Bachelor and bachelorette parties are most often held anywhere from one to three weeks before the wedding day. In most cases these pre-wedding events are hosted by the best man and the maid of honor respectively. They tend to be focused on the celebration of friendship as opposed to the celebration of family. With this said, should the parents of the bride and the groom be included on the guest list?
A bachelor party is a time when male bonding occurs. A bachelorette party also provides an opportunity for women to bond as friends in their own unique way. It is also a way for women to celebrate the upcoming union.
There are some men that decide to invite their fathers and/or their fathers-in-law to be to the bachelor party. The decision to do so rests on how the groom feels about this. Many men are nervous about having their future father-in-law at the party because they feel that they must be on their best behavior and must be more restrained than they would be otherwise. On the other hand, inviting the groom’s father may provide him with the chance to feel young again and to really cut loose!
Traditionally speaking, neither the mother of the bride nor the mother of the groom is invited to the bachelorette party. This pre-wedding bash is all about the bride and her closest female friends. It is the bridal shower held in the bride’s honor and not the bachelorette party that both mothers are invited to attend. The two events are different. A bachelorette party is an opportunity for the bride to let her hair down and to relax and have a good time with her closest gal pals. She may feel that this would not be possible if she were under the watchful (and sometimes very scrutinizing) eye of her mother or future mother-in-law.
When the guest list is drawn up for both parties the bride and groom should let the host/hostess know to whom they wish to extend invitations. The final decision to invite or not to invite parents to the bachelor/bachelorette parties rests with the bride and groom. Bear in mind that there are plenty of other opportunities for the parents to be a part of the joyous celebration of the marital union.
