Boys and girls gone wild

In our modern society, wedding styles range from formal and traditional to unconventional, shotgun style. The evolution of the big event itself has also caused a change in the pre-wedding festivities. Bachelor and bachelorette parties no longer have to be exclusive to one gender: they can be one giant celebration.

I attended one of these hybrid parties this weekend: a co-ed bachelorette party.

Traditionally, bachelor and bachelorette parties are separate events. They allow the bride and groom to shake off any of the pre-wedding stress and enjoy their last night of freedom. The modern joint and co-ed parties allow for a similar night of relaxation and allow the couple to celebrate with each other as well as their friends. These modern transformations keep platonic friends from being excluded solely on gender and give the bride or groom extra piece of mind, as they are privy to the actions of their fiance.

These combination parties have been increasingly popular as couples can enjoy some of the same debauchery. The MTV reality show Till Death Do Us Part, which featured rocker Dave Navarro and model Carmen Electra, showed the engaged couple enjoying strippers at a night club together and celebrating their soon-to-be nuptials in a completely co-ed fashion. This open-minded attitude and the ability for both sexes to share the experience have made these parties a hot alternative to spending the night solely with same-sex pals.

The bachelorette party I attended was at the request of the party honoree. The bride-to-be had so many platonic relationships, she wanted her bachelorette party to include the fellas. The resulting party was comfortable and congenial for the whole bunch. While her fiance did not attend, he was put at ease by males who attended for the simple safety factor. He is also friends with many guys in the group.

The evening started at an upscale Mexican restaurant with the attendees being greeted at the table with pitchers of margaritas and an array of appetizers. Conversation flowed well between the bridal party members and other friends. The mixed gender kept the conversation calm and mild-mannered at the start. While traditional bachelorette parties end up as a bunch of loud, giggling girls, this group was having a good time yet was pretty unobtrusive to other diners.

After dinner and several more pitchers of margaritas, the limo arrived to take us to the next location. The party, as originally planned, did not include guys, so when the limo pulled up to take us to a famous female impersonator club, I was curious to watch their reaction. As we waited for the drag show to start at a long table inside the lavish, dimly lit cabaret club, the heterosexual group of guys seemed a bit shifty and unsettled. The drinks started to flow a bit more heavily at this point.

The bachelorette sat with her faux veil and eagerly tried to ease her male friends’ tension by joking and teasing them about the situation. However, once the show began, the guys were cracking up along with the ladies and enjoying the foul-mouthed MC Charlie Brown. Ms. Brown and her fellow performers, including the likes of Jessica Simpson, Whitney Houston and Jennifer Lopez, were excellent impersonations of the originals as well as stunningly beautiful women themselves.

The group stared at these former males’ now-feminine features and amazingly sculpted bodies with their jaws dropped. Some of the guys were even offering dollars to the entertainers by the end of the show. The highlight for our group was when Charlie Brown called the bride-to-be on stage and made her dance for the crowd. She also loved the “I was a drag queen for a day” T-shirt, complements of Ms. Brown.

After the cross-dressing cabaret, we made our way back to the limo. The limo rides from location to location were full of group sing-alongs and car dances. Under the spell of alcohol, the ladies’ silliness rubbed off on the guys as our group laughed and danced on the way to the club. We pulled up to the strip of dance clubs without a real agenda. The group easily agreed on a loud modern dance club that looked appealing. We hit one snare upon trying to enter the club: The ladies of the group were immediately allowed to enter with no waiting in line or cover charge. The guys, however, had to wait in line and pay the entrance fee. Once everyone met up in the club, the fact that the party was co-ed became a real asset to both genders. The guys had automatic dance partners, and the girls did not have to worry about unwanted male advances.

While a traditional party may be your style, it’s nice that today’s couples do not have to conform to conventional ideas. It’s also a good idea if you are invited to such an event to keep an open mind and enjoy the frenzy. Remember to keep the bride or groom the focus. After all, the night is for them to blow off the wedding jitters. And if you’re a single friend, throw them a good party, because party karma will come around when it’s your turn.