One of my best friends, Sara, is getting married in June, and I am proud to be one of her maids of honor. As we all know, planning the bachelorette party is one of the most important duties of the MOH! Sara wanted a laid back bach party full of quality time, giggles, and of course good food. So we rented a large 4 bedroom house in Bay St. Louis, planned out some fun games and activities, and created the ultimate bachelorette weekend meal plan!
Determine Dates & Headcount
Before getting too deep into planning, it’s important to nail down the dates and headcount of people attending. This will inform the number of meals needed and how much of each meal to purchase or prepare.
Make a Rough Meal Plan
Once we determined the initial details, it was time to start planning the ultimate bachelorette weekend meal plan! The theme was “Sara’s Baja Bach,” so we obviously needed some Taco Bell/Mexican Food in the mix. We also chose to outsource some meals and get some pre-made items to keep things easy for a total of 16 ladies! Here’s what we came up with:
Meal Plan:
Thursday night:
- Catering from Bell Taco, which included taco shells, tortillas, tortilla chips, 1 quart each of beef, chicken, tomatoes, lettuce, sour cream, shredded cheese, and 2 quarts of queso
- Homemade Guacamole
- Pitcher Margaritas
Friday:
- Breakfast – Pajama Brunch with Mimosas, Quiche, Croissants, Fruit Platter with Strawberries, Raspberries, Grapes, and Melon, and Breakfast Salad with Mixed Greens, Tomatoes, and Hanley’s Sensation Dressing
- Lunch – Sheet Pan Nachos using leftovers from Friday’s catering (extra tasty delivered poolside)
- Dinner – Sushi catered by Benni!
Saturday:
- Breakfast – Classic Breakfast with Cheesy Eggs, Bacon, Biscuits, Fruit Platter with Strawberries, Raspberries, Grapes, and Melon, and Breakfast Salad with Mixed Greens, Tomatoes, and Hanley’s Sensation Dressing
- Lunch – Chicken Salad Croissant Sandwiches with lettuce and tomato, Turkey Club Sandwiches with turkey, bacon, lettuce, tomato, onion, cheese, garlic aioli, mustard, Fruit, Homemade Pasta Salad, Homemade Coleslaw, Kale Salad, Chips
- Dinner – Lasagna with Caesar Salad and Garlic Bread
Sunday morning:
- To-go Egg & Cheese Breakfast Sandwiches
All weekend:
- Snacks: chips, popcorn, crackers & cheese, dips, Oreos, pizza rolls, cookie dough, Liquid IV
- Booze: wine (red, white, rose, and sparkling), seltzers, beer, vodka, tequila
- Other drinks: water, gatorade, sparkling waters
- Misc: paper plates, plastic ware, napkins, cups, garbage bags, paper towels
Grocery & Booze List
Once the meal plan is determined, it’s time to make a detailed grocery list! Costco really comes in clutch for large groups. But some of their items are still too big for just the weekend. Like, I need onions but not 10 pounds of them, so I made a Target run for some normal-sized items. Total Wine also just has the best prices on alcohol, so I made a trip there too.
Everything is listed in chronological order of the meals, starting with Thursday night. I linked some of my favorite specific items! I also listed the approximate total prices for each retailer.
Costco List:
- 6-ct bag avocados
- Mateo’s Salsa
- Tortilla Chips
- 3 lb bag limes
- 2-ct Orange Juice
- Quiche
- Croissants x2 (these were delicious and such a great deal – 12 for $6)
- Strawberries
- Raspberries
- Grapes
- Cut Fruit Bowl
- Spring Mix
- Tomatoes
- Hanley’s Sensation Dressing (everyone loved this dressing!)
- 2 dozen eggs
- Bacon
- Dave’s Killer Bread (comes in a 2 pack)
- Sliced Turkey x2
- Prepared Chicken Salad x2
- Kale Salad Kit
- Caesar Salad Kit x2
- Frozen Lasagna (comes in a 2 pack!)
- Hummus
- Bitchin Sauce
- Crunchmasters Crackers
- Cheese & Caramel Popcorn Mix (trust me, you need it)
- Bottled Water x2
- Mini Gatorade Variety Pack
- Waterloo Sparkling Water Variety Pack
- Liquid IV
- Plastic Cutlery
Total Cost $500
Target List:
- 1 can refried beans
- 1 bottle lime juice
- White onion
- Red onion
- Garlic
- Cilantro
- Bag of jalapenos
- Biscuits
- 1 lb shredded cheese
- Primal Kitchen Garlic Aioli
- Mustard
- Sliced cheddar cheese
- Sliced pepper jack cheese
- Red Cabbage
- 4 Carrots
- Garlic bread x2
- Pizza Rolls
- Oreos
- Doritos
- Potato Chips
- Tub Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough
- Cups
- Paper Plates
- 4-ct Paper Towels
- Garbage Bags
Total Cost $150
Total Wine List:
- 5-10 bottles sparkling wine (10 if you want mimosas 2 mornings)
- 3 bottles red wine
- 3 bottles white wine
- 5 bottles rose
- 3 12 pks High Noon
- 12 pk Topo Chico Seltzer
- 24 pk Bud Light
- 6 pk Abita Amber
- 6 pk Jucifer
- 6 pk Abita Purple Haze
- 1 fifth Vodka
- 1 handle tequila
- 1 bottle Cointreau
Total Cost $500
Lessons Learned & Tips for Success:
Before
- Ask if anyone has any allergies/intolerances or special requests to accommodate everyone
- Send out a rough meal plan and cost estimate beforehand so everyone knows what to expect
- Search Costco items through Instacart to view options available, and how many servings they provide
- Utilize grocery pickup or delivery to save time shopping!
- Pre-make what you can (pasta salad, coleslaw, guacamole) to reduce time in the kitchen once you arrive
- Don’t forget an ice chest or three for drinks. Save that precious fridge space for food
- Having a nice mix of catering, pre-made grocery items, and from-scratch items makes cooking way easier while being just as tasty!
During
- Get creative with leftover ingredients. We made sheet pan nachos with leftover Mexican food, to-go breakfast sandwiches with leftover eggs and cheese, and bruschetta with extra bread, cheese, garlic, and tomatoes
- I am a control freak and very bad at this, but delegate what you can. Have others chop, assemble sandwiches, and (my personal favorite) do dishes
- Speaking of dishes, clean as you go!
After
- I found the bags of chips and oreos from Costco were HUGE, so I’d recommend getting the normal sizes of those from Target or another grocery store
- Making/buying most of your own food can really save you a lot of cash. I was pretty surprised to see the booze cost as much as the food. And the sushi was definitely a splurge at $75 per person plus tip, but it was a really fun and absolutely delicious experience!
- I found it was a little tough to determine how much alcohol to buy. But I basically worked backwards, taking a guess of how many drinks each person will have per meal and throughout the day and multiplied that per person. I think it came out close!
I hope this ultimate bachelorette weekend meal plan serves as a helpful resource next time you go to plan the food for a weekend trip! Let me know your questions or comments below. Cheers!
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