I've been to coed wedding showers and baby showers, but never a coed bachelor or bachelorette party, the subject of a trend piece in today's Boston Globe. The theory is that as Americans marry later in life they have more longtime opposite-sex friends. So, it's unsurprising that brides and grooms want to include all their true intimates in the prewedding festivities, even the late-night carousing ones.
One etiquette consultant interviewed for the piece opines: "For a bachelor party, the female could attend the round of golf and the dinner, and then graciously bow out as the males headed off to a gentlemen's club. For a bachelorette party, the male could go to brunch and part ways before the ladies headed off to the spa." Gag! Besides, what kind of good etiquette is it to host a party where some guests feel unwelcome at half the fun?
In reality, the coed parties, at least according to this story, are more inclusive. Some brides and grooms opt for scavenger hunts; others, a night out on the town. "It was just another ordinary night of shenanigans with my pals," Scott Brown, 36, of Quincy, Mass., told the Globe of the bachelorette party he went to in April, which included mojitos, dinner and dancing. "In fact, it was sort of fun to brag at the water cooler the following Monday when asked about my weekend." Maybe to go with those "Bride" and "Groom" T-shirts, someone should come out with tees that say "Not the Groom" and "Not the Bride."
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