Howdy!

Just coming off of one of the best weekends I could’ve asked for with my besties. Over the years, we’ve spread out across the county, and I’ve found that some of my closest relationships have become long distance friendships! It was wonderful to be surrounded by my girls for an entire weekend.

We rented a place in Charlotte, NC ~ one of my favorite cities that I’ve had the chance to live in and visit over the last few years. Not only was it the closest major city to most of my bridesmaids, it also has great southern cuisine, cute shops, and walkable areas! While North Carolina is known to have all 4 seasons in a week, we were blessed with summer temperatures in mid-March! How lucky is that?

I love these girls so much. These are my lovely bridesmaids ~ Katherine, Kim, Laura (MOH), [me in white!], Allie, Kate, Payton, Susie, (minus my future sister-in-law, Ammy, who couldn’t make it- missed her so much 😢!). Funny tidbit- all of the girls are *technically* my sisters in one way or another: 2 sisters, 3 future sisters-in-law, and 3 sorority sisters!

INVITES

Before my bachelorette party, I put together an invite to send to my bridesmaids – you know I had to take it over the top! It included everything from an itinerary, the Airbnb address, themed outfits details, and an estimated cost per person (yes, I have a type A personality, thanks for asking). I wanted to make sure everyone had an idea of what we’d be doing and had time to plan accordingly. If you’d like to use the same invite, click here (blue version) or here (pink version) for my free modifiable links- enjoy! Note: if you don’t already have a Canva account, you will need to create one (it’s free!) Once you log in, you’ll be able to customize the template and download the updated file.

DECORATIONS

I would be lying if I said that Mamma Mia and Kacey Musgraves were not the main inspirations behind this theme. When I think about this iconic mashup, I immediately picture disco balls, rhinestones, pink cowgirl hats with feathers on the rims, and super cute fringe jean jackets. I knew from the beginning this theme was everything I needed and then some!

Balloons are a great addition to any party. They’re a fun and relatively cheap decoration that can make a large impact in a space. Instead of scattering balloons throughout the space, we created a balloon arch and paired it with streamers to create a great backdrop for our group photos. I have to give a HUGE shoutout to Payton and Allie for helping me blowup and arrange the balloons before everyone arrived! #realMVPs.

As an added touch, I created these pink initials to personalize each girl’s bedroom door. I just hooked up the good ol’ Cricut machine and added paint dots to the edges. Just a cute way to add customization to the space! (Sorry I forgot to take a photo in the Airbnb!)

Disco Cowgirl theme decorations are so cute and fun to search for! Laura literally picked up the two disco balls from Facebook Marketplace in Asheville right before the trip! Luckily, there are so many items on the market right now that you can easily find awesome, inexpensive pieces! Here’s what I bought:

As you can see, I opted for more silver and blue disco decor (I’m a blue girl through and through), but had to add pops of pink here and there! Look how ADORABLE these mini pink cowgirl hats are for mini wine bottles!

ATTIRE

With a Disco Cowgirl themed bachelorette, a pink fuzzy cowgirl hat was non-negotiable. I wanted to stand out as the bride and find a way to elevate my white dress for the evening. One pink cowgirl hat, a few rhinestone letters, and a glue gun later, my DIY hat was complete (for ~$26)! I love how it turned out!

BABES, THE SHOES!! I don’t think I’ve ever owned anything more stunning! When the sun hits the sparkle, OMG you’ve got yourself a mini disco party (don’t believe me, check out this golden hour video below). At first, I tried to rationalize the price of these booties. I’m SO glad I talked myself into keeping them for my trip (they were comfortable, too)! I received so many compliments on them and they made me feel incredibly special (brb while I go plan my next 10 Halloween costumes around them).

I shopped at Lulus, Red Dress Boutique and Amazon to create my outfits for the trip. I even made a TikTok video (link) for a try-on haul. Click on the outfits below to see where they’re from! (If you’re on mobile, check out the links below!)

(Top Left): Long White Dress, Short White Dress, Pink Dress; (2nd Row): Booties, Heart Glasses, Silver Fringe Dress; (3rd Row): ‘BRIDE’ Letters, Sparkly Dress; (4th Row): White Ruffle Dress, Puffy Sleeves Dress; (Bottom Left): Pink Hat, Long Sleeve Dress, Cowgirl Boots; (Not pictured): Sundress I wore to candle making class

Best pictures we were able to capture on Saturday night 😂

SWEET TREATS

If you know me, you know I can’t have a party without dessert! When I lived in Charlotte, I discovered Suárez Bakery (located on Park Road), which sells customized message donuts! When I decided on Charlotte for my bach trip, I knew I needed to grab a few for our first night together – pajama night! The donuts with pink candy coating and rainbow sprinkles were delicious and a fun addition to the night!

I’m about to expose myself here and show you the level I go to when planning these things. Not only did I copy and paste the store’s product image into Word, I removed the background and played around with various phrases I could create (I’m kinda crazy, right?). In the end, I liked “Bride to Be” which allowed each girl to have one!

We also made sure to stop at Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams in South End, which has some of the most interesting flavor combos! While I stuck to my favorite (Milkiest Chocolate), they were introducing new flavors like Everything Bagel and Maple Soaked Pancakes. Also, I’m very proud of us for sticking it out in a 30 min+ line at night dressed up in our Disco Cowgirl outfits. We got a few odd looks and even a “Is Hannah Montana in town?” comment, which was honestly my favorite thing to hear.

ACTIVITIES

On Saturday morning, we reserved workshop space at Paddywax Candle Bar to DIY our own candles! Paddywax has several locations (Charlotte, Nashville, Birmingham, Philadelphia, and Virginia) and each of them are so cute! I literally wanted to make one of each candle.

We each selected a candle vessel and fragrance that we loved. The Paddywax team set up each of our trays and left directions that were super easy to follow. We were able to pop some champagne to celebrate and in about 35 – 45 minutes, we had completed our masterpieces! The candles took about 3 hours to cool, so we walked around and explored the area. If you check out this location and need to kill some time, you should also check out:

• Food: Superica Restaurant, Tupelo Honey, Leroy Fox, 300 East, Sunflour Bakery, &Luna’s Living Kitchen, Jeni’s Ice cream
• Drink: Sycamore Brewing, Pop the Top Bottle Shop & Central Coffee Co
• Activities: Cachet Nail Salon, Polished Nail Salon, Atherton Mill Shopping Center, & The Common Market

We ended up at one of my favorite South End restaurants/breweries, Suffolk Punch, for brunch. They have fantastic indoor and outdoor seating options and delicious food. We were able to snag one of the large picnic tables outside, which was conveniently located next to the tv airing the UNC vs Baylor basketball game (March Madness). Since both of my sisters are tar heels, I know they appreciated the prime seating! I ordered a Strawberry Field cocktail (Watermelon Vodka, Fresh Strawberry Jam, Lime, Ginger Ale) and Sweet Potato Fingerling Hash. 10 out of 10.

PARTY FAVORS

I knew I wanted to incorporate disco balls into the decorations, which includes the drinkware! I ordered everyone a disco ball cup (link), and they were the cutest things ever! I was slightly concerned they wouldn’t arrive on time even though I purchased them a month+ in advance. Luckily, the disco queens in charge of shipping made it work and the novelty cups arrived at my doorstep with a day to spare!

Laura put together these adorable goodie bags for each girl to use while on the trip/ take home after the party ended! Not only were they super cute, they were functional!

Thank you so much to my best friends who spent this entire weekend making me feel so loved. You are all such a big part of who I am through all the different stages of my life. I can’t wait for you to stand next to me in 2 months when I marry my best friend! Cheers!