Nailed It!

As many of you know, I’m a huge fan of bachelorette party games. Very often I ask the girls attending the bachelorette party to bring a little honeymoon gift for the bride and she has to guess who it’s from. It can be anything – from G rated sunscreen or an underwater camera to X rated condoms, edible underwear or something else fun from the back room at Ricky’s. Similarly, many of you have played the game where each attendee brings a pair of undies for the bride, and she has to guess who each one is from.

However, two of my friends recently went to a bachelorette party in Miami where they played a similar game- yet it was something I had never heard of before. The bride is obsessed with manicures and getting her nails done- so they all had to bring her a nail polish color, and she had to guess who it was from based on the name of the polish. I thought this was so creative and clever, especially for this bride. When I asked what happened if the color was something ugly and out there, they said, “No big deal- she loves different and unique colors!” Plus, nail polishes are only about $8, so not too much skin off anyone’s back. And lucky for us NYers, Essie and OPI are sold in many of our local drug stores.

Keep in mind that the colors to purchase for this activity are not a wedding related. If so, everyone would be buying BLUSHING BRIDE, BACHELORETTE BASH, HAPPILY EVER AFTER, MIMOSAS FOR MR. AND MRS. and you might even get one smart alec who buys STARTER WIFE or TROPHY WIFE.

Here are some examples of the types of BMs who may be in your wedding party, and the coordinating colors they may buy.

Pollyanna BM. ETERNAL OPTOMIST
Party Girl BM: FIESTA
Class Clown BM: IN STITCHES
Jersey (or Texas) BM: BIG HAIR…BIG NAILS
Shopaholic BM: BIG SPENDER
Center of Attention BM: LET ME ENTERTAIN YOU
Opinionated BM: MY WAY
Dancing BM: FOOT LOOSE
Desperate-to-be-the-next-Bride BM: SHOW ME THE RING
Sun Worshipping BM: BEACH BUM BLU
Overachiever BM: BROWNIE POINTS
Argumentative BM: DEVIL'S ADVOCATE
Sexy Not Slutty BM: LACY NOT RACY
Flower Girl: CUTE AS A BUTTON

And if you want to throw her off, and have her fiancé send in a color as well? Well, then there’s no question in my mind, it’s obviously SOLEMATE.

What do you think? Would your bride like this activity? What color would you get?
Happy Bridesmaiding!

Valentine's Day Sale

Valentine's Day has come and gone. Wheather you spent the day/night with your signigificant others, or your BFFs, one thing is for certain today. All of the heart shaped goodies in your local grocery stores, drug stores and card stores will go on sale. And while it's a good time to stock your office candy drawer with some on sale sweets- don't forget you should ABB, Always Be Bridesmaiding. This is also the perfect time to stock up on heart-shaped shower & bachelorette supplies. Oriental Trading is one of my favorite (and inexpsinve) places to get my materials. I perused their site for Valentine's Day goodies that could easily translate to Bachelorette parties.

Heart shaped rings that make great favors for the gals to wear out at night.)
Rose shaped soap set can be a prize for a winner of a shower game

Heart shaped cake mold is a great G-rated alternative for the bachelorette pary

Feather boas make excellent props for Karaoke Bachelorette parties

Lip decoration cake toppers add a little pizzaz to your cupcakes

Happy Bridesmaiding!

Say What? Karaoke!

When I met Bride #8 a little over five years ago, I learned about her love of karaoke. After my 26th karaoke birthday party a few months later, she told me she wanted karaoke for her bachelorette party. Considering she just got married last month – you can see how far in advance she was planning, and how serious her love was.

So when another friend and I were planning her big night out, we knew that karaoke was a definite- but what type of place? For Bride #5, we did karaoke in a dive bar in Chicago and had an amazing night blasting out 80’s tunes, but only got to get up and sing two songs on stage. (Plus, we definitely had a few cocktails first to give us the courage to do so). In this case though, we opted for one of the great private rooms available in the many karaoke bars in Manhattan. I like this option, as you get to sing All Night Long (pun intended), without any boos or having to share the spotlight. Many places offer all you can drink packages or have small minimum spending requirements- so that gives you plenty of opportunity for liquid courage.

Whenever I go out and do karaoke, it's a no brainer for me. I always singing Livin' on A Prayer. Bon Jovi is my all-time favorite band, it's my all-time favorite song, and it's always guaranteed to get the crowd fist pumping and singing along. But sometimes when I get in a private karaoke room- I can't think of any other songs to program in the queue. So before Bride #8's Big Karaoke Bachelorette Party, I googled the best karaoke songs, consulted a few karaoke experts and devised my own list. Everyone that night was impressed with how prepared I was, and it made it so easy to get the night started.

