If you are chief bridesmaid for a bride to be who has been there, done that and got the t-shirt already it can feel like an impossible task trying to arrange a suitable hen party. After all you don’t want to be accused of making things too OTT with it being a second marriage but at the same time you don’t want to give the main lady a watered down version of an event that she already attended ten years ago. So where to start to make this the memorable experience it needs to be? The key is to focus on that word, experience, and then you won’t go far wrong.
Hen Party History
Hen parties have changed beyond recognition in the last few decades. If you ask your Mum about her hen party the likelihood is that she didn’t have one, for before the eighties this tradition didn’t really exist. At most brides would have a quiet family meal the night before the wedding and even this was seen as quite extravagant. Cue the eighties and all of a sudden getting your friends together at the local for some chicken vol-au-vents, a few pints of cider and a dodgy stripper was popularised as a hen party and this has grown into the multi-million business it is today.
Hen Parties Today
Luckily in the past twenty five years things have developed for the better with hens taking on all sorts of exciting adventures as part of their hen parties. From learning saucy Latin dance moves to burlesque based life drawing and from creating hand decorated cupcakes to relaxing in a spa for the day, there are all sorts of different activities available that can provide the bride to be and her hens with a different kind of experience and a whole range of specialist companies like The Stag and Hen Experience who can help you to organise the perfect party.
Your Experience
Getting back to the word, experience, just for a minute. Before you start any planning you must talk to your bride to be about her expectations for the party and what kind of an experience she is hoping for. Does she want a quiet relaxing experience or an adrenaline fuelled activity based experience? Does she simply want to spend time with her friends experiencing quality girlie time together before the big day or does she want experience of a certain flavour, theme, city or activity?
Your Party
Once you have had a thorough discussion with your bride to be you can start to arrange the party. To have the most harmonious experience, liaise with as many of the hens as possible from the start so that everyone feels included and an important part of the day. You may have been chosen for her chief bridesmaid but there will be others who thought it might have been them so get good at delegating to give potentially disgruntled hens the opportunity to contribute in a meaningful way.
