This might actually be the worst bachelor party ever

I don’t want to go out on TOO huge of a limb, as I’m sure next time this comes up I’ll have to post as “No, really, THIS is the worst bachelor party ever,” but this is pretty rough.

Check out this post at HolyJuan, where he starts off the post describing the standard fare that guys use when recapping their lady friends on a bachelor party - those of you with no bachelor party experience might want to write this down.

“Not much happened. The girls weren’t that hot. We just drank a lot. It was fun, but not crazy.”

Most of the time this rule will be “unspoken,” but every so often you actually hear it uttered between two guys before one goes home. In any case, in this story, HolyJuan was actually telling the truth when he used that recap. You must read it - it’s not as ridiculously horrid as you might be thinking, but it definitely qualifies as bummer material, including his current status as not-a-best-man-since the one he lined up last.

Continental’s on the gift registry wagon

While I’ve previously expressed that I’m not so in love with the idea of having people pay for your honeymoon as a wedding gift - it’s just not for me, really - that doesn’t mean that it’s not a popular option. I’ve heard a lot of discussion where people say that they’re not against it, especially when it’s a second marriage, marriage of people who are maybe a little more successful, salary-wise and don’t “need” a lot of things for their home(s), and so on.

The latest thing I’ve caught is Continental Airlines’ gift registry, which allows gifts starting at $25 towards a travel registry for Continental.com members. Saw it advertised in my regular update as a Continental OnePass member, and figured it was worth posting about. Perhaps I need to rethink my concept of what this all means, huh?

More on party ideas

The Democrat & Chronicle’s Rochelle Hentges shares a couple more bachelor party ideas for those of you braining on what to do for yourself or for your pal, the groom. I’m still up on the “adventure” concept, whether it be whitewater rafting or something like that, and she’s got a good link for people looking for help coordinating such an event. I’m also thinking that a poker night makes a great combination with one thing or another, though I’m not sure if playing poker *after* getting your drink on is the best bet.

[photo credit: chelle]

Pink = teh loss at your bachelor party

Wow, check out what horrors these groomsmen created by getting the groom to wear pink to the bachelor party - or at least the mini golfing part of the bachelor party.

Is Caladesi Island the spot for you?

Having had a few friends and former colleagues that spent time on the Gulf Coast of Florida, I’d heard a lot about the differences of that part of the state’s coastline and how the ocean was a little bit more of a lapping wave on the beach rather than what those of us who live on the East Coast of the USA are used to. A turnoff for some people who prefer the crashing waves, I suppose, but apparently gorgeous up and down that part of the state if you know what to look for.

So when I heard this past week that Florida International University professor Stephen P. Leatherman, who’s known as “Dr. Beach,” called Caladesi Island the best beach in the U.S., I figured it was worth checking out.

Caladesi Island, as it turns out, is a state park, and if you take a ferry, you can only stay on the island for four hours. But if you find something useful to do during the four hours, it’s seemingly well worth it. At the very least, it’s probably an awesome spot to pop the question, take some awesome photos, and make your way back “to the mainland” to find a nice spot to stay the night. Plus, you’ll impress your significant other with your amazing knowledge of things featured on NBC’s “Today Show” without actually having watched it.

Even Ask MeFi brings value in honeymoon planning

See, all those blogs you’re reading aren’t for naught, you can now say. Check out this thread over at Ask MetaFilter about road-tripping a honeymoon through the Northeastern part of the U.S. I’m such a fan of the concept of working with communities you’re comfortable with to get answers, rather than finding one that fits some mold someone else thinks is a good idea. Everyone’s talking about how crowdsourcing is the thing in the last couple years, but it’s been going on forever, just without a moniker.

Seriously, though. If you’re the kind of person who spends time on MetaFilter and sites like it, and you’re looking for advice, aren’t you going to appreciate advice from people who have similar experiences and interests in general, as they can probably provide you with something you’re actually going to like, as opposed to something that someone else thinks you should like?

Some more honeymoon ideas

Bridal Guide has published its 22 Caribbean hotspots for honeymoons for your reviewing pleasure. It’s in alphabetical order, which I’m sure most people will appreciate. They also provide a great breakdown of what TO go to each place for, and what NOT TO go to each place for. For instance, don’t go to Barbados for the “spring break party scenes,” or Martinique if you “expect the locals to speak English.”

Sometimes, having a place to start is the hardest part, so there’s no excuses if you click through on this, gentlemen.

Honeymoon registries — the guy’s POV

We’ve already had a couple of discussions about registries here at Groomify, but something that I recently had a (brief) conversation about was the idea that having a registry where wedding invitees could “purchase” a part of your honeymoon. First off, I’ll say that I’m not really a fan. While the Wall Street Journal’s Jane Hodges reports that even the Emily Post Institute says that honeymoon registries see “no objection to [them] from an etiquette point of view,” it’s so easy to agree or dismiss the perception of having others finance a vacation.

Upon reading that entire WSJ article, I “get” the statement made in the sidebar / photo caption, discussing how a middle-aged couple might “have” everything they need in life or to have a home together, leaving this as an acceptable option, but isn’t it still asking for people to pay for a vacation? I guess if I kept following this train of thought, I could argue that asking people to finance your china cabinet or glassware or utensil drawer could be viewed the same way, but it feels different to me. There’s certainly a difference between building a life together and building a sandcastle in Tahiti, but is this a case-sensitive thing that should be considered as such?

