Courtesy Carissa LoethenI had no idea what my friends were planning for my bachelorette party, but I knew it was going to be epic. It was a night full of surprises, and I loved every second of it!
As soon as we finished up with the last present of my "Fall in Love" themed wedding shower, my friends told me to go change into my other dress. (Yes, before the bachelorette portion of the night, I had to have a wardrobe change. Don't judge.)
I told the girls I'd wear a white dress to the party, and they secretly planned a whole theme around that.
Prior to finally finding the white dress, I would send my Maid of Honor pics of options, while endlessly shopping, searching for the perfect little, white dress for my trip back home to Missouri. I'd estimate my BFF made me try on about 25 different white dresses.
"It's cute, but it just doesn't really go with what we have planned," she'd say. And I'd respond, "Well, can you give me some hints to what the theme might be so I can narrow these choices down?" But as someone who knows I just love surprises, she would go on with, "No, just keep trying. We'll find one."
I was getting pretty exhausted and declared BCBG would be my last store.
Luckily, I found a white with black lace number that actually got her stamp of approval.
Well, the long shopping process was worth it because I was dressed perfectly to match with the girls and their surprise Gatsby-themed party #CarissasGatsbyGalore! (We spent about 20 minutes debating the perfect hashtag for the night. Not bad, right?)
They threw a boa on me, put a feather headband on my head, gave me some fancy vintage gloves and even a sparkly cigarette holder (I'm not a smoker by the way…it was just for looks). It was heaps of fun as all of my friends were dressed up in Gatsby gear too.
They were very sneaky about keeping all this under wraps.
Then, my jaw literally dropped when one of my friends came out carrying an ice sculpture with an interesting shape. I didn't feel those pictures would be appropriate to put online, but let that hint help you decipher the shape of the sculpture. Take a brief moment to think about it...Yep, good guess.
Anyways, the ice sculpture was also a shot shooter. So we kicked off the night with a couple rounds of Fireball shots out of the not-so-classy shaped sculpture, and lots of girly giggles.
Next, there was a honk outside. Surprise No. 3 had arrived…a party bus! The girls had the ride stocked up with all of our favorite drinks. Plus, we had custom-made hot pink drinking cups with lids so we wouldn't spill on our nice Gatsby dresses. We prepped for the big night by applying temporary tattoos that read, "If I'm lost, buy me a drink." (Because that is obviously the appropriate solution.)
We pulled into our first bar stop, one of the "usual hot spots" during my young college days. It's there that my friends wanted to play their special lingerie game.
Each girl bought me some kind of panties that reflected their personality. I had to guess who brought each pair based on its look. Yes, I was opening extremely seductive underwear at a public bar and there was a table of guys next to us cheering at every reveal. We created quite the show.
I got two guesses for each pair. Some I knew right away. Like the "Miami Heat" thong (my fiancé is from Miami) had to be from my basketball-loving friend, Lauren. "Netflix and Chill"? Easy, that's my Maid of Honor's mantra. Others were a little more difficult, but the funniest thing about the whole game was that when it was time to reveal who the gift giver was or if I guessed the thong's original owner correctly, that person would hold up a cutout picture of my fiancé Shanon's face (making some sort of funny expression). I don't think I've laughed harder than when I saw a cutout of Shanon's face blowing me a kiss glued to a little popsicle stick. How they ever convinced him to do that is beyond me? My MOH told me she sent him a bunch of emojis, and asked him to copy those expressions. The results were priceless, and yes I kept them all. The game is hilarious, and I got a whole bunch of sexy lingerie! I highly recommend it if you're planning a bachelorette party for someone.
After the game, my MOH gave me a few naughty gifts because embarrassing the bride-to-be at public establishments is what the night was all about. Then, I was put to work, fulfilling a whole bunch of challenges for the night. Things like, asking a guy to propose to me, and take a shot with a guy at the bar who is also engaged (thanks stranger) are just a couple of examples. They were all meant to make the bride uncomfortable in one way or another. Luckily for me, my shame wore off after my third cocktail. I think I completed all of my dares? Not exactly positive.
We continued the night with a few more bar stops, a whole lot of dancing and I was blessed with a few more surprises (but I think I've probably shared plenty at this point). I have family reading this blog, maybe even Shanon's grandmother...All in all, it was everything you'd expect at a bachelorette party with your besties, but better. I absolutely loved my Gatsby Galore!
P.S. We may look pretty calm and posed in our pictures. That was an intentional false impression. #nolatenightpics