Bachelorette Parties in your 30s vs. your 20s

Bachelorette parties in your 20s are filled with matching t-shirts, extravagant weekend getaways, awkward strip club encounters, alcohol, drama, more alcohol, and even more drama. 

When you're in your 30s? Ain't nobody got time for that!

Your married friends (maybe) have kids, and weekends are filled with cleaning, working out, and other adult responsibilities. Most have more financial obligations than they did in their 20s, and it gets harder to justify spending a couple hundred dollars on one night of YOLO-ing. 

What do you do instead? Something like what happened at my friend Dayna's bachelorette a few weeks ago.  

FOOD

The bachelorette organizer happened to be a homeowner, and threw a bbq to kickoff the night's festivities. Low key, delicious, healthy, and wallet friendly. Plus, party goers were able to go back for seconds. You know where you can't go back for seconds? At an overpriced restaurant! 

BOOZE

Shots? Sure, maybe later in the night. But when you're in your 30s, you need to PACE yourself. Playing a game that involves booze? A sip of wine instead of an ounce of vodka does the trick. Speaking of games... 

PRE-DRINK ENTERTAINMENT  

The games did get little raunchy towards the end of the pre-drink, so I'll stick to the beginning of the night. Another one of the party organizer's had us all recount our first meetings with Dayna. It was a fun trip down memory lane, and also served as a great icebreaker. 

TRANSPORTATION

This is where we splurged. Instead of Uber-ing, the party organizers ordered us a limo. It was a fun way to head downtown. 

DANCING

We went out dancing to a few different places. No pressure to drink, just to boogie. I had to leave early as I had to move a bunch of stuff in the morning, but from what I heard the night was a success! How do I know? They ended up grabbing late night pizza. Nothing like cheese and carbs to cap off an amazing night. 

We Currently Only Have One Item On Our Registry...

Is it vacuum? Patio furniture? Cookware set? 

Nope! It's a garbage can. Here's what happened. 

The Appointment 

Early last week I contacted Hudson's Bay to set a bridal registry appointment. I was assigned a bridal registry consultant (a position I initially thought was superfluous) and asked to set up an online account.

I did the latter and showed up to our appointment 15 minutes early with my partner, Peter. Did I feel underdressed? 100 per cent. The bridal registry at The Bay on Queen Street is located beside the chic and pricy bridal boutique, Kleinfeld's. I had come straight from work, wearing my Chucks and MEC backpack. I expected the Kleinfeld crew to blast this when they saw us coming: 

TLC's official music video for 'No Scrubs'. Click to listen to TLC on Spotify: http://smarturl.it/TLCSpotify?IQid=TLCNoScr As featured on Fanmail.

Luckily, that didn't happen, and my anxiety subsided when I met our bridal registry consultant, Jessica*. 

Jessica was incredibly friendly, and explained the dos and don'ts for registering, which I will share with you now: 

1) Register for items at all different price points. This seems obvious, but when you start scanning it's something that becomes forgettable. 

2) Don't be afraid of registering for expensive items. While this seems like an obvious suggestion from a sales person, her logic was pretty sound. People will buy items on your registry when they're on sale. As someone who has recently purchased a few gifts via a registry -- I can definitely attest to this. 

3) You can always add and delete items. There is no pressure to choose your entire registry in one night. 

4) Think about what you need vs. what you want. Kitchen gadgets are nice, but what about sheets? Towels? Throw pillows? Tools? 

Finally, Jessica explained the whole registry gift delivery process. Guests have the option of sending gifts directly to your home. Great, right? It saves a trip to The Bay. Plus, who doesn't like opening packages? The downside? If you're not home to accept the package, Canada Post LEAVES IT ON YOUR FRONT PORCH. That can be changed, but for a fee. Couples planning their weddings have a lot on their plates -- visiting their local Canada Post to change the delivery method is just one more unnecessary step. 

After a quick lesson in how to use the scanner, Jessica left us to our own devices on the housewares floor. I pulled out our registry list. 

"We need a frying pan... but what kind?" 

"A pepper grinder would be nice... $40!?!?!?! What the hell????" 

"Do we really need a soda stream?" 

After wandering around the floor for 45 minutes we had scanned one item -- a kitchen garbage can.

Another reason we didn't scan a lot of items? The Bay is expensive! I'm a bride on a budget -- I know the money struggle is real. While we do want to invest in quality cookware, I don't need a $40 pepper grinder or $35 champagne flute.

We returned to Jessica, defeated. She assured us we weren't in the minority and that a lot of couples leave their first appointment with only and item or two on their registry. After leaving The Bay, we decided to also register at Kitchen Stuff Plus. We'll use The Bay for our bigger items, and Kitchen Stuff Plus for glassware, cutlery etc. Is it smart to open up two registries, or is it annoying for your guests? I'm about to find out -- I'll let you know. 

*Names changed to protect the innocent. I've always wanted to say that.