The Hen Party - Tips for 1st Time Chief Bridesmaids
You get a phone call. Your friend needs you to come over – urgently. Hopefully it won’t be a repeat of that time she got stuck in that dress and you practically had to cut her free from that fabric, zipper prison. You race to hers (dress making scissors in tow) she’s there and she seems alright, in fact she seems radiant. Then she proudly thrusts her dainty hand at you and you see it, a glittering diamond band on that finger. Then the screeching starts and before you can verbalise a proper sentence she’s asked you to be her chief bridesmaid and be in charge of planning her hen do. You’re really excited but then the panic starts to seep in. You’ve never been one before. What do you do? What’s involved and how can you make sure you’ll organise the best hen do ever? Well fear not, because we’ve listed all the things you need to think about, before you start your duties…
Step 1: Meet the other bridesmaids
Once the bride has told you who else is going to be a bridesmaid then it’s important that you meet them. After all, these are going to be the women who are going to be with you during the all-important hen party. So buy a bottle of pino (maybe two) and invite them round for a chat. Get to know them, what they like, what they don’t like and store that information away for future use. Also, use this opportunity to exchange numbers; lord knows you’re going to need it in the following months! Step 2: Sort out a budget
Now onto the not so fun part – money: booking a hen do is going to require it. Hopefully you’ve had a chat with all the other bridesmaids, so you have a general idea of what the budget for each person is. Knowing this will help avoid any conflict/tension that may arise over costs later on; just remember to budget in other things too like fuel/travel cost/food/drink/etc. That way you’ll also avoid getting a nasty shock when you come to look at that bank statement!
Step 3: Be activity savvy
Really there’s no point in booking an afternoon of horse riding if the bride is scared of horses now is there? So make sure you remember everyone’s preferences (remember I told you to find out in step one) when booking the weekend. Also be mindful of what you plan to do on each day. For example, it might not be such a good idea to do something active on the Saturday morning if everyone is still hung over from Friday night’s drinking session. So try and pick an activity that everybody is going to enjoy, like a spa day, which always goes down well!
Step 4: Always be prepared
Sometimes things can go wrong, when you plan hen dos on your own, so make sure you have back up plans/numbers just in case it (heaven forbid) it does actually go wrong. I also recommend printing out any maps, booking confirmations and anything else you get sent. That way you have them to hand during the actual hen do, if you need to sort stuff out. Saying that though, more often than not, it’s a lot easier (not to mention a lot cheaper!) to book your hen party with an agency. Then you won’t have to chase for payments or stress about typing up itineraries.
Anyway, regardless of whether you plan on organising it yourself or booking your hen weekend through an agency. The one thing you should remember is this – a hen weekend is all about having fun and making it special for the bride. It’s her party, so as long as she’s happy during her hen do and makes it to the wedding (sane) - then you’ve done your job as the chief bridesmaid! Mission accomplished!