Before You Tie the Knot

June arrives tomorrow, kicking off the busiest time of the year for weddings. The weather is usually perfect.  April showers have long passed for the big day, leaving newlyweds jetting off for their honeymoon in the sunshine. Flowers are in bloom and summer colors are cheery and bright. I’m not, however, a big fan of weddings. I personally don’t know if I want to ever get married and I’m definitely not in a hurry. I feel like the sanctity of marriage has lost its luster and people rarely remain faithful. For me to make a commitment like that it would have to be le véritable amour, a rare thing to find. But that is just me. I support those I love in any decision they make, and I’m at that age where people around me are getting hitched. In a few weeks I have to be a bridesmaid in my brother’s wedding. Lucky for me they are having a destination wedding right here in Las Vegas. I’m in charge of the bachelorette and bachelor party, which comes as no surprise. I get asked a lot about what to do for the last celebration of one’s single life. Vegas has obvious options to offer: stripclubs, nightclubs, and girls/guys straight to your room. Even so, not everyone wants that kind of party. Here’s a few of my suggestions that can be done in pretty much any city for either the bride or groom.

Make Them Work
Who doesn’t love embarrassing your friends? Okay, but in a nice way. Create a list of tasks that need to be completed throughout the night. If drinking is involved (duh) tie it in. For example, if he/she mentions the spouse throughout night they have to take a shot. Other task suggestions: dance by yourself until someone dances with you (this will be way easier for girls); get someone to sing a love song; get a condom from someone’s wallet or purse (let’s be honest… if they have one on them, they won’t be using it anyways). You could make it an opposite sex scavenger hunt as well such as make them find things their spouse would keep in their bathroom or shop for. It’s really up to decide how risqué you want to make it. The prize… well, I’ll leave that up to as well.

Put Some Money on It
Marriage can sometimes be a gamble so incorporate that in the theme. Rent out a back room in a restaurant, like the mob from the movies, and have a poker game equipped with cigars and a high end scotch. If there is a horserace or you can create some kind of race to bet on. I was in a bar in Arizona once that had goldfish races. It could be a great way to the groom/bride a little extra cash for the wedding or honeymoon.

Funny Times
Sure there are the typical stripclubs and nightclubs, but what about comedy clubs? Find a well-known one and call ahead for front row seats and inform the management the reason you are coming. If you are celebrating in Vegas, take it up a notch and go to one the hypnotist shows. They do some amazing things to people and they won’t even remember it!

New Age
I don’t know if bachelors would be as into this as bachelorettes, but it might help them find out if the marriage will last. Hire a fortune teller to do a group reading or an astrologer to have them do everyone’s cosmic chart. Just remember it’s for fun so make sure you tell whoever you hire to not deliver any bad news if he or she can.

There are many other ideas of how to celebrate each party as well. For bachelors, guys can go paintballing, to a shooting range, golfing for the day, and a bar crawl later that night. For bachelorettes, ladies can enjoy a spa day, a “slumber party”, or if in Vegas, Chippendales, Thunder from Down Under, and American Storm are always a must.  Whatever is decided just remember to respect the groom’s or bride’s guidelines. You don’t want to have them do anything they are going to regret and break up the marriage before it even begins. God forbid.