A Practically Perfect Bachelorette Weekend in Amelia Island!
Written by Samantha Crotty, Maid of Honor and Best Friend to Erica, the Bride to be
If fun-est was a real word, it would be the only word to properly describe the bride-to-be, Erica. She is a hoot-and-a-half, bombshell person who knows how to make you laugh, snort, and just enjoy yourself no matter what. She was the greatest bride ever to plan a bachelorette party for. She had no requirements, and her only request was to go somewhere near a beach and simply relax.
The party was fantastically amazing. As a planner, I'm meticulous for details. So every detail had to be on point. We raged, we drank, we beached, we played games (and drank), and we just had an amazing weekend getaway to celebrate our favorite girl.
We had a combination of themes, as Erica loves a lot of different things. One night was 90s themed, another Harry Potter, and of course we had the traditional penis items as well.
Primarily I opted for 90's for the whole weekend for many reasons: Erica was born in the 90's (bitch), and, still to this day, she is obsessed with all the music from the 90's—but who can blame her?
QUICK N' DIRTY
Where: Amelia Island, Florida
When: 4 days in February
Theme: 90's and Harry Potter!
Who: 7 ladies, 1 gent and 1 bride (that makes 9 peeps in total)
THE DESTINATION: Amelia Island, Florida
★★★★★ (100% perfect!)
Located just off the coast of northeast Florida, Amelia Island is accessible, and quaint, housing 13 miles of beautiful beaches with pristine waters. Pair that with a 50-block National Historic District, an array of independent shops, restaurants, and watering holes, this barrier island was the perfect destination for this bachelorette party. It was definitely off season, (usually in February the average is the low 70's) ... but somehow the bachelorette gods were smiling upon us and the weather was perfect! Sunny and in the high 70's—low 80's the entire weekend. Crowds were small, and everything was wonderful. To be on the safe side though, I would definitely recommend going more in mid to late March through end of September, when the weather is more predictable.
Photo credits: Amelia Island, VRBO
ACCOMMODATIONS
★★★★★ (100% perfect!)We rented an adorable beach house via VRBO!
Room details: 4 bedrooms / 3 bathrooms / sleeps 10
Cost per night: $195
Perks/bonuses: Direct access to the beach, and it was great to have a full kitchen with dishes and cookware!
Photo Credits: VRBO
ITINERARY
Outfits: Travel outfits and then our jammies
Erica and I live in Atlanta, so we made the drive down to Amelia Island Friday morning, and the rest of the guests flew in. We booked our flights through Southwest. Our afternoon group meeting spot was Gilbert's Underground Kitchen. We lunched, cocktailed and prepared to head over to the house to check-in and setup. Since everyone would be a little tired from travels, I scheduled us all to stay in for the first night. I arranged a wine and cheese evening so we could all play catch up, unpack and prepare for the weekend ahead. We also played several drinking games which lead into the early hours of the next morning. ☺︎
▸ Morning: Travel into our destination
▸ Afternoon: Meet at Gilberts Underground Kitchen for lunch and cocktails
▸ Evening: Wine and cheese at the house in our jammies
✔︎ Worth it: Gilberts Underground Kitchen was fabulous! Great good, drinks, service and atmosphere for our group.
✘ Not worth it: Driving! I totally recommend flying if you are able to.
Photo Credits: Gilberts Underground Kitchen
Outfits: Amazing MC Hammered / Can't Touch This 90's tanks from Bachette.com and swimsuits (we all just wore our own)
We woke up, had breakfast and then went directly to the beach. In order to fully commit to vegetation in the sun, we ordered lunch from a local delivery service, and we continued to drink, eat and sunbathe. After the beach, we all showered and got ready for the Cocktail Tour in Downtown Amelia Island. This was an AWESOME experience and our tour guide was hysterical. Once we wrapped up the tour, we made our way to Bar Zin for a delicious dinner, and concluded with a night around downtown.
▸ Morning: Brekky at the VRBO
▸ Afternoon: Beachin' babes
▸ Evening: Downtown Cocktail Tour, followed by dinner at Bar Zin.
✔︎ Worth it: It's a tie for this day, our awesome tank tops and the Cocktail Tour.
