Would You Have a Co-Ed Bachelorette Party? (Jessica Simpson Did!)

Would you have a bachelorette party with your partner there? It might be worth considering! Earlier this month, Jessica Simpson and her husband-to-be Eric Johnson had a co-ed "bachelorette" party. Their fete included dinner, toasts, and dancing, and their bridesmaids, groomsmen, family members, and some of Johnson's former teammates were on the guest list.

And according to People, it wasn't an X-rated affair: "It wasn't about being naughty," says a friend of Simpson's. "They just wanted a great night out with their friends and family." "They didn't want a traditional bachelor-bachelorette where they go off and do their own thing, because our group of friends is so close we just wanted to all be together," adds Simpson's longtime friend and bridesmaid, Stephanie Terblanche. "This is what we would do anyway. We would all go out, and I think that this speaks for the group. If we are not going to be at someone's house hanging out playing beer pong, this is the closest thing to it," says Terblanche. 

We love this idea! As couples re-think the bachelor/bachelorette party (hey, half-naked strippers aren't for everyone!), it makes sense that they'd reconsider the guest list as well. Since your bachelorette parties isn't really your "last night as a single woman" (wasn't that the night before you made things Facebook official with your sweetheart?), there's no reason you can't have your partner around. And if you have your heart set on hanging out with just your friends without your partner around, you could still make it a co-ed party and invite your brother and male besties.

One of the best things about getting married is the way your friends come together to support you, but you may not have as much time to bond with them as you'd like during the wedding weekend. The rehearsal dinner is often a fun night for the friends and the couple, but you can't party too hard unless you want to say your vows with a hangover. So setting aside a night a few weeks before the wedding to let loose with friends and get excited for the big day is a perfect solution. You could do dinner and dancing like JS and her guy, or hit a sporting event, try a group cooking class, have a barbecue, or spend the weekend at a lake house.