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Planning Your Hen Night Before Your Wedding

Wedding trends are changing each day and there is no set example of how to have a farewell celebration for the bride-to-be. But no wedding tradition will be complete without having a hen party.

Generally planning the hen night before the wedding might seem something for the bridesmaids but trust me, the bride herself is as involved in it as any other person.

As easy as it might sound, for a perfect hen you need to have proper planning at each step of it. These are the smallest things that can make or break the event. As for the bride-to-be, it will be your last girl gang celebration before the wedding so make it worth the hype.

Here are some important things I’ve found from a few previous experiences for the bride to consider in planning your hen night before your wedding.

Before the guest list, date, or anything, the first thing you should work on is the venue. The bridesmaids should book the venue at least two weeks before. If you are having it in the same city or nearby area it is better to send someone to visit it beforehand. For the safer side, have a backup option too.

As for the date, don't go asking everyone which date is suitable for them. You’ll end up having 15 different dates and none of the two schedules matching. Just give options of 2 to 3 dates which suit you and ask the bridesmaids to go according to it. Being the bride you deserve this advantage. Don’t you?

Draw Up The Guest List

Hen night is best spent with a small close friends group who know you the best and you can be yourself around them. As for extended friends and family and work colleagues, I don't think they will mind when it's kept to close friends.

For the easiest way to make a guest list, just make a WhatsApp group, add all the people and then leave the group and let the bridesmaids do their thing. It even becomes easier to send invites rather than inviting everyone individually.

Draw Up The Guest List
How Long Is The Gap Between The Hen Party And The Wedding?

How Long Is The Gap Between The Hen Party And The Wedding?

The trickiest part of planning a hen night is when to plan and how much gap to give between the reception and this party. There is no hard and fast rule to this but ideally from what I’ve experienced one should set the date for hen night around two to six weeks before the wedding.

If you are planning on having a one night hen party, then I suggest two weeks or ten days before the wedding is ideal. Having it too close to the wedding creates a lot of hassle for the bride and everyone else too. It's better to get done with it sooner and enjoy both days to their fullest. It keeps the festivities alive and also does not hinder the wedding preparations.

The Theme

Your wedding and hen party theme shouldn't be the same. There's nothing wrong with keeping it the same but what's the fun in that?

The theme should be very personalised and something which connects with the bride-to-be and her friends. Just because something is trending doesn't mean it will resonate with you as well.

Set a theme and then let the bridesmaids do their job. All you have to worry about is your outfit to match that theme. Hen night means a lot of dancing and drinking so one outfit tip to keep in mind is to keep it elegant yet comfy.

The Theme
Plan The Activities
Plan The Activities

If you are not planning your hen night activities yourself, you can list down the activities you want and the rest your bridesmaids will manage. Just make sure you keep the time for the event and budget in mind. Even small budget events when accomplished properly do so well.

No matter how well you execute things, a lot of activities in one night are not possible. So it is best to keep things fun and have a main activity and small fun things here and there because, in the end, it's just booze and the people that matter.

Don’t Overburden Yourself And Delegate The Tasks

Now finally comes the task of planning your hen night. Even though you are in-charge of your hen night, you don't get to do all the work. Pick your 3, or 4 trustee besties and delegate the tasks. Let them manage it for you.

You don’t have to involve all the guests but to keep some element of surprise, it is best to leave it to your besties after you have planned it with them. They will bring out the best hen night for you and you won’t overwork yourself.

Finally, just make sure to double-check things at every step and nothing can stop you from having the best hen night ever!

Don’t Overburden Yourself And Delegate The Tasks