The bachelorette party was once an exclusive event, limited to a night of friends-only partying that often included NSFW escapades. But a growing number of brides-to-be are rewriting the rules by turning the occasion into days-long getaways in vacation destinations with elaborate itineraries and guest lists. Many now even include moms, aunts and other extended family members. Emma Durick brought along her dad too.
Durick hosted a group of her close friends at her family's vacation home on the Lake of the Ozarks in Missouri for a celebratory pre-wedding weekend. Both of her parents received the invite. "If you know my family, I think it just makes sense that my parents would be there," the 23-year-old now newlywed tells Yahoo. "They bring a lot of really fun energy."
It wasn't their first rodeo. Both her mom and dad were a part of Durick's older sister's bachelorette celebration, which gave Durick a precedent to include them in hers. Considering it was hosted at their house, she didn't see it as being much different from spending weekends at the lake with her pals. The exception: certain risqué activities performed for the event.
"We had a night where we opened lingerie, and my dad left for that, obviously, because that would be weird if he was there," Durick says. But her mom stuck around for it, plus a party game that involves swinging a hot dog tied to your waist into your own open mouth. "She was there hanging out, laughing with us. I just think that she's never made it weird to be a part of those types of things with us. So I'm just comfortable with her being there."
Avery Singer, cofounder of BachBoss, a company that offers bachelor and bachelorette planning services, says that type of inclusion isn't uncommon these days. Singer has worked with moms of brides on organizing bachelorettes and sees a number of those parents joining the festivities. "There are a few that include the mom and mother-in-law, as well," she tells Yahoo. "It just depends on the [family] dynamics."
Other factors to consider? The comfort level of the group, the types of activities on the itinerary and even financial asks when both parents and friends are involved. Here's how these brides handled their family bachelorette celebrations.
Brittany Rendak says it was a no-brainer to have her mom book a flight to Miami for a weekend of clubbing and pool partying.
"Even before I met my fiancé, I always knew that I wanted my mom to be on my bachelorette," she tells Yahoo. "We're so close, and she's always been so fun, so I knew I wanted to include her."
Her chance came after getting engaged in July 2024. Rendak started planning her bachelorette trip and spoke to her mom about it as if it were obvious she'd be joining. "It was kind of an unspoken thing," says Rendak. But there were logistics to be figured out.
Rendak extended an invitation to her mom's close friend, who unfortunately couldn't attend. Still, Rendak's mom didn't hesitate about coming with just "the girls." She flew in from Chicago with her other daughter and stayed in the house that Rendak had rented in South Beach, where she lucked out with her own room. "That was definitely key, because I wanted to make sure my mom was comfortable and not having to share a room with girls," says Rendak. Otherwise, she fit in seamlessly with the group.
"All my friends there already knew my mom before, so that made it easy. ... When I told them my mom was coming, they were like, 'We thought so,'" says Rendak. "I don't think it prevented us from letting loose."
It may have helped that the group (aside from the mother of the bride) was all in their early 30s. "We all still had just as much fun as we wanted to. We're not as crazy as we would have been in our 20s," Rendak says. "My mom said she'd stay out as late as we did. My friends didn't mind. They loved it and said my mom was our hype woman."
Even among a group of 20-somethings, Durick's parents were the life of the party. "They honestly are more fun than my friends a lot of times," she says. "Even the night that we went out, they were up in the front row dancing [to the live music]."
Having parents involved might also ease some financial stresses for bachelorette attendees, according to Singer. "If moms and dads are going, there's likely more budget because they usually are covering a dinner or the house, which is nice to see because bachelor and bachelorettes have become so expensive," she says.
That was a conversation that Rendak made sure she had. "My mom volunteered to cover certain costs and made it clear that the rest would be split evenly among the group," she says. "At the end of the trip, she ended up covering even more." It was a "sweet surprise," Rendak says. "She didn't have to do that at all."
Durick similarly didn't have any expectations of her parents footing the bill. Her sister had arranged a specific payment from the friends in attendance to cover gift bags and groceries that were available to them throughout the weekend. She says her parents were then generous enough to cover much of the other costs.
While some families blend seamlessly with friends, that isn't the only option for a bachelorette celebration. What made the most sense for Sofia D., who asked not to share her last name, was having two separate occasions -- a bach trip for just friends and a cozy weekend with female family members.
"I honestly didn't think much of the family component before getting engaged. Bachelorettes with friends are the standard for girls to do leading up to the wedding," she tells Yahoo. But planning a trip to the Dominican Republic with 13 of her closest friends, plus her sister and three cousins, felt like too big a feat. The idea dawned on her during a family get-together to make a separate occasion. "Why don't we just do a girls' weekend to be together and watch home videos and bake sourdough?" she remembers thinking. "It was more of a laid-back wellness bachelorette weekend."
Sofia's mom and aunt were also included in that celebration, which felt like a better fit compared to the not-so-family-friendly Dominican Republic trip. "My mom is in her late 60s, so I don't think that she would have gone as hard as my 27-year-old friends," Sofia says. "My sister is also older, with three kids, so I don't think she would necessarily want to be drinking so heavily and going out." But, she adds, "Had I tasked them with that, I'm sure they would have come with a great attitude. ... It definitely depends on the type of family that you have."
Take, for example, Alexia Umansky, the daughter of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star Kyle Richards. Earlier this summer, the bride-to-be was joined by her mom, three sisters and two cousins -- including 41-year-old Nicky Hilton -- for a weekend in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, filled with drinking and dancing on tables. "Best family bachelorette EVERR," Umansky captioned a video of the festivities.
The focus on relaxation that came with Sofia's family bachelorette, however, isn't far from what many brides are doing with their friends these days -- especially as the celebrations become longer and more elaborate. "Drinking three days in a row is just not feasible," even on her trip with friends, says Sofia. "Thursday night we went out, Friday was more relaxing by the pool and Saturday morning we got massages. Some people were napping and eating while others were drinking. ... The pressure to be drinking all the time isn't as intense."
Singer adds that, if the vibe is more party-oriented, moms can always "go off and do their own thing."
The nature of bachelorette celebrations is changing, and the sky's the limit in terms of where they take place, how much they cost and how much PTO an attendee is taking for it. Opening the guest list up to moms and even dads is just part of that evolution.
"My friend had her mom at her bachelorette party a few years ago. I think it's becoming more common than it was before," says Rendak, who thinks having her mom on board made them closer.
"I don't think I could get much closer to my parents than I already am. But this trip in particular made me feel so grateful that I have parents that I feel so comfortable around, that my friends feel so comfortable around," says Durick. "When my friends get married, a lot of their moms will for sure be [on their bachelorette trips]."