Erica’s Last Sail Before the Veil

This summer, I helped throw my friend Erica a bachelorette party in Newport, Rhode Island. Since we were going to be on the water all weekend, I suggested we have a nautical theme. After some brainstorming, we decided to call the weekend Erica’s last sail before the veil. Bridget and I spent the three days after Slesh’s wedding and before Erica’s bachelorette weekend in full blown errand mode. There’s no such thing as too many party props, right? Erica's Last Sail Before the Veil: PropsI took Friday off from work and drove down to Newport with Bridget and Ashley. When we arrived, we checked in (party props in tow) to our hotel, The Newport. Erica's Last Sail Before the Veil: The NewportWe decided to head down to Bowen’s Wharf and eat an early lunch before settling in to the hotel. We went to The Lobster Bar, and I enjoyed a lobster salad and a cocktail with a view. It was a perfect day, and the ocean was gorgeous. Erica's Last Sail Before the Veil: Lobster BarErica's Last Sail Before the Veil: The LandingErica's Last Sail Before the Veil: The Landing After lunch, we went back to the hotel to decorate and set up before everyone else arrived. First we put the party bags filled with champagne, leis, snacks, koozies, straws, and more out on display. Erica's Last Sail Before the Veil: Party BagsNext we strung thongs, condoms, and a pair of bride underwear across the room. Erica's Last Sail Before the Veil We also got busy with balloons, streamers, and other decorations that I probably shouldn’t post on this blog. Erica's Last Sail Before the Veil: DecoratingWhen Erica arrived there was a lot of screaming and giggling. And a one piece pajama set to go nicely with the underwear. Erica's Last Sail Before the Veil: PajamasOur first destination once everyone arrived was the Castle Hill Inn. Holy gorgeous waterfront. We spent a couple of hours just lounging on the lawn with fun cocktails, catching up, and enjoying another beautiful view. Erica's Last Sail Before the Veil: Castle Hill Inn Erica's Last Sail Before the Veil: Castle Hill Inn Erica's Last Sail Before the Veil: Castle Hill Inn After our lovely afternoon, we went back to the hotel to get ready for dinner at the Gas Lamp Grille. The dress code for the night was Erica in red, everyone else in black! We also sported light up rings from the party bag. Erica's Last Sail Before the Veil: Friday Night During dinner, Erica’s sister gave a little toast, we drank out of inappropriate straws, and we clinked cheers many times! Erica's Last Sail Before the Veil: Gas LampAfter dinner it was time to dance! We walked over to Studio 3, which is a nightclub that has a CATWALK. Let’s just say a lot of time was spent up there. Here are some gems from the night: Erica's Last Sail Before the Veil: Studio 3Erica's Last Sail Before the Veil: Studio 3 Erica's Last Sail Before the Veil: Studio 3Erica's Last Sail Before the Veil: Studio 3Erica's Last Sail Before the Veil: Studio 3It was such a fun night! When we got back to the hotel, there was a lot of snacking and snuggling before we all went to bed. Erica's Last Sail Before the Veil: BedtimeWhen we woke up on Saturday, it was a little overcast, so we took our time getting up and at em. Bridget and I did a bagel run for everyone, and eventually we all made our way to the beach. We spent the afternoon just lounging, snacking, drinking mimosas, and playing a fun bachlorette game that Erica’s sister put together where she asked Chris to answer questions ahead of time, and we had to see how many Erica would get right. Erica's Last Sail Before the Veil: MimosaErica's Last Sail Before the Veil: Beach DayAfter our beach day, it was time to get ready for the second night of festivities. Our Saturday night dress code was even more intense than Friday’s. Enter matching tank tops and sailor hats. Erica's Last Sail Before the Veil: Tank TopsWe had a few drinks at the hotel while playing a few more games and taking a look at the scavenger hunt that our friend Eileen put together for the night. Erica's Last Sail Before the Veil: Scavenger HuntThen we were off! Next up on our agenda was a sunset cruise. While we were waiting for our boat to arrive, Erica did some scavenging. Yes, that’s one of our party props you see: Erica's Last Sail Before the Veil: Scavenger HuntOur outfits were seriously a huge hit among passerby! Erica's Last Sail Before the Veil: Matching Sailor OutfitsErica's Last Sail Before the Veil: Me and TrinaWe boarded our boat, The Rum Runner, around 7pm for an hour long cruise around the harbor. The boat had snacks and rum punch, and it was a really fun activity to add to our night. Erica's Last Sail Before the Veil: Rum RunnerErica's Last Sail Before the Veil: Rum RunnerErica's Last Sail Before the Veil: Rum RunnerErica's Last Sail Before the Veil: Rum RunnerErica's Last Sail Before the Veil: Bridal partyErica's Last Sail Before the Veil: Rum Runner Newport After our boat docked, it was time for dinner at Jo’s American Bistro. We didn’t just take any transportation to dinner though! Erica's Last Sail Before the Veil: Carraige I could not stop laughing the entire ride sitting on Katrina and Kelly’s laps! Dinner that night was perfect, and I’m bummed I didn’t take any pictures during it! The food was great and right up my alley. I ordered the salmon, and it was served with couscous, red quinoa, lemon and feta cheese, kale, and a citrus salad. Another bachelorette thing we did during dinner was take turns going around the table to each say something we love about Erica. Mine was how she is always up for a fun activity – no matter what!

