How to Plan a Joint Bachelor and Bachelorette Party in Tampa

More and more couples are skipping the separate weekends and throwing one party together. Vogue wrote about the trend in July, calling it a bachelorx party, though you’ll also hear it called a Jack and Jill or a nearlyweds weekend. If you’re the one organizing one of these weekends in Tampa, here’s something worth putting on the schedule. Book a magic show at the house for the first night.

Two Guest Lists, One Weekend

A combined weekend means the bride’s side and the groom’s side spend three days together instead of meeting for the first time at the rehearsal. That’s most of the appeal. The couples Vogue talked to said their wedding weekend felt warmer because everyone had already spent real time together.

The catch is that twenty-some people in a rental house tend to stay in the group they arrived with. Her college friends end up in the kitchen, his end up outside, and everyone has a perfectly nice time in their own corner.

A show fixes that in about forty minutes, because it’s the one part of the weekend where the entire group is in the same room, watching the same thing and reacting at the same second. People talk about it for the rest of the trip, and then again at the wedding.

What You’d Actually Be Booking

For a group like this it’s a group magic show, not a magician walking around the room while people mingle. Strolling magic is wonderful at a cocktail reception where guests are standing and moving. A house full of friends who came to be together all weekend calls for everyone sitting down.

When someone contacts us about a pre-wedding weekend, one of the first things we ask for is a guest count, because it tells us which set up works for your space. The best format is a 30-60 minute show, with your group seated and facing the performer. No need for a stage, a microphone, or anything plugged in, which is why they work as well in a living room as they do in a private dining room.

The couple gets pulled into the middle of it, which is what everyone flew down for in the first place.

When to Put It in the Weekend

The first night, before the group heads out for dinner or right when they get back. Everyone is fresh, nobody has left yet, and the rest of the weekend has something shared in it from that point on.

A few practical things we’d tell you either way. Keep it inside with the lights on, since guests need to see the performer’s hands. Turn the music off for the show, and pull in enough chairs from the dining room so nobody is standing at the back.

Booking a Magician for Your Weekend

Kostya Kimlat personally vets every performer we work with, and he’s built the Tampa roster the same way he built our Orlando one. Take a look at the magicians who work Tampa and St. Pete and watch a few videos with the sound on. Their styles are different from one another, and it’s worth picking the one your group would enjoy most.

When you’re ready, tell us about the weekend and we’ll come back with who’s available and what they cost. We’d love to help you plan it!