Posted on: November 22, 2007
Where the Girls Are
At bachelorette parties, pampering’s in, raunchy is definitely out
By Nola Sarkisian-Miller
CTW Features
Image courtesy Tiffani Kim Institute, Chicago
Old-school rules for bachelorette parties call for a bunch of girls, a limousine, a night of barhopping and a tiara for the tipsy bride-to-be.
That’s so last century. These days, women celebrating their last days of singlehood are more likely to embrace diurnal pleasures, devoting as much as a weekend to a sunny affair loaded with pampering spa services and time for bonding with friends. Chalk it up to age. The older bride isn’t so smitten with a wild night of partying, say industry experts.
Bachelorette parties “have really taken a new direction,” says Jo Ann Schwartz Woodward, owner of Schwartz & Woodward, a wedding planning agency in the Houston, Texas area. “These are sophisticated, savvy women who really want to get connected with their girlfriends before the bride makes a major life change. They have disposable income for a fun weekend.”
Destination spas are rolling out the welcome mat. Next year, the La Quinta Resort & Club, a hideaway to the stars in La Quinta, Calif., will debut “Bachelorette Day” packages at its Spa La Quinta. Geared for groups of 10 or more, the multi-day events include massages, facials and body scrubs in new outdoor cabana treatment rooms. A new spa menu will offer body-friendly sandwiches, salads and specialty drinks.
“We try to accommodate our bridal parties as well as we can, even offering flowers in the treatment rooms and glasses of champagne,” says Damien Craft, Spa La Quinta’s director.
Other companies throw in a little beefcake for the girls-only affairs, such as setting up a hotel suite with a masseuse, a martini bar and a “Greek God” who’ll fan the women and feed them grapes. That’s the m.o. at Sheque Chicago, a “girls night out” party planning firm in Chicago, which also offers a massage and strip tease class package.
“About 75 percent of our clients want some sort of pampering experience,” says Josie Mineau, director of sales and marketing for the party firm.
Still, legions of businesses and Web sites make a healthy living by selling stripper services and XXX party favors. If anything, the 20-something bride gravitates to such revelry.
“The younger ones are still going out,” Mineau says.
A similar trend is shaping up across the wedding aisle as men seek alternative ways to celebrate their last days as bachelors. They may opt for golf and dinner, a surf trip to Mexico or a fishing excursion.
“The older more mature groom doesn’t have to whoop it up with his friends,” says Paula Gild, owner of Gilded Events, a wedding planning service in Los Angeles. “People are over that whole thing.”
