Ming's Bachelorette – Part One
AND SHE'S BACK! God it feels so damn GOOD to be writing a blog again. After years of a blogging hiatus (no other reason than I just got busy and had to prioritise my work), this feels sort of like a full circle moment. I hope you're just as happy to be reading these words (i.e. the rubbish that just falls out of my head and onto the keyboard) as I am to be writing them. If you were a Pretty Hungry (my OG blog) reader, then a big special shout-out and cuddle to you! Welcome home hun!!
It also feels RIGHT that my first post back as a hot, fresh blogger is my sister Ming's bachelorette party. I received so many lovely DM's asking me where and how I did things, so it also makes sense that I write it all down here for you. If you were one of the people who told me to change my day job then please know that was incredibly ego-boosting and I probably still haven’t come down from that high. And that because of you, I’m trialing a little bachelorette online shop. Because of you!! Let’s hope this is the start of something beautiful?!
First thing to note about Ming's bach – I spent 3 months planning it, paired with a lifetime of knowing that we'd be each other's maid of honours, and the fact that she's also a perfectionist with a love for detail, so I knew I had to pull out all the stops. The first thing I did was make a WhatsApp group with 18 (!!!) girls she told me to invite (we get it you're popular) and confirm the date. The rest of the month I spent brainstorming ideas that were not only ACTUALLY fun, but also fit in with COVID restrictions in Singapore (5 pax limits, 10 pax limits, etc.). Thankfully they were lifted by the time the event happened, but please notice how they are all COVID friendly because A LOT of time went into crying about that, okay?
I don't know why I bothered to make a fake itinerary, but I did and I laughed for about a solid hour. I 'accidentally' sent her this itinerary (we planned on keeping everything a surprise) that I threw together on Powerpoint, which had to be good enough to be believable, but I just filled it with things she does regularly, knows others who have done them for their bach before, or things that are fine but she slightly dislikes (like being in the sun).
Okay, you're probably like "whatever Bianca" but I found it HILARIOUS. I don't know what I expected her to say, but she was super positive and all "Thank you so much for planning everything" and "You're the best sister!" so it really was an anti-climax until I told her a few days later. Sorry but I'm still cackling over the obscenely long hashtag hahahaha.
Here's the real itinerary (which I eventually sent to her with all the details blanked out):
My friends Lucy and Alex are architects who also do amazing illustrations on the side, and they brought my vision to life! Here's their side biz IG account, they take commissions – I might just be their top customer, they've done heaps of artwork for my businesses previously as well. It was great having them do all the printed work for the bachelorette because it gave the event a consistent brand throughout (lol I know did I mention I'm a perfectionist?). Just LOOK at Lulu (Ming's dog) holding the tray of champagne!
OKAY let's get stuck in! A few things to note: I brought A LOT of things over from the UK because Singapore seems to be extremely limited with fun bach stuff (honestly I have never been more tempted to set up bach business there). I also knew Ming didn't want anything too tacky, no strippers (the Singapore pool of hottie boombody strippers is also very small – one of the bridesmaids had a stripper at her bach and it turns out she knew him).
We checked into Regent Singapore - they hosted us on their Strictly Social Package (with an additional night!). I arranged with the front desk to arrive early and decorate the room, and when I left they asked if I wanted them to act like I hadn't already been there. So when I arrived with Ming, the front desk staff VERY sweetly pretended to check me in again (the highlight was them asking me to sign the check-in document, which, when it was slid over to me, already had my signature on it and I had to pretend to scribble over it).
The room in the Strictly Social Staycation Package was SO ideal - it's a suite with a connecting room, so we had two of Ming's bridesmaids also stay with us.
DECORATIONS!
Etsy was my best friend when I was planning – there's so much great stuff AND you're supporting small businesses! I made sure to get enough different banners to dot about the room.
Penis banner (I got 15 in rose gold)
BALLOONS
After I'd finished decorating, it felt like the room still needed something. My mum kindly ran out and got balloons (20 white and 20 pink), which made a huge amount of difference! 40 balloons also seems like a lot, but once they're dispersed, it's not that huge at all – a decent amount, I'd say.
She got them at a store at Tanglin Mall (right around the corner from the hotel).
I knew if we stayed in a hotel that I'd want to make Ming's dream mini-bar. I didn't go TOO extra with nuts and crisps and everything, but I covered the most important things - cocktails, chocolate and sweets.
CUSTOMISED BOTTLED COCKTAILS
I got these from Lockdown Liquor (UK based). They have 3 different sizes for their bottled cocktails (I went for the Midi - 500ml) and they have a good selection of different cocktails, so I picked ones that I knew would be Ming's favourites. You also have the ability to get the label personalised - on their website it's pretty self-explanatory how to do this! They're super quick and helpful. They do a couple of non-alcoholic blends too!
I ordered the Pepino, Passion Fruit Martini and Lychee Martini.
CHOCOLATE BARS
I got a selection of Ming's favourite chocolate bars:
Tony's Chocolonely White Chocolate Raspberry Popping Candy
Tony's Chocolonely Milk Chocolate Caramel Sea Salt
Tony's Chocolonely Milk Chocolate Wafer Bar
(for those who aren't already obsessed with Tony's - you will be very soon. they are one of the tastiest chocolate bars around, and they're mission is to make all chocolate 100% slave free like theirs are)
Hu Almond Butter Crispy Quinoa
(we've been obsessed with Hu since we were teens, and they're finally available in the UK - no more hauling them back from NYC with us! It's vegan, paleo, refined sugar free, gluten free, etc - basically a salad right?)
