How do you plan the best hen party? This seems to be a question that haunts me on a regular basis like a pair of six inch Jimmy Choos that I just can’t afford. All I can do is to draw upon my past experiences and offer some tried and tested advice which is, in a nutshell, be prepared for any eventuality.

For arguments sake, let’s think in terms of men… bear with me on this as it will make sense… a hen weekend is ‘Mr Stamina’ who just keeps on going and going and going - eventually running out of steam; a hen night is ‘Mr Attentive’ who pushes all the right buttons; and a hen party is ‘Mr One Minute Wonder’, but don’t be worried about the swiftness of his actions because he will definitely have you satisfied.

Being the most ‘wonderful’ of the three and contrary to popular belief ‘Mr One Minute Wonder’ needs to be given just as much attention as the other to perform at his best.

A party is not complete without alcohol which, in all of its many shapes, tastes and lethal combinations gets people in the party spirit. A hen party needs an endless supply of this, which is where the venue comes in. You should have read ‘How to plan the best hen weekend and… best hen night‘ so I won’t repeat myself about where to go.

Hungry or not you will be enjoying three courses on a hen party – a restaurant starter, trendy bar as main and to end on a sweet note a club as desert.

We all need to fuel the hidden dancing queen so its a good idea to start the evening off with some fine dining. Now I am no restaurant connoisseur but every city has multi-cultural menu of places to dine so you are spoilt for choice. Seeing as you have not decided to go abroad you could choose a type of cuisine that may not have been tried by the girls. Brazilian, Morrocan, Norwegian or Russian are just a few examples and without realising it an exotic menu adds a certain je ne sais quoi to the proceedings.  It makes the hen party even more memorable if the type of food on offer is a first for the majority.

From the starter we move onto the main; but before going into details I should say that the theme (which can influence your choice of restaurant) does not only need to apply to the costumes and/or accessories – it can also be used to decorate a venue.

Let’s go back in time to the morning of the hen party; you will have already chosen the theme, selected the bar and have hired an exclusive hen section – this I strongly recommend. Get a couple of the girls, preferably other bridesmaids to meet you outside the venue and armed with decorations spend a few hours ‘redecorating’. Obviously, you’ll have to get the owner’s permission but they’re generally pretty accommodating, as long as you use blue tack instead of sellotape (for some strange reason this matters).

If you really want to shine as head bridesmaid and prove that you are the queen at organising hen parties why not steal the bride’s phone book or Blackberry and invite her work mates and other friends who haven’t been invited to the dinner.

The bride will think she only has about six friends in the world but when you change venue the stunned look on her face will be a picture when she’s surprised by long lost mates and Amanda from finance.

Now the hen party should be in full swing and what better time to continue the surprises with a token stripper. A stripper disguised as a policeman armed with helmet, truncheon, handcuffs and a budgie smuggler is an oldie but a goody. The photo evidence will haunt the bride for years to come and I’m sure end up projected onto the wall during the wedding speeches.

Now onto forfeits; I cannot stress how important these are for a hen party. Keep them simple, easy to read and easy to carry out. Try and stay within some kind of invisible boundary so people don’t feel too uncomfortable. A forfeit can be anything from striking up a conversation with a stranger, ordering a drink in a foreign accent or performing the ‘funky chicken’ dance if anyone in the group mentions a certain word.

As always be prepared, so before the hen party sit down with a couple of devious girlfriends and write them all down. Here’s a few to think about:

* Slide a condom over a bottle using only your mouth

* Remove an item of clothing without leaving the bar

Within your boundaries you can be as imaginative and as embarrassing as you like, so get your creative juices flowing. They are not only a great way of stitching up the bride but also gets everyone involved and laughing.

Finally desert and its off to a club to dance until the early hours, but make sure you pick one that is popular and plays all the latest tunes. A mixture of music – old classics combined with the latest hits will satisfy all tastes. One more thing before I forget, it is vital that you get pre-allocated tickets. There is nothing worse than dampening the party spirit by queuing.

We’ve covered all three courses on the hen part menu - the exotic flavoured dinner; the bar with a themed reserved area, surprise guests and token stripper; and lastly the club. By now you will all be full to the brim but very satisfied on what was one hell of a good hen party.

Didn’t I say that ‘Mr One Minute Wonder’ wouldn’t let you down?

Posted on Tuesday, 11th November 2008
Category: Hen Parties, Ideas Tags: Hen Party, Ideas
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