I've also been to my fair share of karaoke birthday parties in private rooms and picked up a few tricks there that work great for bachelorette parties. I went to Party City and picked up some inflatable instruments and microphones that make for great props. (If your budget is a little larger, you can get wigs, sunglasses, etc- think of fun bar mitzvah give-aways). At one other party, we ended the night in a big circle swaying from side to side singing That's What Friends are For. If that doesn't float your boat, you can use the other bat-mitzvah ending song and rock out to Last Dance.

I thought I would share the list here, so all of my readers could use it as a starting point to come prepared for any bachelorette parties they have coming up. Warning though- my taste is cheesey but honestly, I've tried before and singing songs like Poker Face are not that easy- but it might be worth a shot and quite apropos to give Single Ladies a try.

Livin’ on A Prayer by Bon Jovi
Oops I Did It Again by Britney Spears

Start Me Up by The Rolling Stones
Man, I Feel Like a Woman by Shania Twain

Girls Just Wanna Have Fun by Cindy Lauper
I Love Rock'n'Roll! by Joan Jett
Like A Prayer by Madonna

It's In His Kiss by Cher
What's Love Got To Do With It by Tina Turner
If I could Turn Back Time by Cher
That Don't Impress Me Much by Shania Twain
YMCA by The Village People
Here Without You by 3 Doors Down
Hungry Like a Wolf by Duran Duran
I Wanna Know What Love Is by Foreigner
All Out of Love by Air Supply
Yellow Submarine by The Beatles

Mamma Mia by Abba
Shoop by Salt N Pepa
Thriller by Michael Jackson
Summer of '69 by Bryan Adams
Pour Some Sugar on Me by Def Leopard
More Than Words by Extreme
Keep On Loving You by REO Speedwagon
You Were Always On My Mind by Willie Nelson
Open Arms by Journey
Build me up Buttercup by The Foundations
(I can't get no) Satisfaction by The Rolling Stones
Sweet Caroline by Neil Diamond
Cecilia by Simon & Garfunkel
Don't Stop Believing by Journey
We Didn’t Start The Fire by Billy Joel
Born To Be Wild by Steppenwolf
Shook me all Night Long by ACDC
I’m Too Sexy by Right Said Fred
American Pie by Don MacLean
Vogue by Madonna
She’s a Lady by Tom Jones
Rhythm of the Night by Debarge
I Want it That Way by The Backstreet Boys
Gloria
867-5309 (Jenny)
Jessie’s Girl

It's Raining Men

I Will Survive
I Think We’re Alone Now by Tiffany
All Night Long by Lionel Ritchie
Summer Lovin' from Grease

Seasons of Love from RENT
Light My Candle from RENT
I’ve Had the Time of My Life Bill Medley/ Jennifer Warner
Proud Mary by Ike and Tina Turner
I Will Survive by Gloria Gaynor
I Will Always Love You by Whitney Houston
Baby One More Time by Britney Spears
Like a Virgin by Madonna

What's your favorite karaoke song to sing? Am I missing anything obvious?

Happy Bridesmaiding!

Destination Bachelorette Party- Where To Go?

Happy New Year! SuperBridesmaid is officially back, apologizes for her hiatus and ready to kick off 2011. How else to I plan to start the year, well- with at least 5 weddings this year and most likely, my 9th time being a bridesmaid. One of my best friend sinces I am six years old (she sat behind me in first grade and likes to tell people how she cleaned out my desk) got engaged a few months ago and is now planning a fall NYC wedding.

We were chatting the other day, and of course being the super planner that I am, started asking about her bachelorette party (even before I’ve been asked to stand up on her big day). She told me she’d love a girls’ getaway weekend. Her parents have a house in the Hamptons, our other best friend’s parents have a house in the Berkshires, and we used to do a share in Fire Island, so all of those places have been eliminated because she rather do something new and exciting. So it’s time to put my thinking cap on! I’ve definitely done a few destination bachelorette parties in my time—we went back to our college alma mater (Indiana University in Bloomington, IN) for Bride #3; Long Branch, NJ for Bride #4, Chicago, IL for Bride #5 (destination for me, most of the wedding party lived there), and Newport, RI for Bride #6 so this is not a new concept.

