Recap time. We celebrated May's Bachelorette Beach Bash with nine ladies, and it was a super fun weekend. First things first, I don't travel without an itinerary. Two thumbs down to being on VACATION somewhere BEAUTIFUL and wasting time asking yourself, what should we do now? I wonder what's good around here for dinner? I'm all for over planning and not needing than wasting time, because we only have so much of it. So without further adoi, here was our weekend itinerary (copy and pasted directly from Gmail with commentary) for those of you planning beach bachelorettes or just a fun weekend at Carolina Beach (Recap when Hank & I went here).
Friday
• Lunch at Surfhouse around 12. Such a fresh spot. Really great farm-to-table eats.
• Beach / Pool / Hot Tub
• Check into the hotel at 4 p.m. Courtyard Carolina Beach is pretty much the best option. All rooms are oceanfront, and we had a conjoining room + suite which worked out great. Oh, and most importantly, everything is within walking distance.
• Decorate; get settled in and ready to celebrate
• Dinner at 8 p.m. at Seawitch (Super casual and pretty cheap dinner spot; band; dancing)
• Hotel action: pregame / gift / game
• Night out at The Dive Bar
Saturday
• Brunch at Kate's Pancake House (home of the fabulous pink brick wall for photos)
• Beach / Pool / Hot Tub
• Explore shops on the Boardwalk + CB Surf Shop + Artful Living (There's a pretty good group photo opp on the Boardwalk too).
• We were so full from brunch we skipped lunch but did have room for ice cream at Squigley's and / or must-have donuts from Britt's
• Get ready for the evening
• Happy Hour at dive bar, Fat Pelican (I love that place so much; pack a Sharpie to sign your name)
• Dinner at 7:30 p.m. at Havana's (Nicer dinner spot; we all wore hot pink dresses)
• Hotel action: pregame / gift / game
• Sparklers on the beach
• Night out at some karaoke spots on the Boardwalk + The Dive Bar (again!)
Sunday
• Beach
• Brunch at the Ocean Grill and Tiki Bar (featured in Our State magazine; awesome bar at the end of the pier right over the water)
Highlights and game ideas...
Beach signage! Everything from the invitations to the beach signage to the room decor matched. As did a blast from the past photo of each lady with the bride that we strung together and hung on the wall. Oh, the memories.
Pyramids on the beach... A must do.
I'm always down for a Photo Booth. I use a cheap portable coat rack from Wal-Mart and put streamers and sparkly garland over it. Etsy is a great spot for props or make them yourself.
We even brought along an old-school Polaroid with new school film from Urban Outfitters (in gold and silver) so everyone could take a souvenir photo with the bride-to-be back home with them.
Everyone signed up to bring snacks galore. We had homemade salsa, pimiento cheese, a popcorn bar, drunken gummy bears, rice krispy treats, etc. This assured no one ever got hangry. That's clutch.
The first night we gifted 'Pineapple Panties'. I hand painted matching paper bags and everyone brought a pair of panties that described their relationship with the bride. Anything from Carolina blue to represent times at UNC to patriotic to represent a stellar July 4th party. The bride had to guess who brought what, of course.
As for the game, we played the classic 20 questions where we asked the groom questions in advance, and we had to see how the bride and groom matched up. This bride and groom got an A+. There was a tiny prize for that game - a #LillyForTarget nail file (because really, that's all that was left at Target at that point). But really everyone got a prize as the bride and I went in on the most sparkly cups that we had monogrammed for all the ladies. They're even making a reappearance on the wedding day.
That was our Friday night gift + game. On Saturday, the bride opened a beach bag filled with all things monogrammed (as you'll see below). Each person signed up what they were stuffing the bag with on a Google Doc to assure minimal duplicates. As for the game, this one is pretty much my favorite. You write one of the bride's favorite things... Mexican, calligraphy, kate spade, etc. on sheets of paper - enough for each person. Then each person draws a card, and you have to draw a man part (blog PC!?) to the theme of that card. So for kate spade, a bow, stripes, you get the idea. Then the bride has to guess what in the world the theme of that man part is. Then once she's guessed all, she picks her favorite one. This game seriously cracks me up. The creativity and artistic renderings never cease to amaze. The chosen one also got a #LillyForTarget nail file.
One of my favorite parts of the weekend was definitely decking out in glow sticks on Saturday night and playing on the beach with sparklers before going out. The wind was intense so we were thankful a group was starting a beach bonfire so we could light those sparklers up.
While I loved all of the weekend, one of my favorites was definitely this: On Sunday morning, myself and two of the girls ventured out to bring coffee back to our group. Our conversation in line was all about church and small groups and our favorite church songs. When we went to pay for our coffee, the man behind us said, "I've got this. I've been listening to your conversation in line, and followers of Jesus are friends of mine. Christianity is a place in your heart that you go all week, and Sundays are just the celebration." Even typing this causes me to tear up just as it did that morning. His generosity was just a glimpse of a whole lot of goodness in the world. I'm so ready to pay it forward.
Cheers to a great weekend and a bride whose energy and laughter really made it one to remember. Email me at mrsloveslife@gmail.com if you need any bachelorette party ideas - I love them.
