Brides Are Trading Boozy Parties for Luxury Wellness Retreats

Instead of a raucous weekend of late-night dancing and drinking at clubs or bars, Margaret Wilson chose a healthier setting for her bachelorette party last year.

Ms. Wilson, her sister and four close friends spent four days in February 2023 at a wellness spa in Sedona, Ariz., where they hiked through Boynton Canyon, meditated, enjoyed a healing sound bath and lounged around the pool.

“I had been through a lot of life changes the year leading up to my wedding, and I was looking for a low-stress, meaningful experience with my dearest friends,” said Ms. Wilson, 32, a dermatology physician assistant in Milwaukee. “This trip was meant to enrich my relationship with my loved ones and myself, and it did exactly that.”

Ms. Wilson decided on Sedona, she said, because it was “an interesting part of the country that offered nature and a unique experience that wasn’t solely dependent on partying.”

Wellness travel is now one of the biggest travel trends of 2024, and more and more brides-to-be are choosing locations that they say might help them better prepare both mind and body for their wedding day.

Christian Davies, the general manager at Mii Amo, the wellness spa where Ms. Wilson and her group had celebrated, says he has seen an increase in bachelorette parties. Other spa managers have also seen a rise in demand in recent years.