Each girl also got a gift bag with little packages of M&Ms, rose gold hair ties, and mugs that I custom made for the event. Each girl also got a bag of Sugarfina champagne gummy bears and an itinerary of the weekend I designed to match the aesthetic of the decor. Megan wanted the whole weekend to be a surprise so her bag didn't have an itinerary but it did have the cutest custom sash I found on Etsy!
Most of the girls invited to the bash were from out of state so Megan wanted to have the shower and bachelorette party on the same weekend to minimize travel for everyone. A family friend hosted the shower in our hometown and then we all packed up and caravanned over to Tampa with a quick Starbucks pitstop on the way. I gathered all of the best wedding movies I could think of and made pizza and popcorn bags for all of the girls for our movie night! We ended up watching Bridesmaids - the absolute classic wedding movie!
The next morning we all got in our leggings and workout tanks and headed to SohoCycling for a Bride Ride! Megan and I have matching pink spin bikes at home and she'd mentioned that she'd been itching to go to a class but there weren't any great options where she lives. I'd been working with the owner for weeks getting this class set up for the girls and she couldn't have been any nicer! There were special bride balloons on Megan's bike and she got a really sweet shoutout from Stephen the instructor and applause from our classmates. She also asked for any special song requests that Megan might like and our instructor worked most of them into his routine. They helped get all of the girls setup on their bikes before class started and took photos of us after. It was seriously so fun and I highly recommend SohoCycling if you'd like to put together a group event or you're just looking for a really great workout! Stephen has thighs of steels and couldn't be any nicer!
After we wrapped up our spin class and our photo ops, we ran across the street frogger-style and got coffee at the original Buddy Brew location. It's such a cute and iconic space in South Tampa and the second you open door you're greeted with the heavenly smell of coffee! Everyone got their post-workout caffeine fix and we headed back to my house for showers. Somehow we got all seven of us showered and primped with time to spare!
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| Image from Buddy Brew's Facebook page |
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| Image from Buddy Brew's Facebook page |
Oxford Exchange is arguably the best brunch spot in South Tampa and it's one of Megan's favorite places in town so it was an absolute must. My mom actually put together a surprise pre-wedding brunch with our family and Megan's family years ago before we headed to NYC for the big day so it's definitely a sentimental place for us too. We had a great time chatting, laughing, and stuffing our faces with each other. I highly recommend the fried brussel sprouts, the friend avocado wedges, the banana walnut pancakes, and the French toast!
After we ate our weight in brunch, we headed back to our house and got ready for the surprise photoshoot with Sara from Studio Magnolia. Not only is Sara a good friend of mine but she's also a very talented photographer! It was absolutely freezing and super windy so we scrambled to find cardigans for everyone to layer over their shirts and we braved the elements. Luckily we laughed enough together to keep ourselves warm!
After all of that posing and smiling, we headed downtown to Jackson's Bistro for dinner. It's right on the water on Harbor Island and has one of the best views in the city. If you're a seafood fan, you should definitely put Jackson's on your list.
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| Image from Jackson's Bistro's Facebook page |
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| Image from Jackson's Bistro's Facebook page |
The next day we all said our goodbyes and the girls packed up to head their separate ways. Aside from the cold weather, there were no planning fails and all of the girls got along really well! Megan had a great time and we all ended the weekend with new friends! I wish we'd stopped to take more photos but I guess that's how you know you had a great time and were living in the moment!