Once my friend asks her bridesmaids, we’ll be able to get together and start brainstorming. I know we’ll find the right type of place, that’s not too sceney, doesn’t rely on a beach as the sole form of entertainment, and is easy enough to get to. Wherever we decide, I know that when it comes time to go, I’ll have a hard time taking a small suitcase! Packing the penis straws and bachelorette balloons is the easy part, but deciding what outfits to chose may be a harder feat (I love having options!). I’ll absolutely turn to my friend Rachel’s amazing new blog- Suitcase Secrets, which gives fantastic fashion and travel advice, she’ll help you pack the best outfits for any destination. Rachel beats me out as she’s been a BM 14 times, has been on numerous destination bachelorette parties (and even gives great advice on them here) and we’ve “served” together 3 times (more than any of my other co-BMs) so we make an awesome team. I’ll keep you posted on what we decide, but please let me know your favorite bachelorette destination spots. Happy Bridesmaiding!

Fun Photos on Animoto

You've had an amazing time at the bachelorette party, shower or even the wedding, but what do you do next? Well, if you are anything like me- you were basically the photographer of the event (or paid photographer's shadow at the wedding) and now you have about a zillion pictures to share with everyone. Sure you could upload them to the the plethera of sites out there like Kodak Gallery, Picassa, Snapfish, etc. and they'll obviously go up on Facebook, but have you ever thought of doing something a little different? Taking it one step further?

If the answer is yes- then you should definitely check out Animoto. Animoto takes your pictures (and video clips if you have them) and produces amazing quality videos set to music that look extremely professional, yet it's not difficult to use. To quote their website, it's "Fast, free, and shockingly easy." All you need to get started is your own pictures and an mp3 of the song you want to use. I made an Animoto video last year for Bride #8's bachelorette party, and set it to Lady Gaga's "Just Dance"- one of the songs we rocked out to all night long. (They have stock songs on the site, but you can also provide your own.) I would share that video, but Bride #8 would probably defriend me for life, so instead, I'm going to share the samples from Animoto's website. It's just a fun, different way to share your pictures with everyone, one that your bride is sure to love.

Happy Bridesmaiding!

P.S. Thanks to H in Atlanta, one of my mom's best friends from growing up (and bridesmaid circa 1973) who introduced me to this site. H was always taking pictures of our family vacations growing up and made them into VHS videos accompanies by music. Now that we've entered the digital age, she's taught me about great sites like this!

Cooking Class Bachelorette Parties

For those of you who read the Styles section today, you may have come across this interesting article-- Bachelorette Cooking Parties (Girls Gone Mild!). The article talks about the surge of more mild bachelorette parties that entail cooking classes instead of strip clubs. We did this three years ago for Bride #3, and it was such a hit. I highly reccomend this activity for your more tame brides, who may not be in to taking shots and staying out all night.

We went to Miette's Culinary Studio in the West Village. It was an adorable little kitchen and dining room. We split up in to groups and were all responsible for different courses. It's BYOB, so we were able to keep costs down by picking up a few bottles of Two Buck Chuck, and of course brought some festive bachelorette decorations (i.e. mardi gras beads, penis straws, etc). After we cooked, we were able to relax and enjoy our delicious meal and great company as we were served by Miette's staff, and then they took care of cleaning up. We all got copies of the menu and recipe to take home with us.

You can make this even more fun by making custom aprons for the group. Bride #3's father is in the premiums business, so he made all of us aprons that say "Not milk?" because Groom #3 has a severe lactose allergy. The bride had a special apron that said "Groom #3's Chef". We all had a great time at our custom dinner, enjoy some of the pictures from the night below!

In addition to the places listed in the article, I have also heard really great things about the DJ Chef who comes to you and plays awesome party music while cooking up a storm.

Have you ever done a cooking bachelorette party? Would you? What do you think?

Happy Bridesmaiding!

Marriage Advice for...

When I was interviewed by WeTV.com’s Dubious bride, I talked about some really fun ways to customize a bachelorette party at a low cost. One of my favorite “free” activities is to give marriage advice in the form of an acrostic poem. You know the kind, you did it as a kid, where you write the letters of a word vertically and then come up with sentences or phrases for each letter.

