BEING IN CHARGE OF YOUR OWN HEN DO

If you’re the kind of bride that likes things a certain way, which is more like your way, then you’ve come to the right place to plan your hen do. There is absolutely nothing wrong in wanting to plan your own hen do, afterall it is YOUR hen do. While traditionally it’s the responsibility of the maid of honour to plan and host the hen do for the bride to be, but then again, maybe it’s time for some new traditions.

Planning your own hen do may be another thing added to the long list of wedding preparations, but that doesn’t mean it has to be all that stressful. Here’s a step by step guide to help you with planning your hen do.

1. INFORM THE MAID OF HONOUR

Before getting down to planning your hen night, sit down with your maid of honour and communicate to her why you want to plan your own hen do. Don’t let her feel incompetent or sad about the fact that she will not get to plan your hen do. Tell her beforehand that this is something you want to plan on your own because you want it to be a certain way. Assure her that you will take her help in planning the entire hen do and she will not feel completely left out and deprived of her maid of honour duties, there will be plenty for her to do.

2. GUEST LIST

Since you are now in charge of your own hen do, you get to decide who gets an invite to your hen do and who stays at home. There will be no surprises here, so that’s a good thing. Discuss with your maid of honour and decide on a guest list. If you’re planning a destination hen do, then limit the guests to very close friends. It’s easier to coordinate with a small gang while travelling outstation.

3. DATE

Don’t just fix a date that’s convenient to you. It won’t be as much of a hen do celebration if most of your friends can’t make it. Give your hen gang some of the date options for your hen do and fix one that’s convenient to all without causing any discomfort. Also, keep in mind that your hen do should be at least two weeks away from your wedding day. You will need some time to get over the hen hangover and get back to a normal routine before the next big and most important event of your life; the wedding day.

4. BUDGET

Fixing a budget for your hen do will decide the rest of the things that you need to arrange and plan for the night. You can give the responsibility of pitching in for the hen night to the maid of honour. She can get the hen gang to pitch in their share for the hen night so that one person doesn’t have to bear it all.

5. VENUE AND TRANSPORT

Picking a venue for your hen night is one of the biggest decisions you have to make. Is it going to be your favourite restaurant, bar or a cottage in the countryside, you need to decide that. It will depend on what are your ideas for the hen night. If you want to just drink, then you can go to your favourite bar, if you want to have a nice, quiet dinner, then your favourite restaurant would do, or if you want to chill with your hen gang for the entire weekend, away from the city, then drive down to a weekend getaway destination.
Make sure you’ve made transport arrangements because it would not be safe for any hen to drive on the night of the hen do after consuming alcohol.

CONCLUSION

Even if you’re planning your own hen do, taking help from your bridesmaid might just make things easier and more fun. They can give you ideas for the hen night and you can incorporate them into your hen celebration to make it more interesting. Planning your own hen do can be a great idea, because then you can get exactly what you want and how you want it. Let’s admit it, it’s a once in a lifetime event and shouldn’t be anything less than what you wish for!