Welcome to Cosmo Bachelorettes, a column that peeks inside some of the coolest bachelorette parties around the world, hosted by some of the chicest people on the planet. We get up close and personal by going deep with the bride-to-be, revealing behind-the-scenes secrets and all the candid photos you won’t see on Instagram.
Olympic sprinter Gabby Thomas is taking her final lap as a single woman. At the end of the month, she’ll marry her fiancé Spencer McManes, but before she says “I do,” the four-time gold medalist had to round up all her girls for one last hurrah: her bachelorette party, themed Gabby’s Last Rodeo.
It only made sense then that the celebration took place in Austin, Texas. Gabby and many of her bridesmaids live in the area, but practicalities aside, the city feels like home. “I love living here and I love the city, so there was no better place to have it,” she says. “It felt like the perfect place to celebrate this next stage of my life.”
The entire weekend was “this elevated Western vibe,” she says, “so everything was warm browns and creams, and then we added just a touch of Western charm.”
“The first night when we were all getting ready to go out, it felt like true sisterhood. It meant so much to me that everyone flew from all over the country to come celebrate this special time in my life. I’m just so grateful to have this chosen family.”
The first night was kicked off with a welcome event co-hosted by pajama brand Revelry and design company Minted that included a spritz bar, oyster bar, and a glam station for everyone to get ready. Afterward, the group went to a Golden Hour–themed dinner.
“I feel like I was laughing all weekend.”
“The whole weekend was just about celebration and friendship.”
“I did my outfits so last minute, I was not even worried about that. I was really just about having fun—that was all I cared about; just getting my friends together and having a good time.”
After dinner, the ladies hit the town and headed to Devil May Care and Mayfair, two of Gabby’s favorite places in Austin. “It was is such a great surprise because Leon Thomas was actually performing at Mayfair! He brought me up on stage—it was so fun. He’s one of my favorite artists.”
“When we got back from going out Friday night, we were up until 4 a.m. just talking and catching up.”
“Minted was so much fun to work with because they were able to provide us with hand-illustrated icons, like horseshoes and cowboy boots.”
“Minted’s concierge stationery suite really set the tone for the entire weekend.”
The second day of the trip started with a slow morning then eased into a boat day. After time on the water, Gabby and her girls came back to their Airbnb and had a hibachi dinner and played games. “It was really just about relaxing and just spending time together,” says Gabby.
“My favorite moment was when we were in the Airbnb Saturday night in our Revelry PJs, just all hanging out, playing games, talking, and just having a good time together—those small moments that you remember forever.”
Gabby credits both her maid of honor and Minted for her bachelorette weekend turning out “exactly how I wanted it to be.”
“I’m so grateful for [my maid of honor] and the Minted concierge team because everything was just absolutely seamless,” she says. “I could focus on the celebration and the friendships rather than getting stressed out about all the small details.”
“The boat day was great. The girls were in ‘something blue,’ and of course, we had our cowboy hats from Tecovas. We posted so many cute TikToks in our outfits. Everything was so perfect and looked good all weekend.”
“I loved The Golden Hour look. We all looked so incredible, it made me so happy. I wore this stunning white Cult Gaia dress.”