This Woman Had A Paintball Bachelorette Party And It Was Awesome

The bride wore white...and red and blue and green and whole lor of other splattered colors. h/t Charlottesville Wedding Blog

When Rebecca Coleman was planning her wedding two years ago, she decided to skip the peen-themed bachelorette party and try something a little more unusual: paintball.

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Specifically, paintball played while wearing hideous bridesmaid dresses.

"Like me, my friends don't think of stilettos, cocktail dresses, and table service when they think of fun... it's got to be something more outlandish," Coleman told BuzzFeed Life.

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And the group of Virginia friends — many of whom are current or former members of the Charlottesville Derby Dames — were psyched to play paintball in honor of Coleman's upcoming wedding.

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"I loved that this party could be done on a budget — no one was being asked to book a flight to Vegas — and seemed to fit the personality of the wonderful women I'm lucky to be surrounded by," she said. "I had no doubt they'd be up for it, although many of us — myself included — had never played paintball before."

"Gauntlets were thrown, challenges made. There was probably an equal amount of trash talking in the days leading up to the party about who would have the most horrific dress as there was about who would dominate on the field of play."

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"There was just so much laughter, the whole day," Coleman said. "You haven't lived until you've seen someone diving behind a barricade in a floor-length satin dress, or tripping over a train while trying to make a sneak attack."

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After the event, they headed out to dinner at a local brewery, followed by drinks at different bars... while still wearing their paint-splattered dresses.

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"Bachelorette parties should get some attention while out on the town, right?" Coleman said. "Well, we did... but we didn't have to worry about embarrassing scavenger hunts or penis-shaped accessories. Instead, we got to tell people about how badass we were."

If you're thinking of throwing a paintball bachelorette, Coleman has some tips:

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• Schedule it earlier than a traditional bachelorette party. There's a good chance you'll end up with a few bruises from well-aimed shots that you probably won't want showing at the wedding.

• See if you can rent the entire paintball field. It's a fun bonding event and you nay not want to be out there with a team of expert hunters, Navy Seals, or 14-year-olds.

• Save the cocktails for after the paintball session. Not only can it get hot playing paintball outside in a ball gown, but it's also not a good idea to give a bunch of tipsy women paintball guns. (Most paintball facilities have rules prohibiting this anyway.)

• Bring a photographer! Coleman says that the photos were one of the best parts of their day and that most of her friends used them as profile photos after the event.