Girls Night Out
Filed under Off Beat, Planning, Wedding IdeasA professional planner creates customized bachelorette parties.
by HCTG Staff Writer Patrick Totty, Most photos by Studio Wonderland
In the old days, say, five years ago, here’s how a bride-to-be might have gotten together with her best friends for a last fling: A few nights before her wedding day, they’d put on their high-heel sneakers and head out to party into the wee hours. Maybe they’d hit a hot bar, then shift over to a dance club, and then wind up at an all-night diner to gorge on chocolate sundaes.
If the bride was lucky, a friend might take care of some of the arrangements beforehand, and even throw in a nice set of wheels, like a limousine. But all in all, she and her buds were on their own in terms of figuring out where to go and what to do.
These days, thanks to a one-time debutante who’s been planning parties since her stint at Sarah Lawrence College, brides all over the U.S. can sit back and relax while a professional planner creates their customized bachelorette party.
The former deb, Pamela Yager, is a stand-up comedian who might as well have an advanced degree in event planning. Her Los Angeles-based company, Arc Entertainment, has been pioneering “pre-wedding party planning” for several years. “There’s no real category yet for what we do,” she explains. “The industry is so young the Yellow Pages haven’t figured out where to put us.”
Yager’s parties are soup-to-nuts affairs. She organizes the theme, food, venues, personalized gifts and transportation, as well as an entertainer to serve as the host. Usually the entertainers are comedians, but other options are available, including a fabulous graphologist (handwriting analyst). “First I find out what the bride and her guests are like, and then I match them up with the perfect entertainer,” Yager says. “Comedians make great party hosts because they create a relaxed atmosphere in which everyone feels free to have fun and be silly.”
Her most popular party is “Bride’s Night Out,” which typically involves whisking a bride-to-be and her friends off in a limo to one or more party sites. Riding along with them is the professional host, who puts everybody in a party mood. At the destination, the festivities involve not only themed food, drinks and games, but a roast or monologue by the host. “We can also provide a party boutique that’s a lot like a bridal expo,” says Yager. “Much of the stuff we offer isn’t available to ‘nice’ girls—at least not in places they’d want to go looking for it.”
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