✘ Not worth it: Nothing. This day was totally perfect.
Outfits: We all dolled up in cute outfits, and our bride-to-be wore a custom "From Muggle to Mrs. Cunningham" sash I had made for her.
Today we made it a point to sleep in, and when the bride, her mom and sister returned from their morning run (overachievers!), they brought bagels for everyone for breakfast. We sipped mimosas, bellinis and champagne until we decided to hit the beach one last day. After another long afternoon of beach lounging, we got ready to head back downtown for some shopping and dinner.
We walked around and enjoyed quaint downtown Amelia Island and then popped over to The Decantery. It was a perfect little spot to pick up a bottle of wine to go with dinner, and enjoy some pre-dinner appetizers and cocktails. Once we wrapped up there, we headed to Ciao Italian Bistro for our dinner reservations. After a fresh and filling Italian feast and vino, we ended the night with some ice cream.
▸ Morning: Bagels and bellinis at the VRBO
▸ Afternoon: Another afternoon at the beach
▸ Evening: Capped off the day with shopping and an italian feast at Ciao Italian Bistro
✔︎ Worth it: Ciao Italian Bistro was BEYOND amazing!
✘ Not worth it: Nothing. Another perfect day.
FOOD AND DRINK
We didn't go all out on the food and drinks at the house, I kept it simple and it worked out great!
Booze for the house: 2 cases of wine and prosecco
Mixers: Grabbed some oj / peach juice for mimosas and bellinis at the store when we got there
Snacks: Cheese and crackers
Meals: We didn't really do meals at the house, besides breakfast and we just picked up some bagels for that.
TIPS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Highly recommend: Plan early and make sure you are to the point in every email with the group attending. Put together a spreadsheet to track your expenses, especially if you want to stay on budget or at least see how your spending. You also need to find the best way to coordinate with all the bridal party, whether that is through email, text or phone calls. You want everyone to be on top of the communication you are sending, especially if you are planning on splitting expenses
Wouldn't recommend: Assuming anything. Not everyone drinks, not everyone has the budget to spend frivolously. So always ask.
THE BUDGET
I had a personal budget of what I wanted to spend as the main coordinator. Sadly I did not follow it to a "T". I definitely went over-budget, but that is mainly because I had to go over the top for my best friend. It's not every day she gets married. Besides, I only went over by $300! Items marked with a ❥ I paid for myself.
I divided the house between all of us, the tank tops and cocktail tour was split between everyone but the bride, Erica's mom covered dinner and drinks out our last night, my mom and I split dinner the second night, and then I covered the rest of the expenses.
Accommodations: $195 pp
Food at the house: $55 pp
❥ Decorations: $40
Meals / drinks out: $100 pp
❥ Party Favors: $50
Shirts and accessories: $28 pp
Activities: $49 pp
Travel and gas: $200-$250
❥ Custom Bride hat: $40
❥ Custom Bride sash: $22.40
Total estimate per person: $652
Cost to the MOH: $804
DECORATIONS
I didn't go too extreme on the decorations (the VRBO was already so cute!) I just picked up a few items at Amazon and Bachette, and then I made some cute DIY "Morning After" mug shot signs.
VENDOR LIST
Eye Masks | The Sleepy Cottage | $14 each
Fiesta Siesta Tequila Repeat Koozies | Design Twenty Five on Etsy | $4 each
Cocktail Tour | Amelia Island Downtown Tasting Tours | $49 each
Welcome bags | Amazon | $18.99 for 50 pc
Custom Bride Sunhat | Shades of Pink Boutique on Etsy | $40 each
Custom Harry Potter Sash | Shades of Pink Boutique on Etsy | $22.40
Same Penis Forever Banner | Amazon | $12.59
Gold Tinsel door hanger | Amazon | $9.99 each
Champagne Bottle Balloons | Bachette.com | $8.95 / pack
MC Hammered 90's Tank tops | Bachette.com | $20.79 each (after bulk discount!)
Oh Shit Kit Bags | Bachette.com | 1.39 each
▹ Motrin packets | Amazon | $.16 each (you have to buy 100 packets)
▹ Fun Bandaids | Amazon | 1.09 each
▹ Sunglasses | Bachette.com | $3.19 each
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