Have you been charged with planning a hen do for a close friend? With the boom in weddings since 2020, it’s entirely possible – and entirely possible you have no idea where to start. Here is how you put together a holiday to remember, and put the ‘party’ in ‘bridal party’.
Simply, Get Planning!
Getting started on planning a hen do can be daunting, especially if you know you’re looking at a lot of attendees and moving parts. But the best thing you can do is to get stuck in to planning! Get researching and brainstorm some ideas with a trusted friend. How many people are coming? Should you keep it low-key or do something drastic? How about something unusual for a hen? Ditch the costumes and head for a country retreat, or live it up in a European city for a week? Maybe even prod the bride-to-be for clues as to what she might want to get up to… Compile everything, and you’ve got a bevy of ideas to whittle down into a concrete plan – which the next step will help with a lot.
Draw Up a Budget
Hen dos can get very expensive very quickly, and there can be a lot of surprise costs involved – which you as organiser could easily get stuck with on the day! The first question should be: how much can you afford collectively? The average hen do is reported to cost around £200 per person; have an open conversation with the bridal party, and draw up a budget everyone is comfortable with. Remember that the bride shouldn’t be paying for anything during the hen do – be sure to factor this in while you’re crunching the numbers!
Depending on the size of the budget, the big day could be anything from city crawl to a week’s holiday in a rural cottage – either way, the amount of money each of your party puts in needs to cover their travel, accommodation, food, a pot for drinks and a contingency pot for those unexpected emergencies.
Get Organised Ahead of Time
As organiser, you want to be in the driver’s seat for everything to do with the hen do. Don’t leave travel arrangements up to individual members of the party! If you’re off abroad, gather all the travel money together, book train tickets to Gatwick airport and the plane tickets yourself, all in one go. Likewise with accommodation and any advance food orders; book yourself, having gathered any dietary requirements, and bask in the glow of being in control of everything!
On The Day
In order to keep things running smoothly throughout the hen do, you’ll want to keep charge of everything. Hold on to any plane or train tickets til the last possible moment, to avoid the chance of any getting lost. Keep a printed itinerary on you, so you can track when and where you need to be throughout the day. Pick one of your bridal party to be second-in-command, so the two of you can get people moving together. But above all, enjoy the fruits of your labour – and seeing the smile on the bride’s face as everything comes together.