Compartes Cereal Bowl White Chocolate Bar
(we fell in love with Compartes when we went to LA literally because the packaging is stunning. I stumbled across the bars recently in a store in Brighton, but have a browse online for them - I just popped in a link I found)
Big Daddy from M&S
(she hadn't tried this before but I'd seen it at M&S and sent her a photo - she lost her mind so I brought it over and DAMN it's like Snickers x10, would recommend. I can't seem to find it online so the link is just for what it looks like)
SWEET JARS
I always planned on getting sweet jars and filling them with treats, but originally I'd planned to fill them with Ming's favourite treats (Jaffa Cakes, Guylian Chocolates, Coconut Ice). Then I remembered, shit, I'm planning a bachelorette. So I went and got fun bachelorette themed sweets/chocolates instead!
STICKERS
This was the logo that Lucy and Alex made for the itinerary. I actually got them printed to stick on the paper goodie bags, and the minimum quantity for the printer was 25, so I had quite a few leftover. I carefully cut them out to be individual stickers (it arrived on a large sticker sheet) and scattered them around the room for a little extra summin summin.
I got them printed at Handy Labels.
BRIDE ACCESSORIES
There was one thing I knew, and it was that I absolutely did not want sashes. A sash would not fit well with her meticulously planned bachelorette weekend wardrobe. I hunted everywhere for the cutest bride-to-be accessories to make sure they went with all her exceptionally fashionable outfits she planned.
Bride champagne bottle earrings
(these and these are also SUPER cute!)
White feather pyjamas
(I got matching ones in pink - very cute for bridesmaids to do!)
HANGOVER KITS
I've always loved hangover kits – I've done them for birthday trips abroad before. It's such a cute, thoughtful touch (not to mention super helpful when you really need it). One of Ming's bridesmaids, Brie, is pregnant so I didn't make them too hangover-esque (previously I've put painkillers in there) so we could all enjoy the same things in them!
Wander Eye Masks
(you can use any nice eye masks that will fit in the bag, these JUST fit)
Tic Tacs
(for that morning breath)
Noshinku hand sanitiser
(Honestly the only hand sanitiser I've ever liked - it smells lovely and is moisturising instead of sticky. I got the Lavendula scent, mainly because it's cute and purple, so more bach-y than the others.)
The benefit of sending the fake itinerary was that the fake activities I put in matched up with the real activities in terms of dress code and what she had to wear, so I asked her to prepare outfits according to that (all white, obviously).
I found these AMAZING personalised handbags online and sent Ming the link, which she ordered herself directly to Singapore – link for the one above here! I actually sent her a couple more at the same time to choose from, which is this rainbow one and this company.
With the Social Staycation Package, you can choose between a complimentary Monogram Tea Layering Kit and a Cocktail Making Kit. I KNOW I should have picked the cocktail kit because it's a bachelorette, but Ming really doesn't drink very much, so I picked the tea kit because I thought she'd appreciate that more and so we could enjoy a beautiful cup of tea as we unpacked for the weekend.
The problem is I forgot how excited I get, and as soon as we arrived, Natasha (Ming's bridesmaid) and I decided to crack open the bottled cocktails. (We did drink the teas later on before we headed out to dinner, and I can confirm it was very cute picking which teas to layer!)
Then we got ready! I wanted to ease Ming into the weekend, so I just planned something small (but obviously very nice) with a few of the bridesmaids.
Note that she still has no idea what we're doing at all – she only finds out what's happening when we literally get there.
We brought so many disposable cameras for the weekend, which is hugely recommended for intimate events – getting the film photos back afterwards is so much fun! Note that Singapore currently has a shortage of them (apparently it's very Gen Z to do?) so get them in advance.
I arranged drinks and some food at Manhattan Bar, which is literally a few floors down at Regent Singapore. In terms of official bar rankings, it's currently top 9 in Asia and top 15 in the WORLD, so it's a pretty spectacular place. It's not cheap, but it’s fabulous and, like good bars offer, the little welcome drink (and house popcorn!) is always a bonus.
We didn't all plan to wear green – Natasha and I both walked out and realised we matched, so Brie changed (her sister dropped off a green dress) and we then also told Min Tse to come in green. So each day turned out to be accidentally colour co-ordinated (I mean this evening was accidental, the next two days weren't an accident – more on that to come!).
My drink of choice is usually a Negroni – and they do a fantastic Solar Aged Negroni (I know this because I buy large pre-made bottled ones that Regent sell and take this to London with me). But because I've had this so often, I asked if they'd recommend a cocktail for me based on my love of Negronis. They brought me a Mezcal Negroni, and it was PHENOMENAL (I've also recently been getting into mezcal).
I also ordered a bunch of food, most of which was finger food, so easy to share.
We kept it fairly tame because Ming made me promise not to ruin her on night one (that only happened on night two).
We went back to the room and just hung out. I finally gave in to making TikTok videos with Ming (usually it's a firm no from me, but it's her bachelorette so I will do literally whatever she wants), which I'm sure she'll post at some point.
Watch the full reel here. Bring on day two!
(Also lol at myself losing the plot and starting a little bachelorette online shop. You can check it out here xxxxx)