Latest news with #bachelorette
Vogue
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Vogue
How to Throw an Elevated Wine Country Bachelorette
Sit out in the gardens and enjoy a round of bocce ball with your party on your stop at Landmark Vineyards. We love this stop to sip on Pinot Noirs and Chardonnays of the Russian River Valley. Aperture Cellars Photo: Courtesy of Aperture Cellars The architecture of the modern tasting room decorated with Alex Katz photography is just one reason to visit Aperture Cellars. Matched with their delicious Bordeaux-style wines, it's a winning combo. Other Fun Wine Country Bachelorette Activities Want to put some more activities on your agenda than a traditional tasting? Check out some amazing activity options ahead. Passport to Dry Creek Valley Want to skip the hassle of arranging tons of tasting room visits for your bachelorette and also get some bang for your buck? Plan your bachelorette during Passport to Dry Creek Valley. This two-day spring celebration in the Dry Creek Valley wine region in Northern Sonoma gives you access to over 25 wineries that are open to ticket holders for events with food pairings, live music, and unique behind-the-scenes property tours. Napa Valley Wine Train You may be surprised that a train wine tour is actually one of the best tastings in the region. The Napa Valley Wine Train is a favorite thanks to it offering scenic views, great pairings, and stops at some favorite wineries in the region. It also will make for some great photo moments with your group. Francis Ford Coppola Vineyard Pool While a tasting at the winery owned by famed director Francis Ford Coppola is always a great time, you should consider booking a timeslot at the property's pool on your visit. You can enjoy a resort-like experience while sipping on cans of Sofia sparkling rosé and cooling off from the wine-country heat. Bottlerock Does the bride-to-be love a good concert? Consider coordinating your bachelorette around the Bottlerock music festival. Hosted annually in May, the Napa-based festival has more of a wine-country feel than Coachella vibes, with a diverse mix of music as well as a focus on great food and wine pop-ups. With one-day and three-day tickets available, you can make it a part of your trip or the main event. Transportation in Wine Country Anyone who has ever served as a maid of honor will tell you that logistics are one of the most important parts of planning a bachelorette. Understanding how to get to wine country and then move around it with a group is unfortunately not as easy as booking an Uber or Lyft whenever you want. First off, driving from either the San Francisco Airport or Oakland Airport to the area can take a minimum of two hours with traffic, so either renting cars, scheduling a shuttle, taking Vine public transit, or booking a private chauffeur like Blacklane is the only way you can make it north towards Napa. There is also an airport in Sonoma, with flights available from major cities like Los Angeles, Dallas, and Portland. Once you're settled at your accommodations, it's important to coordinate your designated drivers for wine tasting and excursions. While you might have a friend or two that will abstain from drinking for the weekend that can chauffeur the group around, it's best to arrange professional drivers for the group that can traverse windy roads with a clear head. While ride shares can be found, they aren't always reliable when trying to make a reservation in time with a big group. Consider booking a driver for the day or even a bus if you have more than a carload of bridesmaids. Sonoma Sterling Limousines is a great transportation option that not only has luxury SUVs and sprinter vans, but also limos and party buses if you want to really take your trip up a notch.
Vogue
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Vogue
For Date Night in Portofino, Lauren Sánchez Opts for Roberto Cavalli
Lauren Sánchez and Jeff Bezos have been making the most of their pre-nuptials partydom, with a tour of Europe, its glitziest events, and most romantic destinations. Things kicked off with Sánchez's Paris-set bachelorette party, where she was joined by the likes of Kim Kardashian, Kris Jenner, Katy Perry, and Eva Longoria. With a boat party on the Seine, luxe shopping stop-offs, and cocktails on the rooftop of the Cheval Blanc hotel, the dress code erred less tiaras and novelty bachelorette shirts and more clingy gowns, sheer skirts, and corsets. Then Sánchez kept the party going by heading down to Cannes Film Festival with Longoria, attending the Global Gift Gala where Longoria presented Sánchez with the Women Empowerment Award. Both Sánchez and Longoria slipped into the expected glamorous gowns, with Sánchez in a glittering, black and sweetheart-necklined Dolce & Gabbana number. Next, she reunited with husband-to-be Jeff Bezos for the annual amfAR Gala, wearing a mermaid-esque, sequinned Roberto Cavalli strapless gown straight from the Lauren Sánchez school of style. And a short PJ or yacht ride brought both Sánchez and Bezos to Monaco over the weekend for the 2025 Grand Prix; the glam looks made it to the pit lane, too. Photo: KCS Presse / MEGA Now, they've swapped the French Riviera for the beloved Italian fishing village of Portofino. Sánchez and Bezos were photographed yesterday evening (May 28) stepping out for dinner at Ristorante Puny, accompanied by her son Nikko Gonzalez. Settled on the storied piazzetta, the elegant restaurant is known for its regional specialties like its basil pesto, prawn pappardelle, and fish baked in salt crust—often, enjoyed by celebrities straight from their yachts and locals alike. She opted for an Italy-appropriate dress: A pink, burnt orange, and gold animal print Roberto Cavalli slip dress with a plunging neckline and flowing skirt. She paired it with a pair of gold open-toed sandals. and a matching box clutch bag, a denim jacket slung more casually over her shoulder. She wore her dark brown hair in her usual long, blown-out style. Bezos, meanwhile, kept it casual in a pink, open-necked polo shirt, blue trousers, and black and white sneakers. After dinner, they returned to their yacht parked in the harbour. Sánchez's holiday wardrobe has consisted of Oscar de la Renta gowns, tight corsetry, and super-feminine silhouettes. While she has a few weeks left to enjoy yacht life, what we continue to see is probably a good indicator of what her bridal gown will look like.
