WEDDING BLOG

10 Virtual Bachelorette Party Ideas for Quarantine

May 13, 2020 | Junebug Weddings

COVID-19 made us press pause on a variety of 2020 plans, but we’re here to help you fast forward to an unforgettable virtual bachelorette party! While it may not involve a trip to Cabo with the girls, these virtual bachelorette party ideas are full of fun bonding experiences to quench the connection you’ve been craving in quarantine.

Our 10 virtual bachelorette party ideas include:

Home Spa Day
Virtual Wine Tasting
Online Workshop or E-Course
Chick Flick Costume Party
Trivia Night
Virtual Tarot Reading
Craft Party
Interactive Cooking Show
Virtual Dance or Yoga Class
Decades Dance Party

Read on for all our tips to pull off these quarantine bachelorette parties along with some fun favor picks from the Junebug team!

1. Home Spa Day

Isn’t what we all need right now a little rest and relaxation? While a day at the spa may not be on the agenda, a home spa day will be a welcomed way to celebrate in quarantine! The Maid of Honor can ship each “guest” a few beauty and wellness essentials, queue up some relaxing tunes, and lead the group in their new beauty routine.

Shop some of our home spa favorites: DIY Gel Nail Kit ($62.99); Assorted Face Masks ($22); Skincare Headbands 9 Pack ($14.99); Moisturizing Foot Mask Pack ($25.99); Jade Roller ($14.95); Beauty Refrigerator ($60) — this would be a great gift for the bride!

2. Virtual Wine Tasting + Home Wine Tour

Wine tasting is a classic bachelorette party activity and one you can totally do from home! To recreate the experience, send everyone a wine tasting flight sampler kit and a few bottles of your favorite vinos. Some wineries are even providing wine kits to make the experience virtual, so look into your favorite local wineries for their current offerings. Looking to spice up the occasion? Do a home wine “tour” where guests drink a different win in each room of the house and every room is assigned a topic of conversation. For instance, the living room prompt could be favorite movies from your childhood and the bathroom prompt could be bath vs. shower. Drink up!

photo by Proshot Photography

3. Group Workshop or E-Course

Learning a new skill together as a group can be a fun bonding experience that sticks with you for years to come. World-renowned artists, writers, and leaders in a variety of industries share their expertise in easy-to-follow virtual courses on platforms like Skillshare and MasterClass.

Here are some of our favorite classes being offered on Skillshare right now:

4. Chick Flick Costume Party

Lean into the theme of sisterhood and do a virtual watch party of the bride’s favorite chick flick! Every guest can dress up as her favorite leading lady, like Cher from Clueless, Elle Woods from Legally Blonde, Regina George from Mean Girls, or Mia Thermopolis from The Princess Diaries. Pro tip: have everyone set the movie to the exact same second and then hit play. Also ask everyone to mute their video chat unless they have funny commentary so the sound of the movie isn’t playing through everyone’s speakers.

photo by Brooke Taelor

5. Trivia Night

Looking to step up the Zoom game night? Plan a trivia night that’s specific to your bride and all her favorite things! To really personalize the experience, you can create a Jeopardy-style game with categories based on the bride’s own life. Not feeling confident in your trivia-making abilities? Look for a trivia game for her favorite TV show and throw a themed party around it!

P.S. Check out these cute virtual backgrounds by Zoom!

Some of our favorite TV show trivia games: Friends Trivia Game ($9.99); The Office Trivia Game ($31); Sex and the City Trivia Game ($22.90); Parks and Recreation Trivia Game ($10)

6. Virtual Tarot Reading

Is your crew a little “woo woo” these days? Hire your favorite tarot reader to do a virtual reading for the group and learn what the future has in store according to the cards.

Thinking about learning tarot on your own or want to gift your guests their own deck? Check out our favorite decks: OK Tarot: The Simple Deck for Everyone ($34.95); The Wild Unknown Tarot Deck and Guidebook ($23.83); The Modern Witch Tarot Deck ($22.46); Mystic Mondays Tarot: A Deck for the Modern Mystic ($18.31); The Starseed Oracle: A 53-Card Deck and Guidebook ($22.49)

photo by Joe + Kathrina

7. Craft Party

Break out the scissors and glue — it’s time to get crafty! Whether you go DIY Painting with a Twist and paint tipsy portraits of the bride or make something you can all hang in your home (hello, built-in party favors!) like a wall hanging or macramé plant hanger. P.S. This could also be a great way to help your bride knock out some wedding DIYs!

