Hi there… Paulina’s MOH here. Having just survived P’s tropiCOOL Palm Springs bachelorette weekend, we’re now left with memories, tan lines, but mostly SO missing our time in the desert and counting down the minutes until we can return. Safe to say, the bachelorette mission to Palm Springs was a success! Both P and I have been posting photos from the weekend like crazy, so if we’ve blown up your feed with everything Palm Springs… Sorry not sorry, you’re probably going to see a lot more of it! All of us girls are living vicariously through our photos of the weekend now.  

If you’ve seen her Instagram lately, or watched her stories, you’ve probably been dripping with Palm Springs envy and want the details, I got you girl. But here’s what’s fun about being the bride, she got to show up and experience it from start to finish. As the MOH, it was all in the details and up to me and the fellow bride tribe to plan a memorable bachelorette weekend. SO… it wouldn’t make a whole lot of sense for her to write her bachelorette blog post because she didn’t plan it, and that’s the way it should be.  

Shop My Swim Coverup

I’ll preface this with, Paulina is my first MOH experience, I am a bridesmaid/maid of honor virgin. However, I’m that girl that loves weddings and would totally be an event planner if I didn’t have the career I have. I’m type A personality, a planner, I love throwing and planning parties, and most of all I love details. Details are where it counts. With a bride like Paulina, details were EVERYTHING.    

Starting from the top! The planning process…

My bride did not want to plan her own party, which is normal. It’s become somewhat customary for the maid of honor and bridal party to throw the bachelorette party while the bride is more hands off. Bachelorette weekends are IN, 24 hour drunken shenanigans the night before you say I DO are OUT. Bless the women that get trashed the night before saying I do and still look like queens.   

But I know my bride and I knew there were party parameters; wants, definitely don’t wants, and a particular vibe for her weekend. So MOH’s I’ll say this now and probably again, please ask your bride’s what they want and don’t want. It matters. It’s a weekend for them and you want them happy. Not all brides like giant penis balloons and that’s ok, but I for sure got her a tasteful (like that’s a thing) penis shaped lollipop. I promised her it was the only penis I’d make her touch all weekend. It’s OK to get the bride’s input for her weekend while keeping an element of surprise and handling the planning.  

So, I asked P the following questions: 

 

ME: What matters most for the weekend? 

BRIDE: I want a relaxing weekend with my girls, I want tropical, I want pool time. 

ME: How far are we willing to travel? 

BRIDE: Driving maybe 4 hours tops, otherwise no more than a 2 hour plane ride. 

ME: How many days do we want to be gone? 

BRIDE: 2-3

ME: What do you absolutely NOT want? 

BRIDE: I don’t want penis everything or strippers. It’s not me. 

 

CHALLENGE ACCEPTED! 

Picking the location: 

With P’s answers I concluded Scottsdale or Palm Springs were our location options. That was an easy decision knowing what kind of girl my bride is, Palm Springs. Land of killer décor, exotic boat drinks, pool hopping, that retro desert vibe, and photo ops you can’t miss. I told P that Palm Springs would be our location but besides that she would be left in the dark and the rest was up to us.  

The dirty details: 

Full disclosure, I dove into blogs, pinterested my little heart out, and did some serious research to put the best weekend together that everyone would love. Two blogs I LOVED for inspiration were: Everyday Pursuits and Leona Marlene.

Securing accommodations was priority #1.

Airbnb was my go-to for housing. Palm Springs homes are so funky and fun it would have been silly not to rent a house instead of trying to stay at a hotel. Even though we were a group of 4, I still think renting homes is the most cost effective and comfortable way to accommodate all party sizes.  

We stayed at the Atomic Ranch, an Airbnb property that was described as Jetsons meets Mad Men. They had me at Atomic. Plus, it had a pool which was a must have. The host of this property, David, is an absolute GEM. The kindest host, super responsive, very accommodating. The house was really user friendly and had everything we needed! Also, very affordable depending on the time of year. Palm Springs in the summertime is generally much cheaper due to temperature and don’t get me wrong, it was HOTTTT. Which made our little oasis that much more enjoyable.  

Homes near the Movie Colony or Ruth Hardy Park are great neighborhoods for a home base for the weekend – close to everything! 

Once the dates, house, flights, and rental cars were all secured it was time for the details!

Palm Springs Bachelorette Itinerary

 

I went to Zazzle to create a fun weekend itinerary for P. I think a itinerary helps because then the tribe knows what to expect and when. They can pack and plan accordingly.  I mailed each girl an invitation filled with different colored confetti and mini pom poms. Super fun to open! Even if you don’t follow the itinerary to a T, apart from our dinner and brunch reservations everything else was purely a suggestion. We definitely moved some things around and did different things on different days. Here’s what P’s Bachelorette Invitation looked like.

 

Saturday: 10:00 am – Rendezvous at LAX and head to the Desert!  12:30 pm – Pick up provisions and check in to the Atomic Ranch, 2:00 pm- Master the art of floating in style poolside, 8:00 pm – Dinner @ The Pink Cabana at the Sands Hotel 

Sunday: 10:00 am – Brunch at Norma’s @ the famous Parker Hotel, 1:30 pm – Pool time @ the ACE Hotel and Swim Club, 7:00 pm low key dinner at casa bachelorette, 10:00 pm – Scavenger hunt for exotic boat drinks! 