This can get a little tricky with the name of the bride and groom, so you may have to be a little creative. The goal is for you to have the exact number of letters that you have people attending the bachelorette party (minus the bride of course). What do I mean by that? Well, if you have a lot of people attending you can add their last name? If their first names are really short, you can use the word “and” but if their names are long you can use “&” or “N”. See my example below for Elizabeth and Jeffrey Smith:

7 people: “Liz & Jeff”
10 people: “Liz and Jeff”
13 people: “Liz ‘n Jeff Smith”
16 people: “Elizabeth & Jeffrey”

You pass the piece of paper around a circle (this is great to do while at a restaurant or hanging out pre-gaming) and then end it with the bride and she has to read it out loud. By passing in a circle, everyone goes in order so you don’t have people “calling” letters.

If you are at an elegant brunch, you may want to keep the advice tasteful and write things like “Never go to bed angry” or “Happy Wife, Happy Life”...but when alcohol gets involved, it’s pretty fun to make it a little more X related.

Happy Bridesmaiding!

WeTV.com's Dubious Bride gives Customized Bachelorette Party Ideas

SuperBridemaid was recently interviewed by WeTV.'s Dubious Bride on how to customize a Bachelorette party. Click here for the complete article and to read other great posts by The Dubious Bride and The Savvy Mrs.


Happy Bridesmaiding!

Custom Cocktails

What's one of the most important aspects of a bachelorette party? If you answered drinking- you are correct. And what's more fun and festive than having a custom cocktail for your bride-to-be? Here's a chance for you to be creative and use her personality and name to make the drink apropos.

I got this idea from my friend Katie's sister. Katie always signs her name "KT" in e-mails, and her MOH used it at her bachelorete party by serving everyone "K-Tinis." The first time I made a custom cocktail was this past summer at Bride #6's bachelorette prty. Her name is Stephanie, so I served "Stepha-tinis." We bought her a plastic martini glass with a veil, and plain ones for the rest of us. I got a recipe from Work Bride #2 and made a delicious beverage that consisted of Nuvo and champagne. The drink was festively pink and bubbly and got us all off to a good start for the night!

For Bride #7's Bachelorette Party- we did something a little different. Bride #7 used to have an alter-ego in college when she had a few drinks in her. Her friends called her "Lucy" when she got like this, which was short for "Lucifer." For this custom cocktail, we filled a punch bowl with Skip-N-Go-Naked (pink lemonade, cheap beer, and cheap gin) and called it "The Lucy Inducer." After all- it was only appropriate that Lucy reappear on Bride #7's last night out as a single lady. (And no, she did not skip, nor did she go naked that night, but Lucy did come out!)

So my advice is to use your friend's name, personality traits or even future name to come up with a fun drink name. Use her favorite color or just use pink to go with the bachelorette party decorations. And if all else fails, you can always just call it a COCKtail and drink it with fun straws.

Happy Bridesmaiding!

Where To Get Supplies

As I prepare for bachelorette parties, I'm always running around the city picking up supplies at different stores, or perusing the Internet looking for the best buys. People at the parties are always asking "where did you find this?" so I figured I would share the wealth.

All New Yorkers know that the back room of Ricky's NYC is a bachelorette party gold mine. As long as you can muster up the courage to venture past the door beads and the "Adults Only" sign- you can find all the ingredients you need to make a successful bachelorette party including name tags, goody bags, penis straws, veils, bachelorette t-shirts and napkins, etc. Ricky's is great, because almost every neighborhood has one, and it's a quick and easy stop. The only con is that Ricky's can be pretty pricey.

Enter Party City. There's only one in the city (14th street between 5th & 6th), but I used to live two blocks away, so that was quite convenient for me. Party City has a lot of the same things; they are just not as "X" rated as some of the things found at Ricky's. You can still find your name tags, veils, bachelorette napkins etc, as well as other necessary party supplies including glow sticks, boas, and Mardi Gras beads. If you need to set a table - Party City is great to pick up utensils, plates, napkins, balloons, crepe paper, table cloths etc in fun colors (which can also be a lot cheaper than the bachelorette napkins, or you can use them as accents). If you have time, you can even order from their website. If you sign up for their e-mail list, you can get coupons to help save you some extra dough. Here's a link to their bachelorette party merchandise, and below are a few of my favorites.

Bachelorette Party Balloons: An easy way to make the event space look festive!

Bachelorette Sash: So everyone knows who the bride to be is (perfect for your BFF who refuses to wear a veil)!

Scratch A Dare Cards: This way everyone can get in on the fun and the crazy activities!

Bride Martini Glass: Give her a special glass and make her a signature drink!