Shop our favorite DIY kits: Small Weaving Loom Kit ($32.99); DIY Macrame Wall Hanging Pattern with Supplies ($29.29); Sunset Embroidery Kit ($29.25); DIY Macramé Plant Hanger Kit for Beginners ($28.50); Cacti Embroidery Kit for Beginners ($16)

8. Interactive Cooking Show

Is one of your friends an excellent cook? Make them the host of their very own cooking show! Send an ingredient list for a dinner dish or dessert to your guests and have the “chef” walk everyone through the steps to make it via video. Everyone gets to learn to make something new in their own kitchen and enjoy the dish afterward! Bonus: Check to see if your local caterers are offering virtual cooking classes so you can learn from an expert!

Looking for a few favors to send your guests? Here are some pretty kitchen essentials we love: Rose Gold Measuring Cup and Spoon Set ($24.97); Rose Gold Whisk ($12.99); Cute Spoon Rest ($26); Patterned Spatulas ($10); Floral Apron ($32)

photo by Joe + Kathrina

9. Virtual Yoga or Dance Class

Buds who sweat together, stay together — even virtually! Have you ever wanted to learn the choreography to your favorite Ariana Grande song? You can all learn it together using a YouTube video via screenshare over a video call. Yoga more your speed? Corepower Yoga is offering their classes online for free and there are tons of YouTube yogis (we love Yoga with Adriene!) you can use to find a class that fits everyone’s skill level. Looking for something a little silly and super fun? Sweat to the oldies with retro Richard Simmons videos — don’t forget your brightly colored sweatbands!

Shop some of our favorite workout gear to celebrate in style: High Waist Bike Shorts ($48); Pink Dip Dye Pullover Sweatshirt ($72); Lightning Synergy Crop Top ($58); Love Tie Dye Tank ($58); High Waist 7/8 Leggings ($68); Easy Cropped Tank ($24.95)

RECOMMENDED READING: Bridal Loungewear for Comfy Wedding Planning at Home

10. Decade Costume Dance Party

Is your bride bestie a big fan of the ’70s or is she more of a ’90s chick? Ask your gang to get dressed up in their best decade-of-choice outfit and dance the night away to a playlist of the decade’s greatest hits. Take things to the next level with a disco ball or strobe light to really set the mood. Bonus: Lots of DJs are offering virtual services right now so you can get the party started with the help of an expert!

RECOMMENDED READING: Wedding Getting Ready Playlist to Dance to With Your Girls

Don’t forget to dress up for your virtual bachelorette party! We’ve got your back with all the bachelorette outfits a bride needs for an amazing weekend.

photo by Brooke Taelor

East Meets West in This English Garden Wedding at Sezincote House

May 12, 2020 | Junebug Weddings

Culture-infused decor, dragon dancers, and lots of sentimental moments made Natalya and David’s wedding truly unforgettable! The couple’s day was set perfectly at Sezincote House, a stunning 200-year-old Mogul Indian palace with a most spectacular Organery, which the incredible planning team from Liz Linkleter Events decided would be the perfect spot for their ceremony. It was important to Natalya and David to incorporate lovely little touches of Chinese influence — and we’re obsessed! We love the lanterns and twisting foliage that hung above their lively guests and lit up magically as night fell. Get ready for some of the most awesome party photos Benjamin Wheeler captured of the couple and their loved ones partying all night long, and even more! We can’t wait for you to get inspired by this one, babe!

The Couple:

Natalya & David

The Wedding:

Sezincote House, Cotswolds, England

I am a very casual dresser, so the idea of a wedding dress was quite daunting for me. Instead of looking at wedding gowns, I began to search red carpet looks and I quickly realized I wanted a dress that had a simple silhouette and, most importantly, that I felt comfortable and very much myself in. As for accessories, I decided they weren’t for me, so I ended up just wearing a special pair of jade earrings that my mother passed down to me.

