Tips for a Wedding Party Weekend Trip to Nashville
- Kimi's Travel Thoughts
- 4 days ago
- 6 min read
I had never been to Tennessee before and, until recently, hadn't put a lot of thought into taking a trip there. However, I do have a goal of traveling to every state in at least the continental U.S. in my lifetime and Tennessee was another state to check off the list. I was originally planning to take a day trip to Nashville, but I found myself in a position to go with a great group of people instead as part of a joint bachelor and bachelorette party weekend trip!
Although I have never actually visited Tennessee, I did have a short layover in Nashville on my way to Miami for a Virgin Voyages cruise when I went on vacation last year. It's a nice airport, but I was excited to see the city and explore Nashville beyond the interior of the airport. I was asked to be part of the small planning committee for the trip which gave me an opportunity to learn more about all that Nashville has to offer.
If you're planning a trip to Nashville with your wedding party, here are some tips that can be helpful to keep in mind:
Venmo is Helpful for Splitting Costs as a Group
To split up costs for everything that weekend, we utilized the Group feature on Venmo which allowed for simplified distribution and payment across the entire wedding party. Everyone was charged their specific amount for event tickets, drinks, hotel, etc. without having to worry about service fees to split the payments up. There are other similar options out there for splitting costs, but Venmo was easiest and the cheapest to use for our group. I highly recommend looking into multiple options before committing to any platform. When in doubt, create a spreadsheet!
Use a Spreadsheet to Share Travel Itineraries
We were a group that reached a peak of almost a dozen people on this trip once we all came together for the weekend joint bachelor and bachelorette party trip to Nashville. Many of us flew to Nashville, but some people drove from various states. Everyone added their travel details to a shared spreadsheet so we could know when to expect each person to arrive as activities were being planned and confirming hotel accommodations. It worked out nicely when my roommate for the weekend noticed I was landing a few minutes after her, so she waited for me at the airport so we could catch a ride to the hotel together!
Fewer Vacation Rentals Available for Large Groups
Our group ended up staying in a hotel after our planning committee realized we were going to have a hard time finding a vacation rental with enough space for a group our size at a reasonable price. If you have 10 or more people, it will be difficult to find an AirBnB or Vrbo that can fit the group and isn't a set at a higher price point. The groom let us know that he heard good things about a boutique hotel at the edge of downtown Nashville called Drift Hotel. Like some other hotels in the area, they offered room options and packages for wedding parties in addition to having standard room selections to choose from. Trust me -- it's way cooler on the inside than what the exterior is giving in the photo below.
Drift Hotel worked out well for our group due to ease of access to places on our itinerary. Our group was split up into rooms based in part on arrival times, how many nights each person would be staying, and what groupings made sense. We had a combination of standard rooms and a penthouse suite. The penthouse was more than just a place with multiple rooms -- it was a group hangout spot to sip on drinks, eat snacks, and play video games. It was our bonding headquarters for the weekend and the place where our group could get to know each other better during down time!
Reservations at Restaurants are Sometimes Complicated
Surprisingly, we ran into some trouble securing reservations at restaurants. There were a couple of attempts to book a reservation with one restaurant that never got back with an update despite saying they would. Other places we thought about pivoting to were so popular that we really should have tried to get a reservation ahead of time. That being said, always have a backup plan in case reservations don't pan out or if they need to change last minute for some other reason.
If you have a larger group like we did, try to focus on places that don't require a reservation. We ended up at Taco Bell Cantina for lunch on Friday, dinner at Tennessee Brew Works that same evening, Little RAD Market for breakfast Saturday morning, Red's Hot Chicken for Saturday afternoon, Martin's BBQ for Saturday night dinner, and Yeast Nashville on Sunday morning for breakfast. Most of these places we ended up at spontaneously as we adapted plans based on the energy of the group.
Check Out Local Activities Not on Broadway
Our group was large, so our interests varied and we wanted to make sure there would be a nice mix of things that were unique to Nashville and activities that the bride and groom would enjoy. That gave us an opportunity explore places on Broadway, adjacent to Broadway, and further away from all the happenings along Honky Tonk Highway. We went to the Johnny Cash Museum as a Friday afternoon activity since we were still waiting on some members to arrive and wanted something simple to enjoy. Once we had nearly everyone, we spent Friday night at The Blue Room for a hybrid concert and comedy show headlined by Charlene Kaye in a tiny venue packed with people looking to experience a fun performance. We spent midday Saturday away from downtown at Cheekwood Estate and Gardens to enjoy the nice weather, nature, and learn some local history. Saturday night was our time for a classic bachelor and bachelorette party weekend in Nashville as we went to some of the honky tonks along Broadway.
Know Your Country Singers and Other Music Artists
You don't have to be a country music fan to enjoy Nashville, but it helps to know a some basic background info about artists with a honky tonk or bar on Broadway. Some people have a more problematic history and their places may not be particularly comfortable for diverse group when thinking about the people that would visit those locations. That did limit some our options, but we did go to a handful of locations, eventually spending the most time at Friends in Low Places by Garth Brooks because it offered something for everyone (honky tonk, drinks, a rooftop, pop and EDM music with a DJ, and there were even bottle girls). I was hoping to spend more time at JBJ by Jon Bon Jovi to ride the mechanical bull, but the line for that was too long to wait. We had a fun time at Friends in Low Places which came highly recommended by my supervisor at work who grew up a Garth Brooks fan -- and it was a great recommendation!
Create a Simple Itinerary for the Wedding Party Trip to Nashville
No matter what when traveling with a group, flexibility in your itinerary is a requirement. As you plan your itinerary for your wedding party trip to Nashville, make note of the things that you for sure want to do and if those activities require tickets. Reservations can be canceled, but you can't necessarily do that with advance ticket purchases. It's helpful to have 2 planned activities at most each day with plenty of time in between to return to your hotel or vacation rental to rest and get ready for the next activity.
A loose itinerary makes it easier to adapt to everyone's interests and needs. We had to miss breakfast and brunch reservations on Saturday and Sunday to allow more time for people to rest after late nights. That led us to some cute local breakfast spots that were never on our radar and made special memories from those visits. A simple itinerary also meant that we had more collective decision making amongst the group. We didn't all know each other, so every moment we were able to grow our bond was important before we would all come together again for the wedding. That simple itinerary kept our joint bachelor and bachelorette party weekend in Nashville fun and filled with new experiences!
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