Hey, gals!
If you’ve been following along on the blog for awhile, you know that we are obsessed with all things NYC, Carrie Bradshaw, Sex & The City, Gossip Girl (have you seen our headband collection?), and the true magic that comes from that glorious city. We have made it a tradition to go to the Big Apple at least once a year, and when Kailey said she wanted a destination bachelorette party it was only fitting that we go to our favorite city!
Now, one might think that planning a bachelorette party is a simple task, but throw in a city thousands of miles from home that requires flight accommodations, busy schedules, and 18 GIRLS into the mix…it can get pretty interesting. We have SO MANY amazing friends and belong to about 3 different friend groups (friends from high school, work, and adulthood), and it was impossible to leave people out that mean so much to Kailey.
So the planning began to get a gaggle of gossip girls to New York City…
Itinerary For Bachelorette Party
Sunday:
9:00: Grab + Go breakfast – we stayed at the Kimpton Eventi and they had a great buffet breakfast that was quick and easy.
10:30: Go to The Met to get a Gossip Girl picture on the steps.
11:30: Lunch at Bergdorf Goodman + Shopping – make sure you get a reservation!
5:00: Christmas Spectacular Rockettes – it was the first time to see them! AMAZING!
8:30: Order Serafina’s Pizza to the hotel + lingerie party (GIFTING OF THE DIORS!!!) – if you haven’t already, go watch this video of Kailey opening her surpise gift!
11:00-12:00: Drinks after for anyone who would like to go out! – we ended up going to 230 Fifth and had some fun on their rooftop with the igloos! We then went to Piano’s – hole in the wall bar and we danced (and drank) the night away!
Monday (December 2nd):
10:00: Make sure no one died and everyone is up and getting ready
11:00: NoMo Soho Kitchen + Shopping in SOHO
3:00: Warm up at The Plaza Food Hall – one of our favorite places in the city and a must anytime you’re in the city!
4:30: Walk around Central Park
5:30: Bailey’s and hot cocoa in the lobby of the hotel + get ready for dinner
9:30: Buddakan – this is wear the rehearsal dinner was for Carrie & Big in Sex & The City! So fitting for our SATC themed night!
11:30: Go to PhD above Tao
Tuesday:
9:00: Tavern On The Green
11:00: Take a pedicab around the park
12:00: Send the girls off!
1:00: Checked in to The Surry Hotel for the rest of the trip!
How I Planned The Damn Thing:
About 5 months ago, I began with the following:
1. Reached out to all of the girls that I knew Kailey wanted to attended in a large group message, and we established the date and who was able to make it.
2. Worked on a detailed itinerary so everyone could begin planning the expense of the trip and what to look forward to. With this many girls, it was important to me to not overwhelm anyone with plans. I packed our day with several activities, and everyone doesn’t have to do EVERYTHING on the itinerary. New York City is exhausting, and someone wanted to take a break/save a little money, I wanted to let them know that that was an option. Also, New York is notorious for not splitting tabs. Everything is charged to one card so I began collecting funds from everyone early on in the trip (hotel, large dinners, show tickets, etc.). My text went something like this:
“Hi ladies! I’m so excited for Kailey’s upcoming bach trip, and I know how special it is for you all to be there! It’s going to be so much fun! I’m going to be sending out a Google Doc of all details plus what everyone will need to Venmo for the room, dinner, and show tickets! This is subject to change if anyone is unable to make it so please let me know ASAP if you are unable to attend as far as rooms go, and please let me know what you will be attending on the itinerary!”
I think this helped with taking the pressure off of everyone trying to book things separately as well as help budget the trip! The expenses were made known up front so there was as little surprises as possible. This was BY FAR the most stressful part of the trip, but as long as you stay organized you’re golden. Which brings me to my next topic…
Templates To Stay Organized:
How the freaking fudge do you keep everything straight on a trip to NYC (really any trip!) with so many girls?! To make things easy, I put all details in a Google Doc and shared it with the group of girls. This way everyone could easily access what we were doing as well as plan their outfits, money, etc. on their end. Like I previously said, it is super important to have some sort of system when collection so many funds. I made a simple spreadsheet on Google Doc that included everyone’s names, activities, and activities’ costs so I can easily keep track of who paid for what. That was by far the hardest part of the trip. NYC restaurants will not split checks meaning that one table equal one check/payment. So this was quite the task, but with inputting everyone’s payments into a spreadsheet made this very digestible.
