How do I organise a hen weekend?
Have you been asked to organise a hen weekend and aren't sure what to
do?
Spending time with your girlfriends just before getting married should be
an opportunity to bond and have as much fun, strive to do exactly that. A
hen weekend, unlike a hen night, is a much more intense experience and not
just a drunken evening which gives rise to a hangover and a heap of disjointed
memories the next morning.
A Hen Weekend may be the only opportunity friends to the prospective bride
have to spend with her before the wedding. It is therefore important to have
as much fun as possible and create some really good memories over the course
of the hen weekend. After all, this is, hopefully, going to be the bride's
last weekend as a single woman and a last legitimate chance to flirt shamelessly
with the opposite sex.
If you are the organiser, one of the main decisions to be made is the location.
Remember, wherever you go, there needs to be as much opportunity to get outside
as possible as well as there being convenient socialising facilities (pubs,
clubs etc) for after hours. A hen weekend works best when the girls can let
off steam in the open air and then rave it up in the evenings.
One of the most popular venues for a hen weekend is the beach. At the seaside,
there will certainly be nightclubs, comedy shows and wine-bars as well as
all the water-based activities to keep the party fully-occupied during the
day. If this is the preferred location, then the organiser must take care
that the bride's skin does not get sunburnt. With that in mind, you should
take some high sun-block cream with you to slap on the bride 'just in case.
No doubt it could be turned into part of the fun and games.
At the other end of the spectrum, some brides prefer for a less raucous hen
weekend, choosing one of the many pamper packages on offer by beauty salons
and health farms. The advantage of this from the organiser's point of view,
is that the bride will be in good hands and that means the organiser can relax
a little. If you shop around, you will find some good deals for groups.
Another favourite hen weekend option is the adventure package. This includes
white-water rafting, hang-gliding, para-gliding, mountain-biking, quad-biking
and so forth. While there is no doubt that it will produce a memorable weekend
and is unlikely to be anything that the other girls in the party will have
done before, you, as the organiser, do need to consider carefully the physical
fitness level, and ability of the oldest or least able member of the party.
It won't be fun if someone gets into difficulty or even just can't take part.
To make the hen weekend memorable, it is the organiser's job to locate unique
activities for the hen party to enjoy. It is essential that the selected activities
should unite the hen party and not leave some individuals out - this is no
time for the bride to fall out with her friends. Above all else, the organiser
must bear in mind that a hen weekend needs to offer a novel and liberating
experience to the girls. If organised well, the hen weekend will be a very
special experience and, at the end of it, everyone attending should feel special
having spent quality time with the rest of her girl friends during the hen
weekend.
Good luck with organising your hen weekend.