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I was tasked with throwing the ultimate girls’ weekend in Nashville this summer before my best friend, Katie, gets married.
Ten women – mostly from Illinois and Chicago – flew into Music City for a 48-hour bachelorette party celebration that involved honky-tonk bars, a pontoon boat with a slide and a hike at one of the area’s most beautiful parks.
I had a few goals for the weekend: to make sure everything ran smoothly, to avoid matching outfits and to show the group there is a lot more to Nashville than Lower Broadway.
Prior to the trip – and perhaps my biggest piece of advice for bachelor and bachelorette party planners – is to have guests use a mobile payment service such as Venmo to pay for the weekend’s activities in advance, and then one person can pick up the tab the entire weekend.
Our group had three hotel rooms at the Renaissance Hotel and two of them were adjoining, so we were able to get ready and hang out in the rooms before going out. A few people arrived late Thursday night, while the rest of the group got in Friday.
Unsurprisingly, we saw dozens of other bachelorette parties over the weekend, as Nashville has become one of the top destinations for these pre-wedding festivities.
Below is our weekend itinerary, which was a huge hit with the group. We packed a lot in, but other popular activities for bachelorette groups in Nashville include wine tasting, brewery tours, pole dancing classes and shopping.
Friday
10 a.m. – Hike at Radnor Lake State Natural Area
This was great because we kicked off the weekend with some exercise and I was able to show the group one of the Nashville area’s most beautiful nature spots. Minor complaints: My Midwestern friends didn’t love the 90-degree temperatures.
2 p.m. – Lunch at Burger Republic
Among the orders at the table: a tater tot fondue and a Nutella milkshake.
7 p.m. – Dinner and bowling at Pinewood Social
We reserved two bowling lanes for three hours, which cost $240 and counted toward a required $500 food and beverage minimum. We ate dinner while we bowled, and it was a ton of fun.
10 p.m. – Paradise Park Trailer Resort, The Stillery
Because you have to end your night on Lower Broadway.
Saturday
9 a.m. – Pontoon boat on Percy Priest Lake
We rented a double-decker pontoon boat with a slide from Four Corners Yacht Club for about $385. It was a beautiful day and this was one of the best parts about the weekend. We packed coolers with drinks, sandwiches and snacks, and brought along a speaker to play music from someone’s iPhone.
5:30 p.m. – Dinner at Pub5
The restaurant put us in a private room overlooking Fifth Avenue South and everyone enjoyed their meals.
8 p.m. – Pedal Tavern
Nashville Pedal Tavern definitely lived up to my expectations. It was a highlight of the weekend, and it was so much fun cruising around downtown and stopping at a few different bars. Be warned: You actually are pedaling and expect to work a little on your mobile bar crawl. The driver of the pedal tavern was interactive with the group and people on the street got into it, too. It cost $400 for a weekend reservation and you can bring your own drinks.
10 p.m. – Tootsie’s Orchid Lounge, Coyote Ugly
Tootsie’s was a must-see for the first-time visitors, and the bride-to-be had her heart set on visiting Coyote Ugly.
Reach Lizzy Alfs at 615-726-5948 and on Twitter @lizzyalfs.
