How to plan the ideal stag do or hen party weekend.
Stag and Hen parties – we all love the idea of them, except for the poor sod who has to organise them. With romance in the air for Valentine’s Day, brace yourselves for the news that some of your friends are going to be swept off their feet with proposals of marriage.
Whereas using a wedding planner or entrusting your chosen venue to create your perfect Big Day seems like a very sensible idea, most stags and hens still dump all the responsibility of organising the important final weekend of freedom on their best mate. With the best will in the world, most people are not event organisers. They have other jobs.
You know how the conversation goes
You’re in the pub with your mates, everyone’s had a few and the bride or groom starts on about wanting their singleton send off to be the best party they’ve all ever had. In a haze of Harvey Wallbangers, you put your hand up to volunteer for this most important of tasks. Or worse still, you’re volunteered.
Next day the awful reality dawns. You have to draw up a list of the right friends and make sure they all get on. Then there’s a tactful discussion about how much everyone is prepared to spend, where they’re going, how they’re going to get there and what they’re going to do all weekend, apart from having too many Tequila Slammers. The responsibility is now weighing very heavily on your shoulders. This has to be the best ever, better and betterer than any betterest stag do or hen weekend that anyone else has ever been on. Ever.
So where to go for a weekend away? The perfect weekend
It seems the groom and half his mates are fussy eaters, some would like a game of golf or fancy trying stand up paddle boarding, others see a stag do as an excuse for an all day pub crawl. Where to go for a cheap weekend away? Translation: more beer money.
Meanwhile the hen’s besties are another fearful mix of dedicated disco queens, vegans, karaoke averse and gym bunnies. Food intolerance is just another hurdle. Then the talk turns to games. Anyone got GCSE in hen weekend games ideas? A spa break, yes, but which spa break.
Then it gets worse. The word goes round that you’re organising the world’s best ever stag do or hen party weekend. It’s going to be such a laugh, the best fun you’ve had since the first lockdown and suddenly the guest list widens. The bride decides she wants her mum, two aging aunts and an old mate from school days to be there. Meanwhile the stag’s dad has invited himself along with some of his old rugby chums. So suddenly the poor organiser is grappling with a generation game as well. Get it right, and people will be plying you with pints or Pina Coladas for months to come. Unfortunately, when things go wrong, that’s what everyone remembers and will trot out the story for decades to come….
‘How could we forget Pete’s stag weekend? He came home without any eyebrows and we accidentally left his Dad in a night club.’
‘The only thing I can really remember about Lisa’s hen do was her mother falling out of a taxi absolutely off her head.’
Pre lockdown, Vegas, Ibiza and Prague were popular stag do and hen party weekend destinations, but with question marks still hanging over foreign travel, who needs the hassle. Especially if you’re trying to shepherd a group of people with very different expectations to an airport, in and out of taxis, trying to book hotels and restaurants who might not actually welcome your custom. Oh and grappling with ever changing regulations about Covid. Just how good is your Spanish or Czech? Believe me, I’ve been on a few of these weekends and they’ve been, let’s just say, unforgettable. Some of the hen weekend dress up ideas are unfortunately very memorable too – but not necessarily in a good way.
So if you’re the poor organiser, the voice you will be hearing over and over again in your head is: where can I go for a weekend away in the UK?
As Charles Dickens once wrote, ‘It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.’ I can’t say for certain but I think he was definitely talking about stag do and hen parties.
The key to success is having it all under one roof…
In a good hotel with all the meals and evening entertainment taken care of. Organising an optional activity or two through the day is a good way of helping everyone to bond plus having the kind of weekend they want, as well as supporting the stag or hen in giving them the bestest of times.
But not just any hotel. It needs to be one dedicated to a party weekend where everyone is there to have fun. If you want to boogie on through the night, you can. No tutting from more sedate fellow guests who don’t want to hear how ‘I Did It My Way’ in the karaoke bar.As for the fussy eaters and those with dietary requirements, the hotel can take care of all that. So no arguments about restaurants, trying to get taxis and booking tables for humungous numbers of people, some of whom may not be yearning for a beer and a biriani.
As the organiser, be prepared for a bombardment of questions. From the practical such as: what to wear on a spa weekend, what to pack for a stag weekend, to the more crucial: when does the bar open/close, who’s on the guest list, why’s that then? So here’s my tip for this special month dedicated to love. If you want to remain best pals with your prospective groom or bride, talk to us about bringing your gang to one of our adults-only weekend parties.
Everyone at our hotels is there for the same reason…
To have a good time. We book the entire venue for the weekend, along with great bands and entertainment to provide two fabulous party nights that go on into the wee small hours. The restaurants cater for all tastes and dietary needs. No queueing for taxis after a long night on the beer. If you’re not a night owl, you won’t be seen as a party pooper if you don’t join everyone on the dance floor. Our hotels offer fabulous facilities such as spas, pools and extensive games rooms. They’re all right near the beach for a bracing walk. Now that can be a life saver if you’ve woken up er, just a bit, er, groggy?
And if you want to add your own touches like including some fun daytime activities for some or all of your gang, we can take care of that too. We can often provide luxury coach transport too from your home town so nobody has to drive.We can’t guarantee the bride’s mum won’t get drunk and start kissing the waiters nor that old school mate you invited, has turned into the world’s greatest bore. But we can ensure that the poor old volunteer from that fateful evening in the pub, finds that it wasn’t quite such a nightmare after all.
There we have it, meals, activities, pampering, lively entertainment, all under the one roof providing for a unforgettable stag do or hen party weekend, so what are you waiting for? Find out more about our stag weekends, hen weekends or a girlie spa break or get in touch today to find out more.