On top of this whole thing, I think we start getting into the whole “how much of a gift should people be buying us?” situation when talking about registries in general. To that extent, I think gifts that are further along on the “we’ll always think of you when we use your fine china” tend to tug more on the motional heartstrings - even for a guy - than the “oh yeah, and these eighteen people were kind enough to pay for our flight to Bali” sentiment.

Enough from me, though - what do YOU think?

The latest on honeymoons

With all the planning that goes into the wedding ceremony and reception, it’s definitely important that someone keeps the honeymoon in mind. From making sure that the dollars going into it are factored into the overall wedding budget to paying attention to “what’s up” in the economy and the world, there are a lot of things to assess.

Gas prices taking a climb for the worse right now is surely affecting people’s interests in taking a road trip of any length, or going somewhere that they’ll be responsible for buying fuel for a car - at least in the U.S. Weather and other happenings - such as the Olympics in China, for instance - all have effects on where we’d like to go and when.

Tonight, I came across this item from FloridaTrend.com that shows some stats on honeymoons in general and what people are up to of late. From destination weddings to “going green,” there are a whole ton more factors to ponder when doing your planning (don’t you need more options?). They also report that “destination” bachelor/ette parties are something of interest right now. What I didn’t notice is anything about how economic conditions overall are hindering people’s travels. In fact the New York Daily News‘ Paul Schultz writing about how “tropical islands” are a “persistent theme” when it comes to honeymoons - and for good reason.

Also crossing my path tonight was a tool that portrays itself as fitting into the groom’s wheelhouse. Blissport calls itself “honeymoon planning for guys,” and even offers a few tips and tricks in Honeymoon School. I’ve played a little bit with the service, and I can’t say it’s super-targeted for guys, at least in user experience and content, but maybe that’ll grow on me over time. It seems like the “school” content is where the “guy” focus is at, and the rest of it seems to be pretty general travel focused.

Is Blissport the solution for chipping in and doing something? It’s one of them, for sure, but what I think most guys probably find is that if they’re into vacation and travel, it’s an easy transition to plan something cool for the two of you as a honeymoon. Just don’t focus on things that YOU want to do the whole time, and she’ll probably appreciate you for it.

Deals: May 12, 2008

Looking for a deal on your honeymoon flights? The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s Clara Bosonetto Maerz shares some news that American Airlines has “slashed the prices” on a number of Caribbean destinations, with no apparent deadline on travel termination. Head on over to that article and then to aa.com to book.

Bad Move Of The Day

Over at A Sack of Seattle, you’ll find what is clearly the bad move of the day. One of the participants of a completely above-board bachelor party the blogger attended ordered a serious bottle of wine - $500 worth of serious - didn’t tell anyone, and then had it show up on the joint bill for all to pay.

Let it be here decreed, as said over there, that a serious “party foul” has been committed. Not cool.

Thoughts on a bachelor party

Part of this post is going to be super self-serving, the other part of it is going to totally jack the initial commentary in this post from Liz McLean Knight about “lame bachelor parties” that are most certainly “out in the suburbs.” First off, I’ve gotta say that I have no real idea on what kind of bachelor party I want to have. People are already throwing around the usual fare of strippers, cigars, and so on, and that’s all well and good. At the same time, I’m kind of thinking the party needs to get started, and size doesn’t matter.

Liz is talking about a throwdown for label owner Andrew Lochhead in Detroit that’s going to feature some amazing female DJ talent. Some guys want other types of “talent” when it comes to the party itself, I’ve gotta say that I’d be all up for a throwdown that completely steals this concept, but I’d aim directly at some of my favorite female DJs, DJ Rap, Baby Anne, and Jen Lasher. Of course, I’m probably going to have to save some serious coin to afford one of them, let alone three, but that’s alright, a guy can hope.

This gets me thinking, though. What else are people talking about doing these days? Are we heading out to Vegas and doing the club and strippers thing? Does anyone take a road trip and do a guys’ weekend full of golf, liquor, and other entertainment? What’s new and exciting?

[Photo credit: taliesin]

Best or worst bachelor party ending?

Anonymous Coworker shared a tale of a bachelor party attended this past weekend, and I can’t help but ask one question. Does a night of seeming guy-awesomeness that ends with a rendition of “Tiny Dancer” mean that the guy-awesomeness has ruled itself out, or not? These, my friends, are important questions that need answering. Head on over there and chime on in.

It’s called a “holidate” now, you know?

The Globe and Mail’s Ellen Himelfarb writes this week about the concept supposedly known as a “holidate,” meaning that you and your significant other head off into the hills (or at least a decent hotel) for a weekend away, seeing how you make it on “your own.” Turns out that it’s not just a concept (and who hasn’t gone on one, right?) to talk about, it’s something that hotels are actually building packages for, whether you’re married or not.

It’s not as simple as what you think is happening here, though. There’s the whole shared bathroom thing, actually being with the person you’re potentially interested in sticking around with for more than just a few hours at a time, and so on. And yes, some hotels are even figuring out ways to program against that, too. Who knew?

Not my (first) bachelor party choice

Okay, this isn’t going to be my first bachelor party choice - or my last - but it’s one that needs to be pointed out either way. Tasty Booze shares some video of some officers of the law who have an interesting way of showing one of their own a good time.

The video’s just blurry enough to make it a little frustrating, but some of the audio more than makes up for that annoyance. Enjoy!

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