Do the Funky Chicken Dance...er...Bus

Typically a big wedding no-no is the Chicken Dance. It reminds us of elementary school gym class. After planning Bride #7's Bachelorette Party though, a big yes is the "Chicken Bus" in NYC. Officially known as La Rumba Express- this bus made our evening.

Let me back up for one second though. Bride #7 wanted her big night out to be in NYC (where she and almost all of her friends and BMs live) so that a) people didn't have to travel, b) to keep costs down and c) so that as many people as possible could come. We invited 30 people, and 22 ended up attending. Not surprising from a bride who has thirteen bridesmaids! So, even though our night was local- the MOH and her planning committee were charged with making this night special and different.

We started off with your typical cocktails, apps and games at someone's apartment. Next, we were off to a delicious prix-fixed dinner...but we traveled to dinner in style. Waiting for us at the street corner was the infamous Chicken Bus. Bride #7 had never seen or heard of it, so it was quite a shock to her. It was a ratty old school bus big enough to safely transport us all that blasted music (with the iPod we provided), with flashing lights, rubber chickens, a saddle, stripper pole, stuffed parrots, nets, and of course coolers to hold the beer we brought along. We danced all the way to dinner "wahooing" and screaming the entire time.
After dinner, we got back on the party bus and headed out for our bar crawl. The first bar we went to was so crowded, that some girls left to go back and hang out on the bus. We decided the bus was so amazing that we actually skipped the second bar to have our driver, Jose, drive us around. We had our friends, good music, bongo drums, beer, and of course an inflatable penis- so what more did we need? We drove around, and everyone on the streets would look at us. We even threw one guy Mardi Gras beads and he lifted his shirt for us. We had a mounted police officer come so close to the bus that the horse stuck his face in the open window area, and one of the BMs pet him.

Warning though, La Rumba Express is not cheap-- but if you have a lot of friends attending your bachelorette party, and you want to make this night stand out- I highly recommend it. Thanks to the Chicken Bus, Bride #7 told us she had the most unbelievable night, and that she couldn't have planned it better herself...and trust me, she tried to!

Happy Bridesmaiding and enjoy the pictures!

Don't Let Mother Nature Rain on Your Parade

Last weekend was wedding #7, and unfortunately the weather did not cooperate with us. The wedding was in the Berkshires, in Lennox, Mass- and there was a huge storm that passed through over the weekend. They were forced to go to every Plan B possible, but everything was beautiful, and to quote the bride "the florist made it all seem like Plan A's."

The one unfortunate part was that the reception was held in a tent. So the grass around the dance floor was sopping wet, and unfortunately part of the dance floor was flooded and there were cones where you couldn't dance. We all thought that Bride #7 was going to freak out when she saw the cones that would limit the dance space, and were not visually appealing. She did, but only for a second. She then realized- what was she going to do? There was nothing she could do, but throw up her hands and say "It is what it is." It also helped, that when her wedding coordinator told her about it, she also mentioned that her bridesmaids were alerady all on the floor dancing. The wedding coordinator told her that the band wasn't even playing dance music, but her friends were already cutting a rug. The bride knew at this point that the rain wouldn't stand in her way of having a great party.

All night people were coming up to her telling her that she had the most amazing friends. Her guests told her that her friends and especially BMs were what made the party. We were on the dance floor all night long, and no one cared about the damp grass that your shoe may have gotten stuck in, or the dirt at the bottom of the gown's dress- we did what we came to do- have an amazing time. Another BM told Bride #7, that the bride sets the tone for the wedding. Someone there told me that the "kids" (I love how we are in our late 20's or early 30's but are still referred to as "kids") set the tone. Either way, all of us set the party tone in a big way. Morral of the story is- don't let the weather affect you (or your bride). We think in this case, it gave us more incentive to party even harder to show Mother Nature she couldn't rain on our parade.

Happy Bridesmaiding!