We had been to Sezincote House for a wedding a couple of years earlier and fell in love with its uniqueness. We knew we wanted a wedding that was set in the English countryside, but in order to blend our two cultures it was important to us that we chose a venue which would compliment what we wanted to create. Sezincote House was the perfect setting. The house itself was designed to reinterpret an Indian home in the Mogul style. When we got engaged, we immediately got in touch with the owners of the house; it was a no brainer for us.

We really wanted to blend both of our cultures and create an East meets West ambiance for the day. We both come from Jewish families so we knew that we wanted a traditional ceremony under the chuppah, completed with the smashing of the glass and, most importantly, Israeli dancing. We never wanted to steer far from a sense of fun and went to a lot of effort to ensure that the beautiful setting we created did not distract from the fact that the day was all about celebration.

With the bride’s family being from Hong Kong, it meant that Chinese elements were introduced throughout the day in the forms of lanterns, a red opium den style bar, lion dancers & each guest’s table setting also had napkins embroidered with their own zodiac sign. We were lucky to have a very talented artist named Isla Simpson to do all of our illustrations and she was able to incorporate things from both England and Hong Kong into a Chinoiserie style design for our invitations, napkins, website, etc.

We were fortunate to have our incredible wedding planner, Liz Linkleter, and her team guide us through everything from start to finish. Communication is key, and Liz and her team were always on the same page as us. One piece of advice that we would like to share is that when it comes to decision-making, it’s only up to you and your partner. You can listen and take advice from friends and family but, at the end of the day, it’s your special day and it’s up to the two of you create an occasion you’ll remember forever. Also, don’t stress about things that are out of your control on the actual day. There may be little mishaps but no one is going to notice and, if they do, it’s an icebreaker!

We had an incredible band, Sensation Band, who basically played throughout the day (including between courses, which meant the dancing started even before we sat down for our starters!) Something that still stands out to both of us was when everyone spontaneously got up on their chairs and danced and sang along to the band’s rendition of “Lean On Me”. Loved it.

The Wedding Team:

Photography – Benjamin Wheeler
Second Photographer – Ash Springle
Event Planning – Liz Linkleter Events
Wedding Venue – Sezincote House
Floral Design – Aesme
Catering – Spook London
Reception Music – Trio Manouche
DJ & Live Music – The Sensation Band
Dragon Dancers – KSK UU Dragon & Lion Dance
Videography – Wagtail Productions
Invitation Design – Isla Simpson
Makeup Artist & Hair Styling – The White Dossier
Wedding Dress – Suzanne Neville
Groom’s Apparel – Beggars Run
Rentals – Great Hire

Congratulations, Natalya and David, and many thanks to Junebug member Liz Linkleter Events for sharing their most beautiful Sezincote House wedding with us! If you love what Liz and her team put together for this couple’s day, be sure to visit her page in our directory of the world’s best wedding planners.

Elegant Tropical Hawaii Elopement at Four Seasons Oahu Ocean Lawn

May 11, 2020 | Junebug Weddings

gold kelly green light pink yellow

We’re feeling all the sunshine and happy vibes over Destiny and Austin’s elegant Hawaii elopement at Four Seasons Oahu Ocean Lawn! There’s nothing quite as magical as eloping under the beautiful sunset with the ocean breeze blowing through your hair. Along with the help of Aloha Artisans, this couple’s day had just the perfect touch of color and decor that didn’t take away from their candid laughter and sweet, emotional moments. We love that the couple both rocked Ted Baker shoes, and Destiny could not have looked more gorgeous in her beaded Galia Lahav dress! If you’ve been dreaming of a day under the Hawaiian sun, we can’t wait for you to see these breathtaking images Sheyanne Lyn Photography captured of this tropical elopement!

The Couple:

Destiny & Austin

The Wedding:

Four Seasons Oahu Ocean Lawn, Ko’Olina, Oahu, Hawaii

JUNEBUG TIP:

You can still go all-out on stationary for your elopement! In fact, you might be able to splurge a little more knowing that you don’t have to send out tons of invites.

JUNEBUG TIP:

Don’t want to worry about holding vow books in your elopement ceremony? Speak from the heart. You can always share your written vows privately at another time of the day. That’s the beauty of elopements!

RECOMMENDED READING: Simple Ceremony Readings for Your Wedding