*Katy Perry voice* This one is for all the ladies there, whose best friend is getting married… and you have to plan the party of their lives… apart from their actual wedding day.
There are sooo many choices for hen parties, the decision can actually be mind-blowing when you have to think about it. But at the end of your day, you know your best friend… best! That’s kind of why she chose you to be her maid of honour...
There are 2 main options here - hire someone to do the planning and budgeting for you, or, do it all yourself. The latter option is not for the faint-hearted but those who do it, are legends in our eyes.
There are some great planning services out there like https://www.henweekends.co.uk/ - we highly suggest you look them up!
Here are some ideas that we love and would definitely not mind if they were chosen for us *hint hint, future maid of honour… I know you’re reading this!*
Abroad
Most weddings are booked about 18-24 months in advance. The best things about going abroad is that you can book trips at a very reasonable price per person up to 6 months prior to actually leaving the country.
All-inclusive is definitely the way to go on these sorts of trips. Yes, it’s a tad more expensive and can be tricky if the hen-do-crew has any particular food requests, but generally, the hotel has a pool, food and booze all day, entertainment, and you can hire a car for good prices too.
One really awesome thing about holiday making sites, is you can enter your budget per person and then it will automatically create the trip for you - including flights! Something to make sure though is that all the guests are on the same page about prices. It happens all too often that someone can’t make it because they can’t afford it. On one hand, you can’t please everybody. But on the other hand, if your bride insists than her 70-year-old granny should be at her hen do, then going abroad might not be the best option...
Some great sites to check out!
Afternoon tea
Some brides may want something a little quieter. Afternoon tea or dinner with a view at The Shard in London isn’t the worst idea for a hen do! Although it’s only 1 activity, it does mean that many more people can join in. All you need to do is confirm numbers and get a deposit from those people to be able to pay the hotel/ spa that you chose.
A really great option that is cost-effective is checking out voucher websites. There’s usually a discount floating about online - especially with buyagift.com
You can book your voucher, then call the hotel that it’s valid at and book everyone in!
Ooh, speaking of a spa day…
Spa day & treatments
There is nothing like being pampered before your wedding day. This is an activity that you can do quite close to the wedding day too. The bride can get a manicure, pedicure, massage and loads of other treatments! It’s also a nice idea for a wedding gift from the bridal party.
As we’ve already mentioned one site that has bargains for daayyss, another one to check out is wowcher.com.
Side note:
Budgeting is something that can be really daunting for the maid of honour to have to think about. Some brides don’t expect to pay for anything on their hen do and others will give you a budget to spend and anything extra should be paid for by the attendees. The best thing to do is have that conversation with your bride before you even begin to start planning!
Here are a few tips for the actual organising of the hen do
1. Get a Whatsapp group started. Ask everyone to introduce themselves and tell each other how they know the bride. Chances are you have a whole host of people there who might not have met before and there’s no better way to break the ice than a Whatsapp group!
2. Do a poll. Doddle.com is a great site for you to get people voting about different options. We highly recommend getting all the options signed off by the bride first! This way, you can discuss budgets, activities, dates etc in one place without having to scroll back through the chat because you can’t remember if the brides’ second cousin is available or not. No. None of that crap. Have it all in one place, in a poll.
3. Once you’ve got your preferred plan, find your back up. Coming from event planners, we cannot stress enough how important a backup plan is! You don’t want to be in a position where 12 of you turn up to a restaurant that had a booking system failure and you now have 12 starving people in the street whining because it’s 9pm and they haven’t eaten since noon. Always. Have. A. Backup. #beentheredonethat
If you have any top tips or anything you learned from planning your best mate's hen party, let us know in the comments below!
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