So your partners are off in the woods, and you? You’ve got a hotel key in one hand, a martini in the other and no plans to take it easy. Welcome to Deer Widows Weekend in Milwaukee, a full 36 hours of sparkle, snacks and slightly questionable decisions that you’ll laugh about for months.

Here’s how to do it right.

Day 1 – Sequins & Scream-Laughing with Magic Men

3 p.m. – Check into Potawatomi Casino | Hotel

Toss your bag on the bed and immediately declare, “This is my room,” like you’re on MTV Cribs. The hotel is sleek, modern, and dangerously close to everything you’ll need tonight. Take a mirror selfie, freshen up your lipstick and don’t even think about touching that robe yet because there’s glittery commotion waiting downstairs.

4 p.m. – Hit the Casino Floor

You don’t need to be a pro gambler to enjoy this part. Honestly, pressing buttons on the slots with blind confidence is a mood. The lights, the noise, the collective shrieks from someone winning three machines over… It’s basically cardio. Or grab a plush seat in the Sportsbook lounge and watch some football while sipping something strong. Either way, the vibe is “I’m here to play.”

5:30 p.m. – Dinner at Potawatomi

Pick your personality for the night:

Deer Widows Weekend

7 p.m. – Showtime: Deer Widows Weekend ft. Magic Men Australia

This is it: the lights drop, the music hits and suddenly you’re scream-laughing with strangers like you’re all on the same team. There will be glitter. There will be abs. There may be moments you’ll pretend didn’t happen when you get home. But in this room? It’s all fair game.

11 p.m. – Drinks at Bar 360 or ElevenHundred Bar & Lounge

Don’t even think about heading straight to bed! We’re debriefing over cocktails. Bar 360 has panoramic views of the casino floor (prime people-watching territory), while ElevenHundred Bar & Lounge is moodier with velvet seating and dim lights. This is your moment to rehash every detail from the show and toast to the fact that your voice is probably gone.

Day 2 – Coffee, Books, Brunch & a Bit of Retail Therapy

8 a.m. – Coffee at Cream City Coffee Co.

Yes, you’re awake. Barely. Sunglasses are mandatory, caffeine is non-negotiable. Order the strongest latte they’ll make and remember: recovery runs on sugar.

9 a.m. – Brunch at Story Hill BKC

This is comfort food with flair. Think hollandaise-drenched eggs, crispy potatoes and cocktails that feel like personality traits. Sit a little too long, gossip a little too loudly and don’t forget: brunch calories don’t count on girls’ weekends.

Well Red Damsel

11 a.m. – Well Red Damsel Bookstore

Time to embrace your inner romance heroine. This bookstore in Wauwatosa is packed with swoony titles, cheeky covers and enough romance tropes to make you blush. Pick a book “for the plot” (wink) and snap a cute shelfie while you’re at it.

Noon – Recover at WELL Spa & Salon

Pampering mode: ON. Whether it’s a massage, mani or pedi, WELL Spa feels like stepping into a candlelit secret. Let someone else do the work while you sip water with lemon and pretend you live here now.

2 p.m. – Lunch at Lupi & Iris

Where Mediterranean sophistication waltzes straight into Milwaukee sass. The olive oil is scandalously silky, the small plates arrive like alluring strangers saying, “try me,” and every cocktail carries the confidence of a well-timed wink. It’s less “meal” and more "main character intermission" before you go conquer the next boutique like someone with a secret.

Historic Third Ward Shopping

4 p.m. – Shopping in the Historic Third Ward

This neighborhood is boutique heaven. Lela Boutique for outfits you don’t technically need but will justify, Retique for curated thrift treasures, MOD GEN for lifestyle finds and the Marshall Building Galleries for art (and, let’s be real, Instagram backdrops). Retail therapy is self-care; don’t let anyone tell you different.

6:30 p.m. – Dinner at Tre Rivali

Warm lighting, handmade pasta and wine that tastes like decisions you’ll agree with. Tre Rivali has that “we’re still glam but also slightly feral” vibe that’s ideal for a second-to-last stop on the weekend.

Three people sitting around a rooftop fire pit at sunset, enjoying drinks with a view of downtown Milwaukee’s skyline at The Outsider rooftop bar.

8 p.m. – Rooftop Drinks at The Outsider

Head to the ninth floor of The Kimpton Journeyman Hotel, order something with bubbles and soak in Milwaukee’s skyline. Fire pits flicker, the city lights twinkle and this is the moment you and your friends do that collective sigh like, “Okay, this weekend was kind of perfect.”

10 p.m. – Back to Potawatomi Casino | Hotel

Heels abandoned. Robe tied like a medal of honor. The casino lights are still flickering in your brain like a personal applause track. You didn’t just make it through Deer Widows Weekend, you emerged louder, bolder and just unhinged enough to earn folklore status.