Pyramid Gals Take Vegas!

Once I asked my girls to be bridesmaids, of course the first topic of conversation to come up was the bachelorette party.  Since I currently have five bridesmaids in five different cities, I wasn't sure what the plan would be.  BM Perk threw out the idea of doing Las Vegas, and my initial reaction was "No! I don't want people to have to spend money and travel for me!" So we polled the bridesmaids and some other close girlfriends and the general consensus was "Hell yea!"  So I had a Vegas bachelorette party!

Me, MOH Curls, and BM Dino showing off our shot glass rings in the limo!

Dream come true? Is it weird to use that phrase to describe your bachelorette party? Whatever, I'm sticking to it.  I have the most amazing bridesmaids and some really awesome friends who made this a trip I'll never forget.  With all of my peeps spread out, I don't get a lot of girl time, so just that alone was super special to me.  Twelve fabulous ladies came out to Vegas for my weekend, and I was so grateful and happy that we had such a great turnout.  Even though the trip was for me, I think it's safe to say that everyone enjoyed the girly vacation for themselves.


First up, I'll try to briefly cover our schedule here...
Most of the gals arrived on Thursday night, and we just stuck to a hotel bar to catch up and relax.
Friday started with breakfast at Mon Ami Gabi restaurant downstairs.

Then some shopping at the Las Vegas Premium Outlets (North End) where I found my adorable Kate Spade phone case. We got dolled up and had dinner at Allegro in the Wynn (the restaurant took a while to seat us, but everyone ended up using that time to grab some photos with the bride).

All the bridesmaids in attendance: Dino, Duffy, me, Curls, and Taco.  

Our whole group, in front of the beautiful flower displays in the Wynn. 

We found another bachelorette party and took a picture with them to help with their scavenger hunt.

Yes, Momma P and Nanny came along. Because they're my friends too and they're fabulous!

After dinner, we headed back to Paris Hotel and spent the night at Chateau nightclub.  It was a bit crowded when we were getting in, but it we didn't have to pay cover and ended up staying all night and dancing, so it was worth it!

Some of our crew leaving Chateau.  You ever just get the urge to strike a pose?

Saturday morning, we headed down early to our cabana at the pool and spent the day sipping on frozen beverages and enjoying an absolutely gorgeous Nevada day.

I want to go back to there. 

What a nice view from the pool

Saturday night was the main event - we had dinner at the Burger Bar at Mandalay Bay (the alcoholic floats were a big hit), then went back to our rooms for some pregaming and "The Newlywed Game."  This was so cool: BM Dino had asked Sphinx questions and videoed his answers and then they asked me the same questions.  If I answered the question the same way as Sphinx, I got to give out a shot and of course, I had to take a shot if I was wrong.  It was super fun (although a bit awkward), and hilarious to hear some of his answers.

Then we met our limo, chugged some champagne, and went to the Thunder from Down Under!

Our whole group with a few new friends!  

It was an absolute blast! I got pulled up on stage for the first number - it was hilarious and awesome!  I can't fully share all that happened, but let's just say I won't be forgetting it anytime soon!

We went back to Paris and finally got some gambling in.  I promptly lost money on blackjack (usually my favorite), so BM Taco, BM Duffy, and I had a 3 A.M. meal at Sugar Factory to close out the night.  Everyone flew out Sunday morning to head back to the real world...

Look, Sphinx even made an appearance!  In the form of one of his heros, Julius Caesar.

BM Perk took the reins on planning for all of this, since it was her original idea and she did a fabulous job coordinating everything.  Unfortunately, she ended up being unable to attend at all, due to a family emergency.  It seemed so unfair that she couldn't participate, since she had been planning this weekend for months, and she was missed very much!  We were able to cross paths in the New Orleans airport on my way back home, to give her a hug and thank her for organizing such a great trip.  I've asked her if she has any tips for planning a destination bachelorette, and she was nice enough to take some time to share her advice with us.  Take it way, Perk!

How Perk would have looked in Vegas.  Sassy, of course.

Greetings all, 

I know Miss Pyramid has been filling y'all in on the finer points of cabanas, Vegas shopping, and male revues, but I thought I'd give anyone who needed it a little insight into playing a Vegas (or just destination, in general) bachelorette.

The front and back of the invitation.  The envelope had a super cute label with the skyline of Vegas but I'm a terrible friend and misplaced it. 

Firstly, invitations. Do it. It’s adorable and I still have the video Miss P sent me opening hers and how excited she was. I used Wedding Paper Divas. We decided a long time ago that we were staying at Paris Hotel so I picked something that I thought was a little Frenchish. And it was another excuse to use one of her engagement photos, which gets me major BM points.

Our printed itinerary, complete with chandeliers.

Next, do NOT over plan. I know looking at an itinerary that has only one or two things per day feels like everyone will be bored and you aren't putting much effort into the trip. But remember, you’re planning for a group of adult women. Your ladies will be too tired, too hung over, or too tardy to make 4 or 5 events a day. My personal approach to this was to plan around all the meals. I planned breakfast at the hotel every day, and dinner so everyone can get geared up for the night out together. From there, it was easy planning the shopping, lazy pool,  limo ride and male flesh parts of the trip. And speaking of restaurants…

 A snippet of the email for restaurants, that included menus and pricing for all of the reservations.  I wasn't privy to this information ahead of time.

