Bachelor-Bachelorette Weekend

Matt and I had a difficult time in deciding what we were going to do for our bachelor-bachelorette party. We knew we wanted to do something together since we’re already married, but we didn’t want to celebrate in the usual ways of going to strip clubs, or even clubs in general. When we considered the options, we knew that Vegas would be the easiest thing but we were on the fence about it because when you say bachelor party in Vegas, images of The Hangover and other such shenanigans come to mind. That really wasn’t the kind of weekend we were looking for. We wanted something more laid-back and carefree.

We considered going to Lake Powell here in Arizona and renting a house boat for the weekend. When we did the calculations, however, it still would have been cheaper to go to Vegas. California was also out of the questions because the driving trip is 3 hours longer than the trip to Vegas. Plus, it would have been even more expensive than renting the house boat. So even though we weren’t into it initially, we decided on Vegas, but we chose to do things a little non-traditionally. We arrived in Vegas on Thursday night and decided to just get settled in our hotel, The Flamingo, eat and hit the strip. One of our friends had never walked the strip before so we figured this would have been a good kick-off to the weekend.

On Friday morning, we went on a hike. Yes, a hike in Vegas. It’s a little unusual for a bachelor party, but Matt and I really enjoy the outdoors and many people don’t even realize the beautiful areas in Nevada because there’s so much emphasis on the city. We went to the Red Rocks and did a short hike because it was so hot out that day. The scenery was amazing. It was like being on a different planet.

It’s amazing how you can drive a few miles outside of the strip and be in this whole other place.

We found a couple of branches on bushes and trees like the one above. Some of the branch was like a normal, wooden branch and then the other half of it was this soft and smooth area. Pretty neat.

Matt, Hannah and Suzanna hiked up to the top of this mountain while Dom, Sarah and I stayed on the trail and waited. I was pretty proud of them for making it all the way up there.

Here’s a photo of the whole group (except me because I’m behind the camera) that day. Later on that same day, two more of my girl friends arrived coming in from Oregon and California. Only two of Matt’s groomsmen made it out of four. His cousin, Zach, lives in Illinois and wasn’t able to fly all the way out to make it and his brother wasn’t able to come either.

On Friday night, we had reservations at the awesome Casa di Amore on Tropicana Avenue. A friend of mine from my home town is a manager at the restaurant so she made sure we had VIP service the entire time we were there. Even if you don’t know someone that works there, Casa di Amore is awesome in that it offers a free limo ride from your hotel on the strip to the restaurant and back.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
This is a photo of all of us at the restaurant. This photo is provided by my friend, Hannah. Dom and Matt look like they’re doing pretty well for themselves with all those girls surrounding them.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
This is Sarah, me and Amanda in the limo. The other girls are in front of us and the guys are in the front with the driver. I’m not sure why I’m staring at Sarah like that.

The next day, Matt’s other groomsman, Mait came all the way in from Utah to join us. It was also one of the more fun days I had that weekend because I took my girls on a surprise thrift shopping trip. I asked my friend that lives in Vegas to give me a list of a few good thrift or vintage clothing stores nearby and I took my girls there. I knew Vegas would have some good ones especially in comparison with Flagstaff.

That night we went to the Cirque du Soleil show, Mystere, and then went out for our one drinking/bar night. Hannah got me a little bachelorette tiara that I wore out that night.

I’m rockin’ that tiara!

And a photo of the boys, Matt, Mait and Dom. Matt saw the Green Bay Packers’ quarterback on a television somewhere that weekend and was inspired to shave his facial hair like him.

All in all, it was a fun weekend. We definitely made the non-traditional part of it work and in doing so, I had one of the best times I’ve ever had in Vegas.