The bachelor and bachelorette party is a deeply ingrained tradition amongst those deciding to get married. We tend to like to get drunk and party before, during, and after big events. Generally a bachelor party is nothing more than reason to be a drunken and juvenile ass for a day or two with your closest friends. Binge drinking and strippers were the course du jour for many a generation. Fun times!
These days grooms-to-be are asking for a bit more. According to some companies across the pond in merry ol’ England, bachelor parties (or stags) are starting to leave the strippers and binge drinking behind and embrace actually doing something, anything of substance. Art classes, cooking courses, wine tours, distillery tours, and brewery tours are among the top choices.
It’s a big change. Britain’s largest stag celebrations company, Chilli Sauce, which sends hundreds of thousands of men on stag weekends each year, says that only 30% of its bookings now involve alcohol or strip clubs, down from 50% in 2011. And those that do involve drinking have changed.
The British companies cite a couple factors at play for this shift in perception and desire.
Behind the change are two substantial changes in society. The first is the increasing age of grooms – the average age for a man to get married for the first time is now 33, up from the mid-20s for their parents’ generation. The second factor is that, despite the headlines about binge-drinking, young people drink less alcohol than previous generations.
We are drinking less and waiting longer to get married. So we want something more when we spend our money and party. Makes sense.
Even on this side of the Atlantic, millennials are drinking more wine than they are binge drinking cheap alcohol. Niche culture has never been more at the fore of society. We are all getting married a good ten years later than our parents did. Foodie culture is currently enjoying a high-water-mark moment. That all adds up to us wanting something of substance by the time we get to the marriage milestone. Bachelor parties in the US are starting to focus more on the adventure and experience too.
Focusing less on objectifying women and ruing our health with alcohol, in favor of doing something that enriches your life and everyone can enjoy seems like a step forward. Especially for a generation where what happens in Vegas needs to be Instagrammed, tweeted and Snapchatted.
(Via The Guardian)
