One Great Bachelor-Style Bachelorette Party Idea

I had just gotten off the phone with my fiancé's brother, better known in wedding terms as the best man. I had jokingly mentioned that he should not leave the bachelor party for the night before the wedding. His voice turned serious and his response floored me, "You actually want him to have one?" I wondered what about me said that I don't want my fiancé to have a proper send off from bachelorhood to married life. So I did what I do best - I researched this male bonding tradition. I reasoned that there must be something beyond strippers and drinking that I don't know about, considering it caused our best man to be so concerned about me.

What I learned was surprising. Article after article written with brides like myself in mind made statements like, "few brides relish the thought of a bachelor party" and "[brides] feel threatened by what their honey's friends might have in store for him that night." I was infuriated. I wanted to write to TheKnot.com and ask just where this research came from. I am not threatened by my honey's friends or some strippers at the bachelor party (after all strippers at a reputable club are not the same kind of girls who's "two for one" ads are featured in the Las Vegas Yellow Pages). In fact, if I believe that my fiancé may engage in an inappropriate act with some random girl, I probably shouldn't be marrying him.

Am I crazy? Should I be worried? I turned to one woman I knew would put me in my place - my mom. She pointed out that this article I read about women's repulsion to bachelor parties may not have anything to do with trust or insecurities. It may be a cultural point of view. It may also be jealousy, but not the kind that pertains to other women. "After all," she pointed out, "the girl deserves same kind of a party, but often doesn't get one." That's it! That's totally it! So, let's not stress about our guy's bash, girls! Let's have our own bachelor-style bachelorette party (it's only fair, don't you think?).

Destination Vegas: Bring On The Boys! There is a special breed of men out there known as male strippers. Minus their profession, they would be considered self centered and obsessed about their physique. Accounting for their work environment, muscle tone in places you never knew muscle existed is a definite plus. Note: same rules apply to us as they do to our guys. Respectable shows are OK. Two-for-one male strippers, not so much.

Enter "Thunder From Down Under" - a noteworthy Australian male dancers who take almost all of it off at Las Vegas' Excalibur Hotel and Casino. There are three reasons you should consider having your bachelorette party in Vegas and seeing this show: you need a break from craziness that is wedding planning, you get to take a trip with your girlfriends, and you get to check out the stripper thing for yourself.

Lesson One: A few days of good girl time always recharges your batteries. Allow yourself to take a break. While you may see this as setting yourself back a few days in all the wedding timelines, you'll realize later that this is the most fun you will have in the entire planning process (outside of your wedding day, of course). Take my word for it - this will be a trip worth your while.

Lesson Two: It's all about your comfort level. It's your party - you set the rules. Stuffing bills down some guy's g-string doesn't appeal to me either, so I understand any reservations you may have about a striptease show. Especially one held in Las Vegas. It's Sin City after all - a place where barely clothe women serve you drinks at the roulette table and flyers for questionable venues are handed out on the street by fifteen year old boys. This is why "Down Under" is a good show to check out. No tipping or private shows are allowed. "This is a very reputable show," explained one of the dancers. "We do not feature full nudity, but do show enough to make you want to see more."

Lesson Three: The strip club is actually fun. Here is the scoop. The "Thunder From Down Under" shows are on daily at 7:30 pm, with an additional 11:30 pm shows on Fridays and Saturdays. Get to Excalibur about an hour early to get your ticket and a good place in line. The show is about an hour and a half long. The guys dance mainly on stage, but do venture to a few tables during the evening - visualize a good dance routines to songs you know (Down Under will be your favorite song after the show), with way less clothing and unbelievably great looking men. If you're one of the lucky ladies, you may get called to the stage and get a bit closer to the guys. You will move to the music, you will sing, you will scream, you will laugh, and you will see these Australian hunks take off some very colorful costumes. "I love these guys," yelled Carol, the curly hair redhead sitting across from me. "I think they should take some of us older gals up on the stage too." She proceeded to motion to Dave, the youngest member of the "Thunder" group, to come by our table. "Having a good time?", inquired our Justin-Timberlake-look-alike. In short (no pun intended), hell yeah! You will most definitely be entertained.

Lesson Four: The stripper thing is not such a big deal. After the show, the guys are open to taking pictures, signing autographs and talking to their audience. A group of us gathered at the entrance to the stage, and waited for the "Thunder" guys as they were getting ready to call it a night and go home. Marty Amiott, my favorite in the entire group, walked up and asked where we were from. At about 5'9", with an incredibly slim body and best abdominals I've ever seen, he looked refreshingly handsome in his street clothes. "You were great on stage," I'm not sure if this was Vegas talking, but I actually made conversation with a guy I would ordinarily only admire from afar. "Thanks," he smiled. "Hey, is this hard work? What does your partner think?" I had to ask. I was curious whether this attention from stranger females was at all exhausting. "Yes, it's hard work," he avoided the question for a few seconds. "She is fine with it now. We've been together for a long time, and we've dealt with it in our relationship." We took a picture together, Marty and I. It serves to remind me that he is just a guy, with a job that pays his bills and definitely beats a three-wall cubical I live in. I don't really see a problem with that, do you?

Lesson Five: Now you know what your guy is going through. You may be entertained to know that many strip clubs require specific dress code before they allow you to enter. I've learned that a club in Chicago requires men to wear long pants and closed toe shoes (no sandals, basically) - no skin exposure on the guest's part is allowed. Even with lap dances, hands must remain at the waist of the girl. Do women know this? I certainly didn't, but I thought it was a valuable piece of information for any girl who's even in the slightest concerned about the whereabouts of her fiancés hands during his bachelor party. The thing is, I had fun watching the Australian guys in Vegas. But I had no desire to go home with any of them. In fact, it turns out, they have lives outside of their work, and have no intention of sleeping with women that attend their shows. Chances are, your guy is discovering the same thing about the strippers at his party. It's all about the entertainment value.

There is no doubt that I would see "Thunder From Down Under" again. In fact, our next trip to Las Vegas is almost finalized, with tickets to a Caline Dion concert in place and a planned stop at Excalibur Hotel and Casino. Take it from someone who has been there - between the save-the-date cards and table centerpieces, you have enough to worry about. So give yourself, and your fiancé, a break. You'll have the rest of your lives to worry about the small stuff.