Here come the brides: St. Petersburg is the new bachelorette party hot spot

ST. PETERSBURG — Women storm into Ferg’s in a blur of sequins, slicing through the crowd of sweaty T-shirts in their rented white dresses. Down the street, at Dirty Laundry, another party sprints to the dance floor like a color-coordinated herd of gazelles at the opening notes of “Gasolina.” Over at The One Night Stand, others contemplate a mechanical bull ride.

The bachelorette parties have taken over St. Petersburg.

The bride tribes come from Kentucky and Ohio, Rhode Island and Washington, D.C. They fly in for the beaches, the chartered tiki boats, the picturesque downtown bars with neon signs and silk flower walls. Reporters from the Tampa Bay Times spotted at least 13 bachelorette parties during one recent Friday night in downtown St. Pete. Of the six groups that were interviewed, all but one cited TikTok as an inspiration.

“I saw they have such a vibrant nightlife, so many cool restaurants and it was right by the beach. So it was kind of everything I was looking for,” said Philadelphia bride-to-be Haleigh George in between cocktails at Dirty Laundry. “I saw it on TikTok when I was researching new places to go and (St. Pete) was kind of popping off.”

George, 25, spent her weekend checking out downtown bars, soaking up rays at the beach and singing Taylor Swift songs at a private karaoke room at LALA St. Pete. Her bachelorette party bumped against several others along the way.

“It’s a very popular destination, from what we’ve seen,” she said. “This is the beginning of something.”

St. Pete bachelorette boom

In a sea of Nashville, Tennessee, and Austin, Texas, parties, brides are looking for something unique, explained Lauren Barnhart, who founded the planning service Tampa Bay Bachelorette as a side hustle.

“It’s like a chiller Miami,” said Barnhart, a 29-year-old whose main job is in marketing. “(Brides) are kind of finding a hidden gem in Tampa Bay, where it’s not as hustle and bustle.”

Barnhart fills out itineraries. Hunts for beach cabanas and pink party buses. Stocks fridges and festoons Airbnbs with balloons and tinsel. She has four assistants to help her. The business covers the entire Tampa Bay area, though she said most of her customers have their eye on St. Pete.

“Ninety-nine percent of the groups that I’m working with are from out of state, so they don’t really know that St. Pete and Tampa are different cities,” she said.

Barnhart was inspired after planning her own bachelorette in Scottsdale, Arizona, 2½ years ago. She senses a similar phenomenon forming here.

“You’re looking for something where it’s not ridden with other bachelorette parties quite yet,” she said.

Visit St. Pete/Clearwater has been spreading the word to national outlets, said public relations director Jason Latimer. The tourism agency pitched a piece on planning “the ultimate guide for a beachy bachelorette party in St. Pete” to wedding website The Knot.

“Do not sleep on this hidden gem in the Sunshine State,” states the article, which was produced in collaboration with state agency Visit Florida. Recommendations ranged from candle-making in the Edge District to boogying at ′70s-themed club Good Night John Boy.

“Anyone who’s out on the weekends, especially around the beaches and downtown, have noticed there are more bachelorette parties,” said Brian Lowack, the tourism association’s president and CEO. “We’re going to be looking to capitalize on this. We know folks are traveling for experiences and this is certainly one of them.”

Later, he added, “I look forward to overtaking Nashville as the bachelorette capital of the world.”

A Boston bride named Elizabeth, who didn’t want to share her last name, said she chose Florida over New York City for her party.

“They’re really strict about short-term rentals now — they’re kind of becoming illegal. And I wanted a big house that we could rent,” she said on her way to Trophy Fish. “It makes it fun and affordable for everyone. Savannah was on the list, but I liked St. Petes a lot.”

St. Petersburg does have a rule prohibiting rentals fewer than 30 days (or no more than three consecutive times within a 365-day period). But local governments have struggled to rein in short-term rentals.

Elizabeth also contemplated Key West. Then she realized Tampa Bay’s airports had more options.

“They have flights all day, different airlines. People can use different points,” she said. “It’s just easy. I wanted easy.”

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“Something for everyone” in St. Pete

Down the street, at Concrete Jungle, two bachelorette parties bopped to pop music by the bar downstairs. Another spilled out the front door in search of the next watering hole.

In the line for the bathroom, St. Petersburg real estate agent Alexa Dennis complimented a bride-to-be on her shoes.

“I love bachelorette parties here because it makes me feel that they get to experience a very awesome city,” said Dennis, 25. “I see them with their white rhinestone cowgirl hats and I’m like, slay.”

After eight years in the state, she’s seen how Florida “gets written off really easily.”

“I love that people are appreciating our city,” Dennis said. “There’s something for everyone. Whether you like sports, art, museums, nature.”

Eric Olson, founder of PedalPub St. Pete, knows which murals bridal parties will want to pose by. He takes the animal lovers to Dog Bar and the country music fans to Ride’em Cowboy.

His bar on wheels, powered by partying guests, has roamed St. Pete since 2011. Bachelorette parties have made up a third of the business since 2015.

Out of every 20 tours related to wedding celebrations, one will be a bachelor party, Olson said. Five will be coed wedding parties, “and the rest are bachelorettes.”

The bach crews tend to skew younger, from late 20s to early 30s. But he’s had people in their 90s on the PedalPub. His drivers act as mobile concierges, tailoring recommendations to each group. Locals are fans of the groups, he said, for the most part.

“There are places where we’ve gotten negative reception and that’s because when a bunch of screaming bachelorettes go into a gay bar, sometimes people get a little annoyed,” Olson said. “But other than that, reception has been great. People say, ‘Come on in, good luck to you! You’re getting married!’”

Brides and bull rides

Past the hot dog stand and a row of mobile smoke shops hawking $30 vapes, downtown St. Pete’s First Friday party was just getting started.

Over a dozen flappers and dudes in suspenders crowded the corner of Third Street South and Central Avenue, waiting for the guests of honor. They cheered at the arrival of the bride-to-be, who waved with gloved hands. Her fiance smiled in a white tux.

Outside of The One Night Stand, a cluster of women descended upon a bride’s zipper malfunction. Five other bachelorette parties danced inside, nodding veiled heads to “Sweet Home Alabama.”

“I’m from St. Pete, and when I grew up we were called ‘God’s waiting room,’” said owner Michael Jennings, of Drink St. Pete Group. “We were one of the oldest places in America and it was awful. We had no downtown … no nightlife. We had to go to Tampa.”

The One Night Stand sometimes gets 20 bachelorette parties in one weekend. They’re often lured by Mustache, the mechanical bull by the window.

“I think that’s our third bull,” Jennings said. “We’ve had something like 750,000 rides on that thing. … So this one is Mustache Jr. Jr.”

Around midnight, Mustache bucked another cowboy off its back. A steady stream of riders had tested their balance that night, but no bachelorettes yet. Skirts kept some away from the ride.

Then the door to the bar opened. More women in white poured in.

— Times staffers Rebecca Liebson and Aya Diab contributed to this story.