After dinner, we concluded our night at a couple of different bars. First up was the Boom Boom Room, which made me feel super old. They had a TV at the bar that showed footage of the dance floor, and it was hilarious to watch! We only went there for one drink before heading to One Pelham East to dance to a live band for the rest of the night. Erica’s sister even got to go on stage and sing with the band for Billy Jean! So cool. Erica's Last Sail Before the Veil: One Pelham EastOn Sunday, those of us who didn’t have to leave early did one last brunch at the Atlantic Beach Club before heading home.

Erica’s bachelorette was such a fun weekend, and everything went so smoothly! I know I’m a few months late in recapping the weekend since it took place in July, but it was fun going back through my pictures while writing this post. I still have shower and all my besties’ weddings to write about, but I’ll save those for another time.

–Let’s chat– Have you ever been to Newport? What’s your favorite thing to do there? Tell me about the bachelorette or bachelor parties you’ve been to this year, if any!

For other bachelorette fun, check out:

Slesh’s NYC Bachelorette Party

Um, I can’t believe I still haven’t recapped Slesh’s bachelorette party that was two months ago. I suppose I should now since her WEDDING is this weekend! Ahh!

Slesh’s bachelorette weekend was in NYC, so I took that Friday off to hit the gym and do some last-minute things in the morning. Bridget picked me up in the rental car (don’t ask), and we loaded it up to the max.

Slesh's Bachelorette Party: Leaving for NYC

Whenever Bridget, Erica, and I are involved in party planning, you can pretty much guarantee an excessive amount of snacks and party props. Check out the bachelorette survival bags I put together!

Slesh's NYC bachelorette: survival bags

The ride to New York was pretty awful. There was SO much traffic because it was a big graduation weekend, and it was raining. By the time we arrived, we were definitely ready for a drink!

Slesh's NYC Bachelorette

We got ready and enjoyed some adult bevvies in the room (we stayed at The Andaz Wall Street where Erica’s wedding is in September) before heading out to our first stop of the night, Beauty & Essex.

Slesh's NYC Bachelorette: Beauty and Essex

Beauty & Essex was probably the coolest restaurant I’ve ever been to in my life. It looks like nothing from the outside, and it looks like a pawn shop when you first walk in (where we are standing in the picture above). But once you walk through the next door, boom. Fancy shmancy, loud music, fun vibe. The best part about Beauty & Essex though? Free champagne in the bathroom.

Slesh's NYC Bachlorette: Beauty & Essex

As you can imagine, we had to pee a LOT throughout our meal. 😉

Slesh's NYC Bachelorette: Beauty and Essex

When we weren’t in the bathroom, we were enjoying the small plates we ordered to share among the table. I love doing this so everyone can try many different items on the menu. My favorite were these lobster tacos!

Slesh's NYC Bachelorette: Beauty and Essex 2

My least favorite? The lemon drop shots.

Slesh's NYC Bachelorette: Beauty and Essex 3

After dinner, we headed to our next stop, The Delancey. We had a table reservation for 12:30am after dinner, and we also got table service.

Slesh's NYC Bachelorette: The Delancey

I’m pretty sure that our group literally jumped around and danced all over the place right next to this table for the rest of our night out.

Slesh's NYC Bachelorette: The Delancey

Slesh's NYC Bachelorette: The Delancey

Slesh's NYC Bachelorette: The Delancey

Slesh's NYC Bachelorette: The Delancey

Slesh's NYC Bachelorette: The Delancey

Slesh's NYC Bachelorette: The Delancey

We took some HILARIOUS pictures afterwards in the hotel room with our “party prop,” but Slesh probably won’t appreciate me sharing those in the blogosphere, so I’ll just leave it to this.

