A New Way to Celebrate: The Renaissance of the Slumber Party

So you just got engaged and you are beaming. You know who you want to ask to be your maid of honor and your bridesmaids but you don’t know exactly how to ask them. You want to make it special and fun but you are looking for a new idea. Why not return to your childhood dreams and share them with your BFFs by throwing a slumber party to invite your friends to be part of your bridal party? You could stock your apartment with stacks of wedding magazines, watch your favorite childhood flicks (maybe St. Elmo’s, The Breakfast Club, Heathers or Troop Beverly Hills?), have a mixology course in your living room to try out potential signature cocktails for your wedding or engagement party, buy a selection of cakes to provide inspiration for your wedding cake and just have a good old fashioned great time with your best girls. This type of party never goes out of style and it might be a refreshing change from nights out in the city. No matter whether you are 25, 30 or 35, spending time with your closest friends is one of the best ways to put a smile on your face and get you on the floor laughing – you can be crazy, young, silly, and most of all yourself. Who better to celebrate your engagement with than your friends who have seen you through thick and thin, the bad dates, the great dates, and to help you get ready to marry the man that you love?

Another option here of course, is for the maid of honor or chief bridesmaid to organize this party once the bridal party is formed. The idea for the bridal slumber party is that it occurs at the beginning of the engagement – it is a way for the bride-to-be to share her excitement about her upcoming nuptials and to reminisce with her great friends about the past, to be a kid again before starting her new journey. Being engaged is a very exciting time and having her friends surrounding her, supporting her and celebrating with her makes this time all that much more special.

If, however, the members of the bridal party all live in different locations (e.g. different states, cities or countries), then you could always throw the slumber party at the very end of the engagement. If you know that your bridal party will all be in town before the wedding, why not invite them into town a day earlier than expected. You could do pre-wedding home spa treatments (no facials for the bride please!), and help the bride relax and get ready for the wedding, whether that means assembling cones for flower petals or just chilling out and watching your favorite wedding films (like Father of the Bride, My Big Fat Greek Wedding, My Best Friend’s Wedding).

On a more personal note, my closest friends (you know who you are) helped make my engagement a wonderful experience – they were there for me every step of the way to make sure I was laughing all the way through and happy. I cannot say enough how much I treasure each and every one of them for their support and their generosity. I had the time of my life thanks to them so for all the bridesmaids out there – just care for your friend and why not throw a slumber party in her honor to bring back the child in all of us - Just think of the 4 Cs – Candy, Chocolate, Cocktails and Cake – and you can’t go wrong!