We have all heard stories of how young girls start planning their wedding before their first heart break. When some of these  girls turn into young women, the mental wedding planning kicks into a higher gear. Men have a perception of how much women look forward to planning and being the center of attention at a wedding. Well, our version of this is THE BACHELOR PARTY. One of the coolest things about a bachelor party is most guys aren’t limited to just one. Wait, wait, wait. What I mean is – not only do we get to participate in our own bachelor party, but we also partake in the bachelor parties of our buddies. The verbatim reaction of one of my closest friends when I shared I was engaged was “Word? Where are we going for the bachelor’s trip?” At least 5-minutes passed before I was congratulated.

Today I will share with you 4 keys to planning an epic bachelor party. I guess you ladies can steal a few of these ideas to make future bachelorette parties more memorable than the mani/pedi spa day capped with a night at the expensive restaurant you’ve been wanting to check out for the past 6-months you may have anticipated planning. (just joking) By the way, there are really 8 keys to planning but I’d lose my Dude Card if I gave away all the information.

  1. Proper Planning – It is up to the Best Man or a selected few to begin planning the moment the groom-to-be confides that he is dropping to a knee soon. The only questions the soon to be engaged man needs to answer are: What are your top three destinations? How many days are you able to get away? What month/time of year are you expecting the trip to take place? The more lead time with planning normally allows more wiggle room with budgeting, vacation requests, and child/pet care when necessary.
  2. Create Itineraries – Freestyling is only cool in hip hop – and honestly most of that is pre-written anyway. Nothing hurts a bachelor’s trip more than hearing the same What should we do today? conversation during the entire trip. A loose itinerary is fine, but an itinerary is a must.
  3. Don’t waste $1 while trying to save 25¢ – By no means am I suggesting everyone must act like Floyd “Money” Mayweather Jr., however there are many instances where it makes sense to spend more cents. My male crew has often paid for a cook to prepare 1-2 meals a day during our trips. The money spent for this luxury eliminates the time and money that would be required to go grocery shopping, argue about which guy is getting stuck on chef duty, the time required to prepare and cook a meal, and of course who will have the pleasure of washing dishes. I feel this “extra” cost is totally justified.
  4. Don’t ignore personalities – This may be the pink elephant of the list. We all know that even in a tight bunch, not everyone totally enjoys everyone else. Don’t get a 2-bedroom villa when three of the six dudes don’t like being in close quarters with each other. A larger house or additional hotel rooms can often lead to a much more enjoyable situation. Ladies: please get accommodations with multiple bathrooms.

I’m certain others could and would have come up with a different list of four tips, however I can vouch for these tips leading to an epic bachelor’s trip – I’m talking about my own. Seven nights. Five guys. Four countries. Don’t believe me? JUST WATCH – No Tigers In My Bathroom.