from the beginning kristie + i knew we wanted to celebrate our bachelorette party together -- why wouldn't we? we share most of our friends...plus, we like hanging out together! two of my best friends from high school, cara + kaela, planned the whole event along with my sister (+ maid of honor) phoebe. it was so nice not to have to worry about a thing! a lot of it was a wonderful surprise, but i couldn't be the only one not planning something, so i worked with kristie's best friend from virginia, kristin, to have her fly in friday night + stay for the whole weekend. kristie was none the wiser! i left work early to pick her up on friday afternoon, then when kristie got home from work, kristin was just there chilling on the couch with samson. she did so many double-takes, it was amazing. needless to say, she was so happy to see her best friend, especially when she'd thought the whole time that kristin wasn't going to be able to make it up. i love surprises!!
it all started with a small package arriving earlier that week. inside was a few tiny bottles of alcohol, a card, two ring pops + a TON of confetti! the card told us to show up that saturday afternoon at the ramada plaza in hartford.
so on saturday the three of us left for connecticut, where we had lunch with my parents, picked up my sister + dropped off the dog (he stayed with my parents overnight). then it was off to hartford! one of my other best friends from high school, liz, met us at the ramada elevators + escorted us up to our room.
the lights were off when we walked in + i immediately bumped into a ton of balloons. somebody flipped the lights on, and i realized the room was full of all of our closest friends, holding drinks + cheering! they'd packed 25 pink + gold balloons (our wedding colors) into the hotel room, and a different picture of kristie + me was tied to each one.
on the bed were a sash that read "bride to be" for me to wear + a button with a big "b" on it for kristie, custom-made by our dear friend katy.
we unpacked a little + headed next door to another one of the four rooms our party had reserved, where everyone had a glass of champagne (or two) + caught up. liz even made gluten-free cookies shaped like...well, we'll have to leave that up to the imagination!
then everybody piled into the shuttle bus provided by the hotel (thank you, ramada!) + headed out for dinner. my awesome sister had made reservations at black eyed sally's, a bbq place that has a full gluten-free menu! so delicious. after that we headed back to the ramada + changed into our party clothes. we played a few games (hello, customized mad libs!) + had a few more drinks, then it was party time!
i definitely wanted that wild, fun bachelorette party atmosphere, but didn't want to hire a stripper or go to a strip club. those places are so seedy + i didn't want to objectify anybody. luckily hartford also happens to be the place where one of our very favorite drag clubs is located -- the polo club! it's an extremely welcoming, fun place + the performers are absolutely amazing. we had front-row seats + had an absolute blast, especially because our party planners had made a scavenger hunt list for everyone to complete while we were at the club! it including things like...get a stranger to show you their belly button, switch clothing with a stranger, take a shot with one of the brides, etc. it was hilarious to watch + luckily there's plenty of proof in pictures that the world will never, ever see! but here are a couple taken on cara + phoebe's iphones (i wisely left my camera at the hotel):
phoebe + me!
our awesome goody bags
my sister, brother + i
brides-to-be!
love this one!
arielle + me at the club
our bachelorette party scavenger hunt!
the next day we headed back to northampton exhausted (+ yes, a little hungover). we spent the day taking naps on the couch, re-watching season 1 of the walking dead, and eating burgers. frankly, it's wednesday + we're still laying low. we haven't even unpacked yet!
it was the best bachelorette party i could have ever imagined. it was such an amazing feeling to have so many people we loved all in the same room. + i actually wore lipstick for once! it was fabulous, so perfect. thank you to everybody involved. we love you so much.
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