If you saw over on Instagram this weekend, I was in Charleston celebrating Katie for her bachelorette party! From the perfect weather to lots of incredible food and of course bridal activities, it was so fun putting together this special weekend with her maid of honor! Since Charleston has become such a hot spot for bachelorette parties (we were surrounded by them on Saturday night!) I wanted to share a fun guide if you’re planning one there as well or just visiting Charleston soon!
CHARLESTON BACHELORETTE PARTY DAY 1:
WHERE TO STAY IN CHARLESTON:
We rented a beach house on Isle Of Palms (about a 30 minute drive from downtown Charleston) that was perfect for a hot summer weekend. Our Airbnb actually was part of the Wild Dunes Resort which made it ideal to be walking distance from multiple pools, restaurants and of course and the beach. We were also able to easily rent chairs, beach umbrellas and grab towels so we didn’t have to stress on finding them.
CHARLESTON BACHELORETTE PARTY: DÉCOR AND GIFTS
Since everyone was arriving at different times throughout the day, we spent the day hanging at the beach and just grabbing lunch from the resort beach bar. This was also a great way to distract Katie while her MOH Allie and I decorated the house and prepped for the nights activities! We wanted to just add some fun bachelorette decorations like BRIDE balloons, cute banners and photo booth moments and Stag & Hen was so great in setting us up in all things bachelorette! We also put together some gift bags for everyone filled with surprises from some of Katie’s favorite brands like Lilly Pulitzer, Jack Rogers from Muse Shoe Studio, Clinique, Bliss, Rodial, Snowfox Skincare and Naturally Serious. Lilly especially was so generous to send the perfect size tote bags to use all weekend long, filled with a tumbler, bracelets, a phone case and best of all, an outfit for Saturday night (more on that later!). We also included these print outs of the itinerary for the weekend so everyone knew the exact plans, except Katie who wanted to be surprised!
CHARLESTON’S LOW COUNTRY BOIL
For our first dinner, we wanted to have a true Southern night and hired Crazy Dutchmen Catering to come over to the house and make an authentic low country boil for all of us! We set up the backyard with fresh flowers and newspaper for a classic boil feel and it was so special to all eat under the stars the incredible feast! They made everything from crawfish, sausage and grilled coin boil, pulled pork sandwiches, coleslaw, green beans and best of all, pimento mac and cheese. SO much food and we had leftovers to enjoy all weekend long too.
CHARLESTON BACHELORETTE PARTY: LINGERIE AND PAJAMA SHOWER
After dinner, we surprised Katie with a lingerie and pajama shower to help get her honeymoon ready! I went the pajama route as I’m a pajama addict and picked up these Mrs. Pajamas for her (so soft!). The rest of the evening was full of lots of wine in our Lilly Pulitzer glasses, games and girl talk.
CHARLESTON BACHELORETTE PARTY DAY 2:
BISCUIT AND BLOODY MARY/BELLINI BAR
To kick off a long day, I wanted to make sure we had a hearty breakfast and what’s more Southern than a biscuit bar?! Ever since my first visit to Charleston a few years ago, I’ve been obsessed with Callie’s Charleston Biscuits and I was so excited they wanted to work together to help surprise Katie! Along with their stores in Charleston and Atlanta, Callie’s also caters and delivers so I was able to schedule a delivery on Saturday morning of an array of their famous biscuits and biscuit sandwiches. They also ship nationwide (plus their other treats like cookies and cheddar crisps!) so it’s a fun gift as well to send after the weekend.
Katie is also the queen of Bloody Mary’s (almost every trip we have taken together kicks off with Katie ordering one!) so I wanted to set up a mini Bloody Mary bar with all the fixings, as well as a bellini bar with Lilly Pulitzer flutes for those not Bloody Mary fans. Not only was it a fun photo moment, but I loved being able to kick off the day with one of Katie’s favorite things!
CHARLESTON BACHELORETTE PARTY: BEACH DAY
After breakfast, we soaked up the sun with cocktails and beers in hand on the beach. After being afraid all week of thunderstorms, we got so lucky with the incredible weather and had so much fun relaxing in the sun (wearing these cute matching sarongs and kimono!) and swimming as the water was incredibly warm.
LUNCH IN ISLE OF PALMS
After a few hours of sun, we headed into downtown Isle Of Palms to grab lunch. Isle Of Palms had so many cute spots to try and we ended up at Home Team BBQ for some strong Southern cocktails, nachos, queso and tacos. The energetic setting and big open tables were perfect for our group of nine. They don’t take reservations but there were a ton of restaurants and bars nearby to wait and have a drink if your table isn’t ready yet!
SUNSET COCKTAILS AND DINNER AT THE DARLING OYSTER BAR
We headed back home to get ready for our night out in Charleston and surprised Katie with all of us decked out in colorful Lilly Pulitzer! The brand was so generous in sending all of us pieces to surprise Katie with and it was so fitting for a girls’ night in Charleston for our Lilly girl! I chose this classic shift dress (loved the vintage vibes!) and loved Katie’s gorgeous white Grecian goddess gown.
We headed to downtown (about a 30 minute drive) to do some hotel bar hopping (one of my favorite things to do when I travel!) and kicked things off at the Restoration Hotel Rooftop, The Watch. The roof offers amazing views of Charleston and serves fun, colorful cocktails and was a perfect place to kick off the night.
We then headed to the gorgeous new Hotel Bennett and their pink champagne bar, Camellias. The ultimate girly heaven and such a fun spot to grab a few bottles of champagne with your girlfriends.
For dinner, we had reserved a table at The Darling Oyster Bar and it was the perfect vibe for the evening. Everything is incredible on the menu, with a ton of options and plates to share and best of all – their cocktails! Kendall was so sweet to send a round of drinks to us since she couldn’t make it for the weekend (we missed you Kendall!) and it helped set the mood for a fun night out.
GIRLS NIGHT OUT IN CHARLESTON
After dinner and a few cocktails, we headed right outside on King Street and hopped around to Republic for a few drinks and then to Stars Rooftop. Stars was so much fun and we couldn’t resist a few bachelorette dares for Katie and then heading downstairs for dancing (all the 90s/2000s hits) before heading back home late. A recipe for a perfect girls night out!
CHARLESTON BACHELORETTE PARTY DAY 3:
FAREWELL BRUNCH
The South know how to do a hungover brunch right and for our final meal together, we all headed back into Charleston to my favorite restaurant, Leon’s Oyster Shop. My first visit to Charleston a few years ago, my best friend and I came back to Leon’s twice in one weekend because we couldn’t resist another round of their UNREAL hush puppies, fried chicken sandwich and Siam Salad (stay tuned for the recipe later this week!). Everything on the menu is so good and perfect for sharing dishes. Make sure to grab one of their frozen cocktails and soft serve ice cream too!
With our flight later that afternoon, Katie and I wandered through downtown and Rainbow Row to snap photos and soak up the last bit of gorgeous Charleston. The perfect Southern weekend for our bride!
I love Charleston! I can’t wait to go back and try some of these places. Thanks for sharing!
– xx, Merritt
Where did you make the agenda cards?
they’re linked! it’s an etsy pdf and then just printed on my own! 🙂