Nashville booming as party city
NASHVILLE It’s hard to miss on a Friday night: Dozens of women, some dressed in matching clothes, others outfitted with pink feather boas, sashes or cowboy hats, travel in packs into bars on Nashville’s Lower Broadway.
With high spirits and the occasional shrieking, it’s clear the women are here to celebrate, and Music City is their temporary playground.
Bachelorette parties — and their sometimes less-noticeable counterpart, bachelor parties — are flocking to Nashville on the weekends for pre-wedding festivities. The city has become a top destination in recent years for these groups, who travel from across the U.S. and are lured by the city’s laid-back vibe, free live music scene and party-friendly activities, such as bicycle-powered bar crawl the Nashville Pedal Tavern.
“Destination ( bachelor and bachelorette) parties are on the rise,” said Jamie Miles, managing editor of TheKnot.com. “People are having smaller bridal parties and they are spending more and more money on their wedding as a whole, so it’s not uncommon to plan a destination party to somewhere like Nashville, Miami, New Orleans or the Caribbean.”
The economic impact of bachelor and bachelorette parties ripples across industries, from airlines to hotels, restaurants and retail stores. It’s even led to the launch of new businesses in Nashville, including concierge services that will plan a group’s entire trip.
Benjamin Goldberg of Strategic Hospitality said the impact of bachelor and bachelorette parties is felt at many of the businesses in the company’s portfolio, including Paradise Park Trailer Resort and the Patterson House. “I think every business has been a beneficiary,” Goldberg said.
As for whether there are negative aspects of being a top destination for these parties, Spyridon said he hasn’t noticed many, aside from hotels having to address room occupancy issues and being left with messier rooms.
“It’s not bad behavior, but it may be overserved behavior. … Good people, good intentions, might overserve themselves a little bit and you know, have some lapses in judgment, but overall no major issues,” Spyridon said.