You’re going to have to make all your reservations with a credit card. It’s inevitable.  If your party doesn't show or doesn't give 2 hours cancellation notice, your card will get charged anywhere from $10-$15 per person.  Since I wasn't able to attend the festivities, I made sure MOH Curls & BM Dino knew which reservations were held with my card. They stayed on top of letting the restaurants know if they were running late or canceling.

Nightclubs. No one wants to stand in line at a nightclub. It’s kind of the worst. But, fortunately for you, you’re with a big group of 20/30's something women. Do you know what nightclubs in Vegas love? Large groups of 20's & 30's something women! Getting the ladies “on the list” at Chateau & Marquee in Vegas was no problem.  Just reach out to the club and ask for a promoter's number. When you say you’re a bachelorette party, promoters will listen. We kicked around the idea of bottle service, but I personally don’t think it’s worth it. But if you want to play big time, that's the way to do it.

Another great tip: Utilize your hotels concierge service. Since we booked five rooms, we had a wonder woman, Lenora, who could book just about anything from golfing to spa services for us. I am nothing if not Miss P’s best friend, so I wanted to plan and organize our trip myself.  However, Lenora helped me get some last minute breakfast reservations when we decided to change up the plan as well as book our cabana.

I highly recommend a cabana if you have a large group.  During the summer in Vegas, most hotels have daytime pool parties that totally pack their pools and make lines unbearable. Paris hotel does not have such a party, but their pool is on the rooftop so having a break from the sun and chairs together is nice. There is a waitress who handles your orders and, from what the ladies told me, its really nice not to worry about anything for relaxing pool time. The cabana is pricey, but splitting it up is totally worth it, especially if it’s all you plan on doing for one day.

After our limo ride, about to get hit by some Thunder.

In the realm of things you need for a great bachelorette, a male revue is number one.  Maybe you feel awkward planning something that like, but, honestly, if you're already doing Vegas, chances are everyone will be into it!  Are they sexual? Yes. But mostly, they’re just an all around good time. There are crowds of ladies, lots of other brides-to-be and BMs, screaming their lungs out for muscly men. It’s fun and funny and entertaining. Thunder from Down Under, and all the other male reviews, offer all these packages (pun intended) for the show with nightclub passes, pole dancing classes, etc. But, in the vein of not over planning, I knew we didn't want too much stuff.  We decided that the best activities would be a mini-limo tour of the strip, complete with champagne, and the show.  Miss P definitely enjoyed herself. She got pulled up on the stage and danced with the blokes. Unfortunately there were no pictures allowed so we have no evidence to use against her.

And my last little bit of planning advice: be prepared to spend. A destination bachelorette is expensive. Along with all the personal expenses, you want to take care of your bride. We obviously didn't pay for Miss P’s shopping excisions and all her meals, but we all chipped in for her limo ride & TFDU ticket.  I used Paypal invoices for the ladies on the trip. Once I calculated the cost of each ticket, I just sent an invoice and they all paid me directly through Paypal.  Be aware, since I was not, Paypal has a $2.50 invoice fee, so calculate that in your cost.  The key to this is making this work is to start early and tell everyone what they're getting into ahead of time.  We had a room block at Paris booked before the invitations went out, we gave everyone early enough notice to watch for flight deals, and we had an idea of the costs all the activities would come to.  Am I saying that you can’t have a great bachelorette on a budget?  Of course not. But when you’re going to Vegas - or another major city - it’s going to put a little dent in your pocket book.

And I think that’s all the helpful stuff I have for you. The most important part of your bachelorette is that your bride has an amazing time. Even though planning is stressful, and it’s sometimes hard to get in contact with everyone all the time, as long as everyone is really down for making the bride happy, it will work itself out. You just have to start early and be on top of it.

Thanks, Perk!  I'll say here and now - mission accomplished, I did have an amazing time!
A few other helpful points that I noticed from my end:

- Get the bride's input!  We talked about where to stay and the activities, and I was glad that we were on the same page. For example, I wanted to make sure we had time to go shopping, and I didn't want an actual strip club, but I did want the show.  There were still some surprises, but I was happy with everything we ended up doing.

- For the TFDU show, don't worry about getting single dollars out, since they don't take them.  We spent time at the machines in the casino making change, and we didn't even need to!  And if you're debating between the shows, one of our girls had been to Chippendales before and said TFDU was more fun, rowdy, and interactive.  Chippendales is more choreographed and staged. Depends on what you want!

I love, loved my veil! It was super comfortable and pretty.

- Do the tiara/veil/sash thing!  Especially in Vegas.  It really gets you in the mood, and it's just fun!

An awesome bachelorette guestbook - and I still need to print a picture for it! 

- Get a little creative!  I had sent this picture over to MOH Curls a long time ago ("wouldn't this be cute...?") and was so pleased that they recreated it.  It's such a sweet souvenir, and I can't wait to frame it  My sister also bought purple and gold fleur-de-lis tumblers and filled them with candy and nail polish as favors.  Putting together some extra gifts makes it a bit more special for all the attendees!

So you see what I mean? Best trip ever!  One of the most fun parts was just watching the friends from different parts of my life get to know each other and become friends themselves.  This trip occurred about a month before the wedding, and it was perfect to be able to just step away from work and wedding planning to just relax and have some fun.

A big, gigantic THANK YOU to my bridesmaids, friends, and family who made this happen! You ladies rock!

My only regret? I didn't get a picture with the Luxor pyramid!  Oh well, we'll just have to go back!