Bachelor & Bachelorette Parties to Remember Buh-bye, bar crawls
By Lynda Wheatley Look, we love a boozy bash as much as the next guy. And we get it — in a super gorgeous region known for its craft beer, wine, and spirits, with plenty of for-hire vans and buses to haul your crew about, and a bunch of fun bars in your choice of walkable downtowns, it’s hard to resist the lure of a drink-til-you-drown blowout bash to honor your last days as a swingin’ single. But we’ve all seen enough girls in stained “Bride” sashes getting dragged down Traverse City’s Front Street by a dutiful but equally drunk brigade of bridesmaids. Ditto for the guy we know is the groom-to-be by the vomit on his tuxedo T-shirt. So in the spirit of making memories — and actually remembering them the next day — we offer up some prenuptial party ideas where alcohol is the accompaniment; not the main event. Here, six libationspritzed (but not soaked) Up North excursions to celebrate what makes this place and your soon-to-be-hitched bestie so special. A PRENUP PARTY IN MOTION Ultra-Easy Biking, Picnicking, Wine Tasting Few hours will feel as footloose and fancy-free as those that take you and your gang biking the quiet trails and backroads of Leelanau County. You can stop at up to seven wineries on a route curated just for you and your crew. Because the tour is self-guided and much of it keeps to the paved (and fairly flat) Leelanau Trail, a leisurely pace is easy to keep, both at and between wineries. Making the day even easier: A catered lunch from MI Market will be delivered to your crew at a pre-arranged time and place, and any bottles you buy along the way will be picked up so no one cycling has to port them along. Should your gang want to stretch out the hours and the ground covered, consider the E-Bike the Vines Tour instead. Here, 10 wineries are available, and all are within extra-easy reach, thanks to an upgrade to electric bicycles, super quiet and easy-to-ride bikes that’ll give you an extra boost only when needed (e.g., pedaling hard uphill) but seamlessly let you do the pedaling when you don’t. Both tours — which include bikes, helmet, lunch, and daylong van support and service in case of bike or weather emergency — leave from the Grand Traverse Bike Tours shop, in Suttons Bay. Learn more at www.grandtraversebiketours.com.
C’MON BABY, LIGHT MY SOLDERING IRON Metalsmithing/Jewelry-Making Workshop You and your gals can shop til you drop at Moraine Shop & Studio, a Suttons Bay boutique featuring chic handmade jewelry, art, home décor, and other lovelies. But what we and legions of jewelry-making virgins love most about Moraine is that you can walk in a wholly unskilled crafter and, within a single workshop, walk out with some stunning pieces of wearable art you made yourself. And we’re not talking beads on a string either. Since its opening in summer 2019, Moraine has hosted workshops where guests have made, in three hours, sets of silver stacking rings, hammered silver jewelry sets, and an entire fused fine-silver chain. Although the classes and workshops have been on hold due to COVID, co-owner Kelsey McQuown tells Northern Express the studio will start opening up scheduling for private workshops — i.e., bachelorette parties and such —this summer, with public registration workshops to follow. Learn more and get in touch via www.shop-moraine.com.
SIMULTANEOUS STAG-AND-HEN SUPER WEEKEND Golf, Spa, Beach, Casino, Repeat Those who love the idea of a comingled bachelor/bachelorette bash should consider booking a couple nights in one or more of Grand Traverse Resort’s tower suites. Perched on floors 12, 14, and 15, each one offers huge views of greater Grand Traverse — orchards, forest, and big blue bay included — plus a private balcony, a number of optional connected bedrooms, and ultra-plush communal living and dining space (with 60-inch flat screens, a wine fridge, and more). Whether you keep the whole gang celebrating together each step of the way or split the guys and gals among different suites and activities, there’s enough space and recreation opportunities here for all. Our suggestion? A morning scramble on one
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of the resort’s four championship golf courses, afternoon spa treatments (call the group spa coordinator at (231) 534-6756 to customize a group sesh like a sparkling-wine-spritzed pediparty), and an all-in group dinner and cocktails at the tower-top Aerie restaurant. Whoever’s still standing after dessert can bus on over to the adjacent Turtle Creek Casino & Resort for a night playing slots, blackjack, video poker, and most recently, sports betting. Seasonal Thinking: Summer parties have the extra option of lounging by one of the resort’s two outdoor pools (one is located across the road, beachside, and hosts live music on weekends); parties booked at any time of year will have the option to throw axes, bowl, or find their way out of an escape room in the resort’s in-house entertainment hub, The Den. Learn more at www. grandtraverseresort.com or call (231) 534-6000.
