Bachelor Parties

Ok, so I've been slacking. There, I admit it. I haven't posted for 25 days and that's too long. I actually have two posts to put up but I'll start here because I haven't organized all my thoughts for the second.

Ok so, bachelor parties. I've been to two bachelor parties in the last 9 months or so for two good friends. They were the only two bachelor parties I've ever been to, actually. You always see the crazy bachelor parties in the movies, with strippers and kegs and people almost dying. In real life, I don't think many bachelor parties quite live up(?) to that standard. And after being a part of two myself, I don't think I would want mine to.

My friend Nick got married to his high school sweetheart last September. In the summer leading up to the wedding, the guys got together a couple times for some fun. First was a trip to Cedar Point, the best amusement park in the country. This was a "guys only" trip and apparently had been a high school tradition with some of the guys. We had a great time, going to the park for two days and then stopping off in State College on the way back for a night of mayhem at the bars downtown. Next up was white water rafting, on a dam release weekend no less. This was definitely a bonding experience, as we saw two of our friends almost die (quite literally - one got caught under the raft in the middle of a rapid). All in all, though, it was a great time and we all had a lot of fun (I think). That night, we went back to one of the guys' houses and drank our faces off while playing horseshoes, beer pong, and flip cup and building human pyramids. We even got a little surprise when one of our friends pulled out a bottle of (American) Absinthe. It did not make anyone hallucinate and make out with their sisters a la Eurotrip. Last up was a combined trip for the bride and groom, a weekend in Atlantic City. We weren't able to wrangle everyone up, but it didn't matter. We had a great time and everyone ended up making money at the casinos (I walked away up $300 from playing craps).

Nick and Crystal got married in September and it was a great wedding. They had a beautiful venue and a very cool 80's cover band to go along with great food and drinks.

Well, two more friends got married this past weekend, so that meant another bachelor party. It was two weeks ago. Nick was the best man and he did an amazing job of planning everything out while not letting the groom (Josh) know any of the details. A bunch of us showed up at his house as he was getting ready and when Nick showed up, he tossed him a box with a vintage maroon and baby blue Mike Schmidt jersey in it. We were going to the Phillies game, just what Josh wanted. We had amazing seats for the mid-afternoon game. A total of 12 people went and Nick was able to get two blocks of (comp'ed) tickets on either side of the Hall of Fame club, which are the sections behind home plate. One block was in row 21, the other was row 6. The seats in row 6 were so close, you could practically see the sweat beading off the players' necks.

Then it was back to my place since the forecast called for rain. We got pizza, hooked up the 360 and set up the pong table. We drank, played Halo and Call of Duty, and played drinking games. I got to know some of the guys in Josh's wedding party that I didn't know before, which was nice. Josh had requested no strippers, so Nick was nice enough to get him a blow-up doll to accompany him throughout the night. I took quote and pictures, but most of them probably aren't appropriate for this blog so I'll refrain from posting them here. Suffice it to say that we all had a great time and it was exactly what Josh wanted and needed two weeks before his big day. Josh and Monika got married this past weekend in New Jersey and it was a beautiful wedding. But I'll save the rest for a post later this week.

Anyway, my point is that I don't want anything crazy for my bachelor party. I don't need strippers and illicit drugs to have a good time with my friends. As long as I'm with my friends and doing something that I enjoy, it will be a good bachelor party. While watching the Super Bowl with my fiancee and me, my best man told me that he thinks he already has my bachelor party planned. That was a little scary but at the same time, I trust his judgment. He's been my best friend for years now and knows what I like. I'm not going to be one of those people that try to plan my own bachelor party. It's the best man's job and I know he'll throw an amazing party. So here's looking forward to mine in about a year from now.

Registry Event and Updates

Ok, so it's been a little while since my last post. It's still early though! Not a whole lot is happening and what is happening is kind of boring. However, something of note (sort of) happened last weekend. Sezzy and I went to our first registry event and created a registry at Crate & Barrel. It was... fun? (You can read about it from her perspective here).

Look, I'm a guy. I'm not someone who is going to get excited about going to Crate & Barrel. However, it didn't take long and I'm glad I went. It wasn't the most fun I've ever had and it wasn't particularly where I wanted to be on a Sunday from 6-7:30, but I'm glad that I went. I'm glad I went because when we were there, we saw other fiancees that were either alone or with their mothers. And it was kind of sad. I mean, you can't always do whatever you want to do and marriage means that sometimes you make compromises. And it's a shame that some guys couldn't do that for their brides-to-be. Maybe they had a good excuse. I don't know. It just seemed like it was something that both people should be at.

Anyway, we basically spent about an hour and a half browsing and scanning items that we wanted on our registry (I got to use the scanner, which was actually less fun than it sounds). We looked at china, flatware, pots and pans, and the like. I got to pick out a set of knives and a sandwich griller. I know, awesome right? But seriously, it was nice pick out things that we need for when we start our "new life" together. The best part about the event was that we didn't need to pick out everything because we've been living in sin for the past two and a half years, so we already have a lot of the essentials. Actually, the best part was the (allegedly) non-alcoholic margaritas that seemed to have a kick to them. We got differing stories on the drinks. The one saleswoman said that the reason we were so far along so quickly was because of the drinks, while another saleswoman said it was "too bad" they couldn't put alcohol in them. A third saleswoman said that they weren't allowed to try the drinks. We didn't know what to think, but they sure tasted alcoholic to me.

Anyway, we got our registry set up and it's now online for anyone to view. I'm sure we'll be adding and removing items between now and next July but it's a start. Oh and the worst part about the event? The disgusting multi-grain "quesadillas". They were awful.

And now, some housekeeping. We inquired with our venue about doing a food tasting. Apparently, you need to pay for these things (you learn something new every day). However, once we have the venue booked (i.e. we put a deposit down), we can do a food-tasting for any two meals at no charge. Funny how that works, huh?

Also, we are closing in on our bridesmaids and groomsmen box race party! We set the date for June 27, with an engagment lunch at Sezzy's parents house the following day. More details on the box race as the date grows nearer.

More digging on the honeymoon site too. I am leaning more and more toward St. Lucia every day. I love the location. There are rainforests and mountain climbs and the scenery is fantastic. Also, it just feels classy and luxurious, not that that should matter but it kind of does to me. This is our only honeymoon (hopefully) and I want to do it right. But I also want to do it without spending an arm and a leg. I think I may have settled on a resort:

Stonefield Villas

I love this place. It feels luxurious, but it also looks laid-back. It's got an all-inclusive option, which can get pricey, but I think it's probably worth it. And it's way cheaper than most of the other very exclusive resorts on St. Lucia, like Anse Chastenet and Ladera. Plus, each villa has it's own private plunge pool, which quickly became a selling point for me.

Very private

I am in the process of contacting the agents that do the bookings at this resort to get prices on the packages. They have been somewhat responsive and not very helpful so far, but I'm going to keep on them to try and get the lowest price possible.

Anyway, that's all for now. More updates later!