Slesh's NYC Bachelorette

On Saturday, we somehow managed to wake up bright and early for our next bachelorette activity: wine tour! Our limo picked us up at 9am, and we headed out for the drive to three different vineyards on Long Island: Baiting Hollow Farm Vineyard, Puglise Vineyards, and Vineyard 48.

Slesh's NYC Bachelorette: Wine Tour

We thought these three vineyards made the perfect lineup for the bride to be because the first had animals, the second had pretty scenery and lunch, and the third had a DJ with dancing potential if we wanted it! We kicked off our limo ride with some classy mimosas, enjoyed straight out of the cute cups Ashley put together for everyone. Bachelorette straws were a must!

Slesh's NYC Bachelorette: Wine Tour

Slesh's NYC Bachelorette Straws

Since we had two hours to kill before arriving at the first vineyard, we played a fun game. Everyone brought Slesh some type of underwear, lingerie, or pajamas, and she had to guess who gave her each item. This was pretty funny, especially when we got to the granny panties!

Slesh's NYC Bachelorette: Wine Tour Limo Ride

Note the shirts that Bridget had made for us to wear. They said “Keep Calm and Marry Will.” They were a hit throughout the day!

Slesh's NYC Bachelorette: Wine Tour

Here are some more pictures from winery #1:

Slesh's NYC Bachelorette Party: Wine TourSlesh's NYC Bachelorette Party: Wine TourSlesh's NYC Bachelorette: Wine Tour

Slesh's NYC Bachelorette: Wine Tour

Winery #2:

Slesh's NYC Bachelorette: Wine Tour Slesh's NYC Bachelorette Party: Wine Tour

And winery #3, where we ran into another bachelorette party from the same hometown as Slesh! What are the odds?

Slesh's NYC Bachelorette: Wine TourSlesh's NYC Bachelorette: Wine Tour

Slesh's NYC Bachelorette Party: Wine Tour

If you are planning a bachelorette party, I would highly recommend something like a limo wine tour for an outdoor spring activity. We had perfect weather, and it was a great time! Our ride home definitely wasn’t as eventful or full of as many activities as the ride there was though. We were tired!

Slesh's NYC Bachelorette: Wine Tour

After we got back from the wine tour, the festivities continued. We only had about an hour of downtime before dinner, so we took a quick power nap and got ready for the second night. Our dinner reservation at La Palapa, a Mexican restaurant. Lots of tacos and margaritas were consumed!

Slesh's NYC Bachelorette: La Palapa

After dinner, we spent the rest of the night bar hopping between three different places.

Slesh's NYC Bachelorette: BarsSlesh's NYC Bachelorette: BarsSlesh's NYC Bachelorette

Each bar was much lower key than Friday night was, but that didn’t mean our night was any less fun or crazy! All in all, I would say Slesh’s bachelorette weekend went off without a hitch, and our almost bride to be had a great weekend… clearly! 😉

Slesh's NYC Bachelorette

The ride back to Boston on Sunday was probably one of the longest and worst car rides of my life (so much traffic, we were all SO tired and cranky, headaches all around, etc.), but it was totally worth it for my friend’s celebration. I also think it took me until the following weekend to recover from how little sleep I got! I guess that’s a late twenties kind of thing. There’s no quick recovery anymore.

I am so excited to celebrate Slesh and Will at their big day this weekend!

–Let’s chat–
I want to hear more about the bachelorette parties you’ve been to. Anyone done any similar types of wine tours, etc.?
Who else takes a week to recover from a fun weekend now? What would you put in a bachelorette survival kit?

After Slesh’s wedding weekend, it’s time for Erica’s bachelorette! So many ACTIVITIES to be excited for. 🙂

Katrina’s Bridal Shower and Bachelorette

I’m playing more catch up today! Today’s recap is dedicated to my friend Katrina’s bridal shower and bachelorette party. Since both of these festivities took place on the Saturday of Cinco de Mayo weekend, a lot of the day was Mexican themed. Trina loves margaritas and going out for Mexican food, so there couldn’t have been a more perfect theme for her.

The bridal shower was held at the cutest little restaurant called The Corner Stop Eatery in Cohasset, MA. When we walked in, we were instructed to “check the sheet for our seat” and “take some flair for our hair.”

