When you’re in the thick of motherhood and getting ready for a baby, and later term pregnant, trying to make travel plans to go somewhere can feel daunting. Before I gave birth, I had a ‘Hatchelorette’ weekend (like a Bachelorette but for pregnant women). I was 36 weeks pregnant, so we did a staycation in Atlanta with close friends with quality time and low effort activities.
Here is the itinerary we followed.
If feasible, I 10/10 recommend this for all pregnant women. Here are the steps we took to plan the weekend.
Choose the vibe + guest list: Decide the tone: spa & self-care, cozy cabin retreat, brunch & mocktails, pajama party, local getaway, etc. Invite an intimate group of close friends and family, who’ll make you feel celebrated but relaxed and positive. It helps to make a group thread on tools like Whats App is convenient. Either you can be the primary contact or ask a friend/sister to take the lead.
Pick a location and dates: Send out a Doodle Poll or a poll directly on Whats App to your friends list to get an idea of dates. Pick the date that works for the majority and the location which will require the least amount of stress.
Create weekend itinerary: Make an itinerary that is logistically convenient, fun for you and the group, cost-conscious of everyone’s budgets, includes down-time and flexible activities (because pregnant people need flexible plans sometimes). For example, we started by picking time slots for group meals. In between the meals, we filled it with a movie night, pool time, shopping/coffee time, and Dry Bar hair appointments. Potentially include one larger event in the weekend where your friends are able to include their other local friends - so it accommodates their time as well. I did this for the final event, where partners, kids, and my friends friends/family could join too.
Keep in mind not everyone will be available the whole time, so give different time options during the weekend. It’s okay if not everyone can make it to everything!
Put the final itinerary into a Canva layout and send it out to everyone with times and locations to limit confusion. Include attire suggestions for cute picture opportunities.
Enjoy and document: The key is to book non-stressful activities in advance, so that when the weekend comes around you are relaxing with your loved ones and enjoying. Dress up, take pictures, and soak in the last few weeks of pregnancy!
We opted to stay at the Hotel Avalon because we were able to basically stay there the whole weekend with all the stores and restaurants within walking distance to the hotel.
We enjoyed relaxing time, sitting by the pool, shopping, grabbing coffee, getting our hair done, and, most importantly, lots of girl talk.
We did lots of meals togethers and caught up over tasty food.
One evening, my family hosted an intimate sprinkle at my moms house for the visiting friends - catered by a local favorite cuisines.
We concluded the weekend with a “open-to all” picnic in a public space setting so that partners, other friends, kids, and more family could join in easily! Loved having the group together.
I had such a great time during this very relaxing weekend with my besties. Would you plan a Hatchelorette weekend? What would you want as part of your weekend?