Another great resource for supplies (especially those not in NYC) is an oldie but goodie. Remember how growing up your mom ordered gifts for your birthday party goody bags from the Oriental Trading catalog? Well who knew it's now a great website to order your bachelorette party accessories from? SuperBridesmaid did! Just like Party Cirty, Oriental Trading is a great stop for items like plates, napkins, balloons etc- and is even cheaper. If you sign up for their e-mail list, they always have great offers going on including free shipping and other coupons. They always have great sales going on, and don't just look at the bachelorette items. Check out all areas on the site, I have ordered heart shaped lollypop rings before that were a big hit. Depending on the size of your party, this is a great place to order any candy for your girls' night out, as they have great deals on bulk quantities (since I know many of us don't want to schlep up to the new Costco at 116th st). Here are some of my favorites from Oriental Trading:

Bachelorette Party Pack: An easy set that has everything you need to make the party festive!

Shot glass rings: She’s got the bling, now give her a ring to hold her alcohol!

Mardi Gras beads: Make sure everyone knows you are part of the bachelorette party by giving everyone beads to wear!



What supplies and decorations are your favorites? Any good hiding spots in the city that you've found?
Happy Bridesmaiding!

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!

Bachelorette Party Tips

One of my friends and co-bridesmaids in two weddings writes a weekly blog for We TV about planning her own wedding. This week she talks about Bride #6's Bachelorette Party in Newport (mentioned below) and gives some great Bachelorette Party tips!

You should definitely check it out!

Happy Bridesmaiding!

Not going to the Bachelorette Party? No problem!

We all have busy years when we get in to Wedding Season, and sometimes we can't always go to the bachelorette party. Or, especially in this environment, some people may not be able to afford to go. Just because you can't be there, it doesn't mean you can't let the bride know that you are thinking about her. I always recommend you send a little gift to the bride to show her you are sorry you can't be there but she's special to you. Some ideas are as simple as sending a bottle of wine, champagne or dessert to the table if they go out to dinner. Other elaborate ideas include sending gift baskets to a hotel room, a gift if there's a lingerie shower, or any other special treat that you know the bride loves (i.e. if Magnolia cupcakes make her salivate, send a few her way!). Your bride will understand if you can't make it, but but getting a little gift from you will definitely make her smile. Buying a round of shots at the bar won't replace you, but it sure will help her enjoy her night!

Happy Bridesmaiding!

Bachelorette Party in Newport

I just got back from an AMAZING weekend in Newport for Bride #6's bachelorette party. There were thirteen of us (including) the bride, and it went so smoothly! Bride #6 is probably the biggest partier of all of my brides, and we always thought we would definitely be going to Vegas for her. (Or New Orleans, because this bride would definitely get lots of beads, if you know what I mean). However- this isn't the economic environment where we can all drop a grand on a bachelorette party, when many of us are getting laid off, or taking pay cuts. So, we promised Bride #6 that we would go out of town, and we did. We did it in a really fun yet economical way.

Instead of doing the usual NYC summer escape like Fire Island, the Hamptons, or Jersey Shore- we went up to Newport, RI. Newport was just a 3 1/2 hour drive away, and a really cute little town. We found a gorgeous house to rent, that fit all 13 of us (very) comfortably. The house had everything we needed, including a fantastic outdoor pool and hot tub. We were only a few blocks from town, so were able to walk to our delicious and reasonable seafood dinner. There was a club in the basement of the restaurant, so we knew exactly where to go after eating, and the restaurant even reserved a table for us. The restaurant had been recommended, and we chose the club not only because of its proximity to dinner, but because it was called The Boom Boom Room, and how do you not go to a club with that name for a party animal bride? We had so much fun there, that we stayed until the bar closed (which isn't too hard in Newport, since the bars all close at 1 AM!)

The rest of the weekend was spent hanging out at the house. We brought in bagels Saturday morning, and hung out by the pool eating chips and dip and drinking bloody marys and margaritas all day. The MOH and I collected money from everyone in advance and stocked the house with all of the food and necessities for the weekend. We bar-b-qued hot dogs and hamburgers for dinner and hung out in the house all night. We took advantage of the different rooms and had different activities and games all night long celebrating the bride.

I was nervous that we weren't going out enough for the bride, but she was so appreciative of 12 of her friends all coming out for her and celebrating her all weekend. She was so excited to just spend such quality time with her closest friends- and it was so nice to hear that. You could really tell she was so warmed and ecstatic all weekend, it makes all of your planning and hard work feel rewarded. She told us it was the best weekend of her life, but we told her, we're glad to hear that now, but hope the wedding is even better!

Happy Bridesmaiding!