LIFE: Hen Do Shenanigans

It seems like only the other day, but way back in the summer I attended the hen party of one of my very best friends – Andrea. It was such a lovely weekend! This was my first ‘away from home’ hen party so I really didn’t know what to expect – planning a hen party is such a tricky thing to do – a whole weekend away for a group of girls that maybe don’t know each other or are different ages… Luckily for us, Andrea’s chief planning squad; sister Claire and sister-in-law Louise had it sorted. After months of planning and preparations, we all excitedly packed our bags and headed off to stay in a large townhouse in Bournemouth for a full weekend of giggles and hen party shenanigans.

We were all provided with t-shirts for the weekend which were courtesy of Stag and Hen T-shirts (a local Brighton based company), personalised with our own nickname on the back. Yep, this is mine – lyndsaylicious is a VERY old nickname dating right back to when Andrea and I were 18/19 (circa 2003/2004) and would go clubbing every weekend to the Event II in Brighton (cringe!) and even now, the nickname crops up now and again to haunt me! The hand illustrated logo was created personally for our group, which is such a fabulous, personal service! I really liked that as our vests had such a pretty design and were not tacky at all.

Our weekend was full of laughter and giggles, we spent the first day at the Spa all day – Andrea, the bride to be being pampered with a facial whilst we all chatted and relaxed in the jaccuzzis and steam rooms. It’s such a perfect way to spend a day with friends and is a great idea for a hen party as everyone can join in. We had a couple of pregnant ladies in our group so it was nice to do something they would enjoy and be able to take part in too.

The main event was the night out on the town! The evening started off with some party games including a Mr & Mrs game for the bride-to-be which was hilarious, the bridesmaids had filmed Rob’s answers and played each clip as Andrea answered the questions, I was actually crying with laughter. Such a funny idea. Things then really heated up when two Butlers in the Buff arrived to serve us drinks all evening just wearing aprons – Andreas face was a picture!

All in all, it was such a lovely weekend – I got to know the other girls so well in preparation for the wedding and Andrea had such an amazing time. Think she was feeling a bit worse for wear the final day, but it was totally worth it.

Top Tips for Planning a Hen Do:

• Rent a large house – If you are going away in a group, renting a large townhouse is the perfect way to divide the costs. We rented a 5 storey high house, right in the centre of town and it was just perfect. Although, make sure you book a property with lots of bathrooms – 15 girls getting ready at the same time for a night out can be chaos!
• Activities everyone can enjoy – This is a tricky one, with a large group it’s hard to plan something everyone will like, so think about your group and their interests and abilities. This is something to think about especially if you have older relatives or pregnant guests coming along, you don’t want them to feel left out to plan something suitable!
• Party games – Hen party games are hilarious and certainly break the ice if girls within group have never met before. I loved the Mr & Mrs game, it was hilarious!
• Presents for the Bride – You want your bride to feel utterly spoilt so we all brought her a small, keepsake gift she can keep to remember her hen party. To make it extra special, we gave our gifts to her without labels so she had to guess who the gifts were from. She was so touched – there were lots of tears!
• Book a package – Planning a hen party at the same time as thinking about Wedding plans can be stressful so why not think about booking a package and have everything organised for you, it’s better value too! You can book everything from the accommodation to cocktail making classes to Burlesque dancing and more in these Bournemouth based Hen Do packages. Perfect!
• T-shirts –The t-shirts were such a fun idea! We all put them on and posed for SO many photos, the selfies were plastered all over Instagram in no time. It was a lovely touch and something to take away from our weekend away. I still wear mine now.
• Not too expensive – Let’s face it, not everyone has £500 to spend on a weekend away with friends, as much as we’d like to. It’s important to try and keep costs realistic to make sure everyone in your party can come along and join in the fun!
• Bring a bottle and some snacks – A great way to save on food and drinks is to bring your own! The best thing to do is to ask everyone to bring a bottle of their favourite drink and some snacks and collect them all together in the kitchen, you’ll have a feast and be able to make some great cocktails too!

A big THANK YOU to Andrea’s sister Claire and sister-in-law Louise for planning such a fabulous weekend for us all and a big thank you to Stag and Hen T-shirts for providing us with such pretty t-shirts!

Are you off on a hen party soon? Where are you going? Would love to hear your stories/experiences below! 

– Post written in collaboration with Stag & Hen Tshirts and The Stag and Hen Experience,

however all opinions, drunken blurry pictures and hilarious shenanigans are my own.