Weddings | Girl Meets Life | a lifestyle blog by Gracie Gordon

Yesterday we celebrated my best friend Jessi’s last big hoorah as a single lady.

As the Maid of Honor, the bachelorette party was one of my main responsibilities. I’ll be honest – I wasn’t sure how to impress someone who has worked in events for 10 years and knows the ins and outs of a good party! But, I think I did a decent job

These days most bachelorette parties are some sort of vacation or getaway, but I knew I couldn’t throw that together with Jessi and Parker’s short engagement. Instead, I decided to do a full “staycation” for Jessi right here in New York.

Jessi’s love language is gifts, so I made sure to have little surprises for her throughout the day. On Friday morning, I got her some coffee and gave her the first gifts – some fun “attire” to wear throughout the day. Let’s be real – you can’t not have at least some cheesy bachelorette props!

Then I told her to pack a bag with clothes to go out at night and her hair/makeup stuff. I didn’t want her to know we were staying overnight somewhere, so I separately packed her a toothbrush, pajamas, and outfit for the next day.

And then – we were off! We hopped in a cab to our first destination, Eden Day Spa, where we met up with most of the other bridesmaids for a few hours of pampering.

The spa was so perfect. The bridesmaids and I treated Jessi to a 60-minute massage, manicure, and pedicure. I got an hour massage myself and it was amazing – definitely one of the best I’ve had in the city.

After our massages we headed to a reserved room for our group, where we enjoyed a complimentary lunch and champagne. It was great because anyone who got mani/pedis got them right there in the room with the others of us who were just hanging out. It was so nice to spend a few hours relaxing with the girls!

We also gave Jessi her next gift – a beautiful key necklace that Rhema picked out. So far we had a very happy bachelorette on our hands

After the spa, it was time for the next surprise. I had us start walking towards Saturdays and told Jessi I was going to get her favorite latte. But our destination was actually on the way – the Mondrian.

The Mondrian is one of the nicest hotels in the city, and I knew Jessi had never stayed there, so I booked us a room for the night.

It was beautiful! And felt like a great little escape from our normal city life.

After a quick run for that latte, I gave Jessi another gift.

Come on, you’ve got to have the tiara veil!

We got all dolled up and ready to go…

…and then it was time to head to dinner. I initially wanted to take Jessi somewhere she had never been, but I knew that having all of her girl friends there to celebrate was more important. It’s not exactly easy to find a restaurant that could accommodate 30+ people with our budget, so I decided to have the dinner at one of FreelyBe’s partner venues, 121 Fulton Street.

It ended up being the absolute perfect place for dinner. We had the whole back dining area reserved for us, so it was private and intimate.

The bridesmaids and I decorated the tables with some beads and Ring Pops (get it?), which turned out to be quite the hit.

The restaurant provided a great prix fixe menu for us, and all of the food was amazing.

After dinner Jessi opened her (ginormous amount of) lingerie gifts. It turned out to be the perfect girlie party with all of her closest friends.

When dinner was over, the night had really just begun. A smaller group of us headed to Jessi’s favorite club, Southside, where the music was loud and champagne was flowing. The groom may have made an appearance too, shhh

After a great night’s sleep back at our hotel, Jessi, Leah and I had a fun morning of recapping the night, more Saturdays lattes, and brunch at Delicatessen.

All in all, it was an amazing bachelorette party from start to finish. It really was an honor to give my best friend one last big party before getting married. Love you, Jessi!

What’s your favorite thing about bachelorette parties?
Tell me about the best one you’ve been to!

…because everyone loves a good alliteration, right?

That’s what my weekend looked like for the most part, and I loved every second of it.

Rewind to Friday, where we had a little birthday get together for none other than my good friend Leah.

A group of us met up at Mudspot in the East Village. I had heard a lot about Mud and was excited to go there for the first time.

I loved it so much that I went back on Sunday (where I wrote the beginning of this post with a big chai latte :)).

Everyone went to karaoke after dinner on Friday, but I called it an early night so I could get a good night’s sleep. My reason why?

Saturday was Jessi’s bridal shower!!!

I had been planning and organizing the shower for a couple of months, so I was so thrilled to finally share the special day with my best friend and bride-to-be.

The shower went off without a hitch. All of Jessi’s closest friends and family gathered at my friend’s showroom for a few hours of eating, mingling, opening gifts, and some fun activities.

For activities we did a fun trivia game about Parker and Jessi, as well as compiled a scrapbook for them with a ton of photos of friends, family, Parker and Jessi’s childhoods, etc. We did a similar scrapbook two years ago at Chrissy’s shower, and I knew Jessi would love going home with such a special gift!

It was such an honor getting to host the special day for my best friend. She and I have been through thick and thin, and I literally could not ask for a better friend in the world. Love you Jessi!

After the shower a group of us went out for another fun Saturday on the town. Considering how crazy I was prepping for the shower that morning, it was a much-needed afternoon/evening!

Sunday was pretty much my normal start-of-the-week routine, with a great church service followed by brunch. Monica, Courtney and I enjoyed a perfect Sunday meal at The Smith, followed by bopping around the city for a few hours.