destination weekend | Ultimate Bridesmaid

We’re already enumerated the many benefits of Savannah as a bachelorette destination, but I wanted to share some of the specifics of our weekend for those who might be planning a trip. You can find details from our bridal shower in Forsyth Park here, including our shower theme and catering info. This time I’ll focus on our nighttime activities.

For our first night, Alyssa scheduled a ghost tour/bar crawl with Tara’s Tours, which turned out to be an awesome idea. It’s called Boos and Brews (though can I suggest Boos and Booze?) and it was easy to schedule a private tour just for our group, which I highly recommend. Marisa loves ghost tours (we’ve been on a few in St. Augustine that are wicked scary) and we loved that this one included lots of bar stops and encouraged beverages on the road. Our guide, Andrew (also known as Drew or Drewby) was fun and told us a good mix of tales, some about the history of Savannah dating back to the Civil War and some about events that had only happened in the past few years (including one horrific story about a demon child in the Marshall House…won’t be booking a room there!). He even shared some paranormal experiences he’d had himself in apartments in Savannah or on the tours. Don’t let that scare away the faint of heart though. The mood was really lighthearted and though I’m one of those people who closes their eyes during previews for horror films, I was perfectly fine on the tour. We passed lots of other ghost tours and got many envious stares at our light-up cups. Apparently not all tours are the drinking kind.

We also got to see a ton of Savannah and stop in at all kinds of bars. Our tour included McDonough’s (karaoke all night long), Hang Fire (the bathroom is particularly apropos to bachelorette parties here…just trust me on this one), 17Hundred90, and Moon River Brewery (where we toured the very spooky old hotel portion), to name a few. Afterward, we stopped in at Abe’s on Lincoln, which was another chill place with friendly bartenders. We’d all definitely recommend Tara’s Tours and Drew (seen above with the bachelorette herself)!

Our second night out, we decided to dress it up a little more. I’ve seen all kinds of costume themes for bachelorette parties (wigs, tiaras, penis wands) but one of the simplest things to do is have all the guests wear black and the bride wear white or a color (Marisa chose red). You can find her cute little veil here. We originally decided to throw in wigs as a theme too, but only a few girls got on board (see photographic evidence). Before going out we all gathered in the hotel suite to play The Fiancé Quiz and then we decided to hit River Street. This turned out to be a great balance between the two nights because the first night was more small dive bars, which fit our casual theme, and the second night we went to a rooftop bar (top of the Bohemian Hotel, highly recommended), a country Western bar with line dancing and bull riding, and a dance club (309 West). All of these bars were along River Street and our hotel was only a block away from our final stop, so we were able to keep our heels on for at least part of the night (backup flip-flops are a must because of the stairs and cobblestones!).

If you have specific questions about planning a bachelorette party in Savannah, leave them in the comments and I’ll reply!

I’m fresh off Marisa’s bachelorette party in Savannah and it’s going to take me multiple posts to get through all the details, but I’ll start with the location and some of the resources we used. I could not have planned this weekend alone and was so lucky to have my co-maid of honor Alyssa to take on half the work. MOHs, I highly recommend recruiting help, especially for destination weekends! Since Alyssa and I could bounce ideas off each other, we didn’t have to bother our bride with details and questions and no one person had all the pressure.

Combination bachelorette party/bridal shower weekends are ideal for groups of friends that are spread out over the country. Since I grew up in Florida, went to college in North Carolina and now live in New York, weddings take me all over the East Coast, so travel has become a necessary part of these events. I’m not going to lie—it’s much more difficult to plan events from afar, but it’s possible! And may I strongly recommend Savannah, GA, for ladies in the South.

Here are some of the benefits:

No open container laws. That’s right, ladies, when you order a drink in Savannah they’ll ask you if you’d like that in a to-go cup. Marisa got fun LED light cups for us to carry around the city, which served the dual purpose of looking awesome and helping us keep track of our group. You can find the cups here.
Huge variety of bars and restaurants. Savannah really has something for everyone. We went to dive bars, karaoke bars, Western bars with bull-riding and line dancing, rooftop bars with live music and fire pits, and clubs with black lights and nonstop dancing. There are also good dining options for any budget. We were looking for the most affordable options and also had a huge group (15 girls) but were able to find low-priced dinners each night that didn’t require a reservation. Of course, you’re not going to get in to some of the most popular spots without calling ahead, but the city is packed with solid options if you’re willing to try something new.
Very walkable. Savannah is a great walking city, so there’s no need for a designated driver and bar-hopping is simple. Make sure your hotel or house has a parking option though, as spots can be hard to come by on the street. My advice is to try to park your car when you arrive and only retrieve it when it’s time to leave.

Alyssa and I compared renting a house for the weekend with staying at a hotel and we ended up going with the hotel. There are definite pros and cons to each, but because of the size of our group, we decided that a hotel would be simpler (finding a house that sleeps 15 is difficult). If you have a group of 6-8, I think staying in a house would be ideal and recommend vrbo.com (Vacation Rental by Owner) as a great resource. We chose to stay at one of the many hotels along Bay Street, mostly for the great central location. We were only a block from River St. and City Market, areas that are rich in bars and restaurants.

We picked the Four Points by Sheraton because the price was right and booked two regular rooms and one “suite.” The hotel was clean and the staff friendly, but I wouldn’t recommend springing for the suite. While it was nice to have a living room for all the girls to gather in, the room wasn’t really any larger than the normal double rooms. There are lots of other hotels all along that strip in roughly the same price range and I think the area’s convenience makes it a good option, especially if your group plans to party a lot. If you’re looking for a more laid-back weekend, staying on one of the squares would be more picturesque and really put you right in the center of Savannah’s southern charms.
Posts to come on our bar crawl/ghost tour, bridal shower in Forsyth Park, favors, collaborative gifts, and more.