Katrina's Bridal Shower: Seating

Katrina's Bridal Shower

I loved the idea of giving every guest a flower to wear in their hair. Also, how gorgeous is that cake? Katrina’s sister made it herself! Very impressive. Anyways, my seat assignment was with the rest of the Boston Babes, and we had a great view of Katrina’s grand entrance.

Katrina's Bridal Shower: Boston Babes

Katrina's Bridal Shower: Boston babes

Katrina's Bridal Shower: Entrance

Katrina's Bridal Shower: Trina and Geoff

Before our meal, Katrina’s family made sure everyone enjoyed some delicious margaritas and bloody marys. Nothing wrong with having a few of these at 11am!

Katrina's Bridal Shower: Margaritas

I didn’t snap any pictures of the food, but everything was delicious, and I really liked having a menu of a few different options to choose from. We ordered a couple of flatbreads for our table to share, and I got a big salad. While Katrina opened her presents, the guests all played bridal bingo. It was fun trying to listen for different Katrina-isms, and a few different winners won sangria as a prize!

Katrina's Bridal Shower: Bridal Bingo

Here’s Katrina opening an embarrassing present from me, Slesh, and Bridget:

Katrina's Bridal Shower: Presents

And a group shot of the Boston babes with our bride to be!

Katrina's Bridal Shower: Boston Friends

Finally, before we left, we each made sure to grab the cutest little party favors, hot sauce bottles that said “short and spicy, just like the bride.”

Katrina's Bridal Shower: Hot Sauce

After the shower, 25 girls (yes, 25!) headed to Cambridge to regroup at our hotel and get ready for the next part of the day: pole dancing!

Katrina's Bachelorette: Pole Dancing

For anyone looking for pole dancing classes in the Boston area, Gypsy Rose in Allston was really fun and hilarious. When we got there, the owner and instructor had us sit on the floor in a big circle. She opened the class by doing a dance in the middle of the circle for us (so awk!). For the rest of the time, we divided into two groups. Half of us learned how to spin on the pole while the other half learned a chair dance, and then we switched. At the end, Katrina had to get in the middle of the circle and show off all her new moves!

Katrina's Bachelorette: Pole Dancing

Katrina's Bachelorette: Pole Dancing

Here are some other gems:

Katrina's Bachelorette: Pole Dancing 1

Katrina's Bachelorette Party: Pole Dancing

Katrina's Bachelorette: Gypsy Rose

This was a great idea for a bachelorette activity, and I definitely recommend it as long as the bride is okay with being the center of attention. Also, this would actually be a really good workout if you can get more pole and dancing time. It wouldn’t be my go to, but my arms were sore the next day, so I think it would be fun (and funny) to do every once in a while.

After pole dancing, we went back to the hotel again to get ready for the rest of the night. Once we were dolled up, we called cabs and headed to Patrons (formerly Big City) for a Mexican dinner.

Katrina's Bachelorette Party: Cabs

Patrons was one of the only Mexican restaurants in the city that could accommodate a group of our size, and the management did an excellent job making sure we had everything we needed. Mainly, margs!

Katrina's Bachelorette: Patrons

Katrina's Bachelorette: Me and Slesh

Katrina's Bachelorette: Ashley and Bridget

Katrina's Bachelorette Party: Patrons

Katrina's Bachelorette Party: Weymouth

Once dinner was done, it was time for the party bus!

Katrina's Bachelorette: Party Bus

The rest of the night was filled with a lot of dancing and singing, Backstreet Boys music, drinks, pinatas, blow up dolls, beads, straws, sombreros, and more as the party bus drove us up and down the streets of Boston.

Katrina's Bachelorette: party bus

Katrina's Bachelorette: Sisters

Katrina's Bachelorette: Black Rose

Katrina's Bachelorette: Me and Bridget

Katrina's Bachelorette: Family

Katrina's Bachelorette

Katrina's Bachelorette: Party Bus

We only stopped at two bars throughout the night, The Black Rose and The Times. I took a lot more pictures, but Trina will kill me if I share the others in this public space.

All in all, it was a successful shower and bachelorette for our soon to be bride! I can honestly say this was one of the funniest and funnest nights I’ve had in a long, long time. So fun!

Katrina's Bachelorette Party

Can’t wait to party at Trina and Geoff’s wedding in less than two weeks!

–Let’s chat–
Do you prefer margaritas or bloody marys? When’s the last time you went to a bachelorette party? What activities were planned? Have you ever taken a pole dancing class or been on a party bus before?

I hadn’t done either until this bachelorette party. Check and check!