How Many Shirts to Order for a Bachelorette Party

You're planning your best friend's bachelorette weekend and someone just asked you the question: "So how many shirts are we ordering?"

And now you're staring at a half-finished guest list, trying to do mental math in the middle of your workday, wondering if the bride's cousin actually RSVP'd or if her sister is bringing her new girlfriend.

Take a breath. We've got you. Whether you're planning an intimate spa weekend with six girls or a full-blown Nashville takeover with twenty, this is the simple framework we use at Gifted and Glam Collection to help brides and maids of honor figure out exactly how many bachelorette party shirts to order — without ending up with too many, too few, or that one cousin awkwardly not in the photo.

The Quick Answer (Save This Chart)

Most bachelorette parties land somewhere between 6 and 16 guests. Here's the cheat sheet for what to order:

The simple formula behind the chart:

Guest count + 1 extra bride shirt + 1 to 2 buffer shirts = your order quantity.

That little buffer is the difference between a stress-free trip and a frantic 2 a.m. group chat the week before. Speaking of which…

Who's Actually Wearing a Shirt?

Before you finalize your number, do a quick sanity check on who's getting one. The usual list:

• The bride — almost always 2 shirts. One for the day-of bachelorette events, and one for either the welcome dinner, brunch, or a "Bride to Be" everyday tee for the weeks leading up to the wedding. Brides love having outfit options for the photo evidence.
• The maid of honor and bridesmaids — one each. If your bridesmaid shirts are different from the rest of the group ("Bride Tribe" vs "Bridesmaid"), make sure to count those separately.
• All other guests in the bridal party — one each. This includes sisters, cousins, college roommates, work besties, and that one friend the bride insists on inviting from yoga class.
• Plus-ones at any of the events — one each, only if they're attending a group activity where the matching shirts will be worn.
• Mom and mother-in-law — only if they're attending the bachelorette events. (For most parties, they're not — but for daytime brunches or shower-style bachelorettes, they often are.)

If you're not sure whether someone counts, ask: "Will they be in the group photo on Saturday morning?" If yes, they need a shirt.

The #1 Mistake: Ordering the Exact Headcount

The most common ordering mistake we see? Brides order the exact number of confirmed guests — and then someone's sister flies in last minute, or a friend who said no changes her mind, or someone shows up with a new fiancé.

Now you have one person not in the matching shirts. They're standing in every single group photo in their regular clothes. The bride feels weird about it. You feel responsible. Nobody wants this.

Always order 1–2 extra shirts. Two reasons:

1. Last-minute additions happen on every single bachelorette. Especially destination trips, where someone unexpectedly decides to fly in.
2. Spare shirts make great gifts for the bride's mom, the wedding planner, or as a "thank you" to the host — and they're a fun keepsake even if no one wears them at the party.

If you really want to be thorough, throw in one extra bride shirt as a backup for your maid of honor in case she shows up in white (it happens) or for the photo session a few weeks before the wedding.

How to Handle Sizes Without the Awkward DM Dance

Here's the part most planners dread: collecting sizes from 12 different women without making anyone feel weird about it.

The trick is to make it easy and impersonal. Two things that work:

• Send a Google Form with name, email, and shirt size as a multiple-choice dropdown (XS through 3XL covers most groups). Send it once with a clear deadline ("Sizes by Friday for Sarah's bach!"), and people will fill it out without a second thought.
• Use a spreadsheet shared in the bridal party group chat. Pin it to the top so people can fill in their own size and you don't have to chase anyone in DMs.

If anyone hasn't responded by your deadline, default to ordering them a medium or large in a fitted style — those tend to work for the widest range of body types and can be tied or knotted if too long.

When to Order (So You're Not Panic-Buying the Week Of)

Custom, handmade bachelorette shirts aren't drop-shipped overnight — and that's a good thing, because it means each shirt is made to order and not something every other party will be wearing.

Most makers (us included) need 5–7 business days for production, plus shipping time. That means:

• Ideal: Order at least 3 weeks before the bachelorette weekend. This gives breathing room for sizing changes, design tweaks, and shipping.
• Cutting it close: 2 weeks out is workable but leaves no margin if the maid of honor wants to change the design or if a guest needs a different size at the last minute.
• Last-minute (under 14 days): Reach out and ask about rush options — most makers can accommodate, but expect a small rush fee.

Pro tip: if you're hosting a destination bachelorette, build in extra time for shipping to multiple addresses (some guests prefer their shirts mailed directly to them rather than picked up at the welcome dinner).

Save Money by Hitting the Bulk Tier

One more reason that 1–2 extra buffer shirts make sense: most custom apparel makers offer bulk pricing when your order hits a certain quantity.

At Gifted and Glam Collection, our bulk pricing kicks in at 4+ pieces — so even small parties of 5 or 6 already qualify. Larger parties (12+) see even better per-piece pricing, which means rounding up from 11 shirts to 13 often costs less per shirt than ordering exactly 11.

Translation: those buffer shirts you'd order anyway? They're often the cheapest ones in your order.

You're Ready to Order

Here's the ten-second recap:

1. Count your guests (including the bride).
2. Add 1 extra shirt for the bride (she'll want options).
3. Add 1–2 buffer shirts for surprise guests and gifts.
4. Collect sizes with a quick Google Form, set a deadline.
5. Order at least 3 weeks before the weekend for stress-free delivery.
6. Hit the bulk tier to save per-piece — it's almost always worth rounding up.

Once you've got your number, the only thing left is the fun part: picking the design.

If you want shirts that actually look good in the photos (and don't shrink or peel after one wash), browse our Group & Event Apparel collection — designed for bachelorettes, girls trips, and bridal parties. Every piece is handmade-to-order with bulk pricing from 4+ pieces and a 5–7 day turnaround. We'll even help you customize names, dates, or destination details so your bride tribe gets something nobody else has.

Ready to order? Shop our Group & Event Apparel →

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Have a bachelorette planning question we didn't cover? Drop it in our DMs at @giftedglamcollection — we answer everything.