Vogue
5 days ago
- Health
- Vogue
The Rise of the Solorette: Why Brides Are Taking Themselves on a Solo Bachelorette
It's the time of year when bachelorette season is in full swing. The pre-wedding celebration with friends has long been a rite of passage—and in recent years, it's become a full-fledged event, complete with themed itineraries, matching outfits, and Instagram-ready backdrops. But a growing number of brides are quietly opting out of the group trip altogether or adding another one to the mix, embracing a new kind of send-off: the solorette, or solo bachelorette. Equal parts solo retreat and personal reset, the solorette is a one-woman bachelorette designed for reflection, indulgence, and a little solitude before the big day. So what's driving this shift—and could the solo bachelorette be the new bridal essential? According to Fora travel advisor Rachel Havens, the rise of the solorette is part of a much broader change in how women—and especially brides—are thinking about travel. 'There's been a noticeable shift toward solo travel, especially among brides who want to carve out intentional time for themselves before the wedding,' says Havens. 'Whether it's a wellness retreat, a reset trip, or simply a chance to reflect before the big day, more clients are embracing the idea that celebrating yourself can start with a solo adventure. It also takes the pressure off trying to coordinate with everyone else's schedules and preferences—there's something really freeing about planning a trip that's 100% for you.' Kristine Thomason, a lifestyle journalist, experienced that firsthand when she went on a solo trip before her nuptials in July 2024—a month before her wedding in August 2024. She loved the idea of terming the trip a 'solorette' as opposed to a solo bachelorette. 'Rather than refer to it as the solo version of a bachelorette party, I wanted the occasion to have its own term and identity. So, I combined the words solo and bachelorette into 'solorette'—while it's incredibly simple, something about mashing the words together seemed to give it the same kind of fun, joyful energy as a bachelorette,' she says. While also partaking in a traditional 'bachelorette,' Thomason wanted to have a trip pre-wedding that emphasized reflection and moving into a different way of living, from solo to partnered. 'To me, it felt like a missing puzzle piece in pre-wedding culture: It's easy to get swept up in all the excitement, but I also think it's crucial to be mindful and clear as we enter this new chapter,' she says.
Vogue
5 days ago
- General
- Vogue
Is It Bad Not to Have a Best Friend as an Adult?
I am fortunate to have several close friends, all of whom I can turn to for guidance or support when I need it. But at 31 years old, I no longer have the kind of best friendship where you know you're each other's go-to. I'm invited to many bachelorette parties, but never anybody's maid of honor. Where others are hanging out with the same friends week to week, figuring life out together, I'm unsure who I can spontaneously catch up with on particularly quiet weekends. Given how difficult it is to form—and maintain—adult friendships in the first place, to have a best friend is almost aspirational. How wonderful you must be, to be loved like that amid the mayhem of adulthood. How lucky you are, to have found what so few others do after college. It's made me wonder: Am I missing out on something important by not having an adult best friend? Is developing that kind of bond something that I should actively seek out? Apparently, not necessarily. A best friendship, while lovely, isn't essential to having our most fundamental social needs met, according to the social scientists I spoke to. To hear them tell it, a fulfilling friendship—whatever name you give it—is one in which A) you can be vulnerable and disclose personal thoughts, secrets, hopes and dreams, knowing the other person won't betray your trust or withhold their love; B) the other person is also vulnerable with you; and C) you can count on them to meet your needs as you articulate them, and to interact with you in ways that show that they care, support, understand, and value you. 'We need people to show us understanding, validation, and care in order for us to feel responded to, feel connected, and feel good about ourselves and about those relationships,' says Cheryl Carmichael, PhD, a social psychologist at Brooklyn College. 'If those boxes are being checked off, typically that should be sufficient. We're getting the things we need.' Experts encourage anyone feeling unfulfilled in their social life to focus on deepening their friendships rather than singling out a best friend. 'If you want to have closer relationships, enact closer relationships,' says Jeffrey Hall, PhD, a professor of communication studies at the University of Kansas.
