A Bachelorette Party in Paris

 In the ever-growing backlog of posts I've been meaning to get to, my bachelorette party post is currently glaring at me, sitting at the tip-top of the pile. 

I've always been the type that said she didn't want a stripper or the typical nightclub-style experience for my bachelorette party, and my younger sister seemed to echo that sentiment when I first got engaged and made her my maid of honor. I trusted that she would arrange something fun but not too crazy, maybe something local and low-key.

What I did not expect was an international, covertly coordinated operation involving my bridesmaids, my sister, my parents, and my fiancé, who all came together to throw me a spectacular bachelorette party. 

In this post, I wanted to share some photos of this incredible event, as it meant a lot to me. I apologize for how late this post is coming; I've been working hard on my creative writing projects outside this blog and that's stopped me from posting as frequently, but please know this blog is never forgotten and I have other posts queued up!

I left for France in March, right as spring sunshine started coming in. The original plan (my plan) was to visit in July, to stretch out the time between my fiancé’s February visit and our next chance to see each other. We’re living apart while he goes through the green card process, so I wanted to have a bit of a gap in between each visit so we could 'miss each other'. 

However, he was insistent that I visit in March, and though I suspected something was up, I didn't understand the scale of the surprise that was being coordinated for me.

My fiancé, my younger sister, and I spent time in Paris catching up with some of my old friends, visiting vintage stores I used to frequent while there, and going from cafe to cafe until we moved Airbnbs one afternoon.

The moment I opened the door, I froze. I saw balloons, Miffy decorations, and a massive chalkboard sign. From behind the corner, my bridesmaids Sam, Amanda and Valentina jumped out to yell 'Surprise!'. I was so happy, I hadn't seen some of these girls in person for over a year, so I was incredibly touched that they came all the way to Paris for me. 

Noor, who couldn’t make it because of visa issues in Portugal, had sent a beautiful handwritten letter that I read (and immediately cried over). The entire Airbnb was covered in Miffy merchandise, some of which was MY OWN that was taken from my room by my sister without me knowing. Apparently, I’m more oblivious than I thought...

From there, it was nonstop. We went from a spa to a cafe, to a photoshoot to Korean BBQ, all the while catching up and swapping behind-the-scenes stories about how they had pulled this off without me suspecting anything.

As we took photos by the Seine, I had this lightning-bolt moment of gratitude. I was back in Paris, surrounded by my fiancé, my sister, and my closest friends, basking in perfect spring weather and a plan they had poured so much thought into. 

No matter what happens in life, I will always remember this trip fondly.

In the days following, Valentina and Sam stayed a bit longer, so we shopped, talked, had delicious brunches in cafés, and went vintage shopping. The girls had built an itinerary around things I love, and every day felt tailored to me. It felt like me, like my friends understood the essence of me and all the things that I was passionate about, and that made me feel truly loved.

Walking through familiar streets I’d known when I lived in Paris made me nostalgic, even though I’d left less than a year earlier. Coming back to New York afterward felt like my time abroad had been some kind of hazy dream, so stepping back into old shops and cafés brought me so much joy. I’m glad Guillaume nagged me to come back in March (I gave him a hard time at first! Sorry!).

As I’ve mentioned in other posts, many of my closest friendships blossomed from Bumble BFF, and that includes the one with my bridesmaid Sam. Ever the bubbly, pink sun-spot in my life, she came up with the idea of a strawberry-themed picnic for one of my last days. We packed a basket with snacks from a local grocery store, juice, and a patterned blanket, found a sunny spot, and even had an extremely close encounter with a wild peacock. 

Caramel, Sam's adorable dog!

Before leaving Paris, I purchased a new journal for myself. Every year on my birthday, I switch journals to a new book to document that year. I'm currently using the journal below to document my 28th year of life, and the watercolor designs inside are so pretty and nostalgic. 

I want to end this post on the concept of friendship, because it’s a theme that runs through this trip. I recently had a conversation with my friend Suchuli about how friendship shapes our lives, how being with people who care about you can fill you up, while being with people you don’t connect with can drain you. Friendships come in layers or 'roles': the movie friends, the check-in-every-six-months friends, the work friends, the childhood friends. 

For many years of my life, I envisioned the concept of a best friend, and I put a substantial amount of pressure on both myself and others to embody this 'friend above friends' that can do it all, be it all, and be 'friends forever'. Unfortunately, this often led to hurt feelings and fallouts. I think it's taken me up until this point, maybe up until the exact moment of writing this post, for me to internalize that no matter how a friend manifests itself in my life, no matter what role they may take, I want to be grateful for it all. 

There may be some people you drift from as time passes, there may be people I love today that I might not connect with a decade from now, but I want to do my best to appreciate the beauty in what I have now and treasure those who treasure me. 

I am so lucky to have people who love me enough to cross oceans for me. I am so lucky to have people who know me so richly that they throw me an incredible party with all my favorite things, in all my favorite colors--even down to my favorite flower. 

No matter what comes in the future, I will keep these photos, memories, and people close to my heart forever.