Highlights of The Trip:
On our first big day, we had lunch at BG which is the restaurant on the 7th floor at Bergdorf Goodmans. It is a quaint and charming little cafe with the prettiest details, and the food is to die for! Also, it has the most magical view of the Upper East side and Central Park. While we were enjoying our lunch, we witnessed the city’s first snow, and it was quite the sight to see all 18 Texas girls rush to windows to see the flurries dancing in the sky. Truly a magical moment!
Instead of having a lingerie party on one of the nights, we opted for a little something different! Kailey had been eyeing the coveted Christian Dior slingback heels in white for months! I purchased my black pair a few months ago, and there has been some envy energy floating down to Houston from Dallas for awhile LOL. I thought it would be a fun idea (and way easier than packing a ton of gifts) for all 17 girls to pitch in and purchase her a pair as a surprise! We gathered in the hotel lobby and presented the shoes to the bride to be! Tears ensued, and I don’t think Kay has ever felt more loved by her friends! THE BEST REACTION EVER! What made it even funnier was that Kay picked them up at Bergdorf’s earlier that day, and I told her she didn’t need them and that it would be bratty of her to make such a big purchase on this trip (aren’t I so nice?).
OH…and we made Kailey wear an inflatable penis costume in the hotel elevator, and that was pretty amazing.
Tips On Making Large Party Reservations:
Make sure to make reservations SUPER early in advance! Most restaurants do not accommodate that many people, and they had to prepare an area for us at almost every restaurant. This is also where your payment document will come in handy because only one form of payment will be taken so make sure everyone is prepared to Venmo you for their order, portion of tip, and portion of tax.
Lists of Restaurants + Bars:
- Buddakan (where we had Kay’s big dinner)
- BG at Bergdorf Goodmans
- Scalinatella’s (get the chicken bolognese…also, Blake Lively frequents this cutie spot)
- Tavern On The Green
- The Loeb Boat House in Central Park
- The Palm Court at The Plaza (it is a must to do high tea)
- Nomo Kitchen in SOHO
- The Polo Bar
- 21 Club
- Catch
- The Standard Grill
- Ralph’s Coffee
- 230 Fifth
- King Cole Bar
- PhD
- Pianos
- Mr. Purple
- Serendipity
Where We Stayed:
We stayed at the Kimpton Eventi near midtown, and it was the best option for us with so many girls and what everyone’s budget were. The rooms were a comfortable size (if you’ve ever stayed in NYC, you know what I’m talking about), very pretty bathrooms, a really beautiful lobby and bar area, and complimentary happy hour everyday! The interior is very modern yet cozy, and very moody. Perfect for a bachelorette party!
On Tuesday when most of the girls headed home, we extended our trip two nights with two of our best gal pals, Tayler and Tori, and moved to The Surry Hotel on Madison and 76th. The Upper East Side is our favorite area of NYC, and everything that we love is within walking distance. The rooms were beautiful and staff was very kind and accommodating. It was our first time staying at this hotel and we’ve wanted to for years, and it did not disappoint! We hit up our favorites on the last two days – Wicked The Musical, Scalinatella, King Cole Bar, Serendipity, and The Palm Court for tea. We also got to see the Christmas Tree in Rockefeller Center and it was magical!
How We Got Around The City (Taxi vs. Uber):
I’m sure you’re all wondering how the hell did that many girls frolic around the city and arrive on time to places! This was something thatI was really stressed about, but we ended up getting a great system down! Taxis are definitely cheaper, but they all go their own routes and what they think is correct…and if we’re being totally honest, not very friendly most of the time. With this being the situation, we mostly traveled around the city by Uber. We typically did 5-6 girls per Uber and we ordered 3 Uber+’s everywhere we went. It kept us all on the same route and had us arrive where we needed to be mostly within 2-3 minutes of each other!
There you have it, folks. I think we all needed an entire week to recover from this trip but it was so worth it to celebrate our bride-to-be! If you have any questions please feel free to reach out!