Telegraph
25-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Telegraph
Lauren Sánchez's tacky hen do beats warm prosecco and naked butlers in a Bournemouth Airbnb
We should begin by noting that, obviously, it looked awful and vulgar and terribly tiring. Four days in Paris, featuring fried chicken and caviar rigatoni (how French) for dinner at one fashionable restaurant; rooftop champagne overlooking the Eiffel tower; lunch at another fashionable restaurant; and a cruise along the Seine. They all wore outfits that, at best, looked uncomfortable and, at worst, would give one a bad dose of cystitis. Several travelled with their own hair stylists. This was Lauren Sánchez 's hen party, or bachelorette, as they say in the States. Sánchez, the fiancée of Jeff Bezos, the world's second-richest man, recently hit the French capital along with 11 of her closest gal pals, including Katy Perry, Eva Longoria, an unsmiling Kim Kardashian and Kim's mother, Kris Jenner. Those who know the cost of such things – hotel suites at the Cheval Blanc, boats on the Seine, gallons of champagne and litres of cranberry juice – estimate that the entire shebang would have cost around £500,000. Horrid. Ostentatious. What show-offs. And yet I might not have turned down the invitation, in the unlikely event it had come my way, because the long weekend had one thing going for it: Lauren presumably picked up the tab. Sure, someone else might have chipped in for a round. Apparently they drank espresso martinis at one stage, and danced to Earth, Wind & Fire (a detail I found endearingly levelling, because I remember doing the same during a hen party, at a nightclub in Cheltenham). But I bet you a diamanté-encrusted cowboy hat that Sánchez fronted most of it, and I don't mean to sound grasping and mercenary and terribly bitter, but oh, how refreshing that would be after a decade or so of tricky hen party financing. Hundreds of pounds spent on mildly depressing Airbnbs in the Cotswolds and Bournemouth (weird that Sánchez didn't choose to have her hen in Bournemouth?). Hundreds of pounds spent on flights to places like Berlin and Majorca. Hundreds more frittered on hen party merch – T-shirts, sashes, 'Team Hen' badges. Have you been on the 'Last Night of Freedom' website, recently? One of the biggest emporiums for hen party tat, its penis piñatas (I'm so sorry) are on sale, if you're looking. Yet more money spent on 'entertainment' – fascinator-making classes, macaron-making classes, flower arranging, and prosecco and crudités handed round by 'butlers in the buff' – male students who dress up as naked butlers to help cover their tuition fees, their blushes just about covered in front (but not at the back) by an apron. (Is this OK these days, I've often wondered, while politely accepting a carrot baton from one of these gentlemen. How do we square a group of 30-something women giggling over a naked male bottom, when I suspect most of those present would be aggrieved were their other halves to visit a strip joint on a stag weekend. It's unclear whether Sánchez's hen party featured half-naked students. Perhaps even Sánchez baulked at that.) 'Could you all please transfer me £436 by Monday,' comes one of the increasingly hectoring emails from the maid of honour, in the months and weeks leading up to the big weekend. Although it's no fun being the maid of honour and sending these emails out, either, because you get endless replies from attendees saying, 'I'm pregnant and not drinking, so can I pay a bit less?' or, 'I can't come to the bowling, can you take that out of my total?' One 30-something friend, right in the middle of hen party madness, says she's just turned down a hen in Italy on the basis it was going to cost her nearly £1,000, and now the bride isn't speaking to her. I have seen this so many times – seemingly rational women, who grumble about other people's hen parties, but come their own they turn quite Marie Antoinette. It's my turn, seems to be the belief, and if it bankrupts you, well, too bad. Although this summer, you may be off to a spa weekend rather than a 48-hour drinkathon in Harrogate or Palma. A zen do, if you will. According to a recent survey by the wedding website brides are increasingly opting for calmer, more relaxing 'experiences' – meditation and yoga instead of penis straws and vodka shots. Not that this makes them any cheaper. Two days of drifting about a hotel in a dressing gown with a few treatments thrown in will still set you back a few hundred quid. And all this before the cost of the wedding. I've had magnificent times on hen dos. There was the time we all stayed in a bright pink house in Essex, its exterior walls genuinely fuchsia. It's designed for hen parties and photo shoots, and the interiors look like Barbie's boudoir – shagpile sofas, furry headboards, heart-shaped cushions, heart-shaped lamps, heart-shaped mirrors. I slept in the 'love kitten' bedroom, with leopard-print walls and bedding, and found something unmentionable under the bed. That one sticks in the memory. Also, the time that the model arrived at our Cotswolds Airbnb for a life drawing class, emerged from the downstairs loo in his dressing gown and a cloud of Lynx, told me politely that posing in the nude was his hobby and that he worked in IT in Reading during the week. Terrific. I've been to burlesque classes, drag acts, played 823 rounds of Mr and Mrs and the Knicker Game (don't ask), and cried with laugher at most of them. Can't put a price on friendship, can you? And yet. I hope Sánchez's hen party was similarly silly, although from the looks of the Oscar de la Renta frocks and £4,500 handbags, they took it more seriously than we did in Essex. 'Forever starts with friendship, surrounded by the women who've lifted me up, illuminated my path in dark times, and shaped my heart along the way,' she wrote on Instagram, below a snap of the gang posing on a Parisian rooftop. Yes, all right, all right, Lauren. Lovely stuff, but where's your fake veil and bride-to-be sash? Still, I would probably have gone along, if only because I don't imagine anyone was emailing anyone else come Monday morning saying 'Sorry girls, we overspent in the bar on Saturday night, so could you all transfer me another £17?'