Monday: 9:00 am – Mimosas, and R&R poolside, 12:00 – Shop till we drop in downtown Palm Springs, 4:00 pm Checkout of Airbnb and head to LAX 

 

  

Places in Palm Springs to check out:  

ACE Hotel and Swim Club – After brunch at Norma’s, we went back to the house for a quick outfit change before heading to ACE for a day pass to use the pool aka swim club. Depending on the weekend and availability, ACE will let you use their pool for a day use fee of $30/per person. You can order food and drinks poolside too! They also have a fun bar/lounge called The Amigo Room that does discoteca nights. No reservations required for the pool.   

Pink Cabana at The Sands Hotel – If the décor alone doesn’t sell you on going, then definitely go for the cocktails. The ambiance of this restaurant is to die for. I recommend a earlier dinner reservation so you can see all of the aesthetics on the inside of the restaurant. They make it pretty dark for mood lighting the later it gets so the details get hard to see. A favorite moment was making our entrance. I’m sure you saw the gorgeous black and white mosaic tiled Moroccan style room pictured on P’s IG….you have to walk through that room to get to the restaurant. The Pink Cabana also shared the bride’s initials P.C. – Paulina Soon-to-be Cruz 

Norma’s at the Famous Parker Hotel – The Parker Hotel is too decadent for words. The interiors are Johnathan Adler EVERYTHING. The Parker is also recognized by its entry and giant orange doors. Photographer Grey Malin has done an entire Parker Hotel series and other Palm Springs locations. Peek inside Mister Parker’s dining lounge and scope out the art scene inside. Fair warning, you’ll want 1,000 photo ops. I made our reservations 2 months in advance and I encourage booking ahead for anything at The Parker. If you aren’t staying at the Parker you’ll only get to see the entry, lobby, Mister Parkers, and Norma’s. The rest of the property is kept private for guests. So make reservations at their restaurants if you can.  

Checking out Movie Star Pads! There are so many famous homes in Palm Springs. It was Hollywood’s getaway. We checked out Marilyn Monroe’s home, Elvis Presley’s Honeymoon Hideaway. There’s also Frank Sinatra’s home, and so many more. It’s a fun day time activity that takes maybe an hour. Driving past the upscale neighborhoods is where you will find brightly colored doors, vintage cars, and architecture that makes you feel like you’ve gone back in time.   

  

Bachelorette Swag Bags

I’ve loved goodie bags as long as I can remember. My mom would always put them together for birthday parties and I decided to keep the goodie bag thing going well into adulthood. So, there was no way goodie bags were not coming to Palm Springs. Shout out to Southwest Airlines for your FREE checked bags policy because I for sure packed one medium sized suitcase full of bachelorette goodies ONLY.  

Contents of SWAG BAGS: 

BRIDE: 

• Customized Pantone Tote: ‘Blushing Bride’ pink with her name and wedding date. 
• Customized Woven Floppy Beach Hat with her wedding hashtag saying ‘Ready Set Cruz’
• 1 bottle of FUCKBOY REPELLANT from Lovability.
• Mermaid’s Remedy Face Mask.
• Champagne and Rose Gummy Bears.
• Pink Ombre Bride to Be Sash.
• Bling Ring Pool Float.
• Tumbler Cup.

Her big gift from all of us girls was her customized Jean Jacket! The morning that we were flying to Palm Springs, P and I are on the plane together and she starts telling me how she really wants a customized jean jacket with Mrs. Cruz on the back. Never ever have I had to keep such a good poker face and not crack under pressure. Little did she know she was already getting one.

 Bridesmaids: 

• Custom canvas tote from Zazzle with different images of palm springs on front 
• Floppy beach hat with different text in black; Summer Vibes, Do not Disturb, Beach Please (I found these in the $1-$5 section of target, such a score) 
• 1 bottle of fuckboy repellant 
• 1 Mermaid Remedy face mask 
• Champagne and Rose gummy bears 
• Each girl got her own floaty; rose bottle, rainbow, mermaid tail 
• Mini inflatable drink floaties; swans, unicorns, flamingos 
• Glass tumbler by the brand SLANT which you can find on Amazon. We had a cactus, pineapple, and flamingo. 

I HIGHLY recommend packing an automatic pump for the floaties. Saves you so much time. Let’s be honest, no one and I mean no one wants to sit there a manually blow up a large pool float with your mouth. I promise you no girl wants to do this.  

It was a whirlwind of a weekend, but we had the best time ever. Serious pool time, girl talk, all the exotic boat drinks we could handle, tan lines, mimosas…trying to stay afloat multiple inflatable objects is harder than it looks. Tripods are your best friend along with timers on your phones. The photo shoot opportunities were really fun for all of us and never felt forced. We were so happy to just be there for the weekend and with each other it didn’t matter what we were doing.

I highly recommend Palm Springs for a laid-back sophisticated Bachelorette weekend with style!