The hen party is such an exciting and memorable occasion for both the bride and for all those attending! But like organising any event, there can still be a few stressful elements for those planning the big event. We chatted to The Foxy Hen about the 8 biggest stresses…
1. Picking a destination to suit everybody on the hen
The first port of call for any hen party organiser is to select all the activities, the accommodation and the night-time activities and most importantly, the hen party destination. Often on a hen party, there can be friends and family travelling from all over the country so a lot of hen parties tend to opt for central locations that are easily accessible like Carrick-on-Shannon or Athlone or alternatively if a lot of the hens are travelling from the Dublin region, Kilkenny is another popular accessible spot. Sometimes it can be completely different and the hen party and the bride-to-be might want something further a field and adventurous, in this case you can always book hen parties a little further out like Kerry or even a trip to UK destinations like Newcastle or Brighton or Riga or Berlin in Europe.
2. Finding the perfect team building activities
Hen party activities during the day are a great way to break the ice, even prior to the hen night out. Whether it’s a hilarious ‘treasure hunt’ where you can get better acquainted with the bride as well as the hens, a naughty ‘Draw a Nude’ class that will undoubtedly have all the hens in stitches or a sporty, team building activity like ‘turf warrior’, these comical activities are guaranteed ways to get all the hens chatting and working together. The Foxy Hen’s customised package builder lets you completely pick and choose and personalise every activity on the hen party so that it’s right for you and your flock of hens. One great thing about The Foxy Hen itinerary system is that hens don’t have to do every activity if they don’t want to – if there is something that they can’t do, they simply deselect it and they don’t have to pay for it.
3. Rounding the troops and creating the guest list
They say ‘there’s no such thing as strangers, only friends that you haven’t met yet’, at the same time, you still don’t want to feel like you’re pestering them on the run up to the hen party. It can be really challenging when it comes to rounding up the troops and making sure that all of the bride-to-be’s friends and family are there, whether this entails tracking down old school friends and extended family or vice versa or scavenging for the contact details of all the new work friends.
4. Making the ring around and multiple phone calls
A follow on from rounding the troops, you’ll be glad that you went for those free calls with your phone network by the time it comes to ringing around all of the guests. I’ve known hen party organisers who have had to set aside hours in the evening to ring around all of the guests. We do all love to chat now and again but spending hours on the phone just isn’t for everybody. Our handy invitation system on The Foxy Hen lets the organiser invite in all the hens with their emails so they can then log in to their own Foxy Hen accounts and the organiser can keep an eye on the interactive itinerary system as everyone RSVPs. This eliminates the stress of both rounding up the troops and making the ring around.
5. Playing debt collector prior to the hen party
If there’s one thing more intimidating than chasing people you don’t know for their RSVP, it’s chasing people that you don’t know for money. This is potentially, if not certainly, the most daunting task that any hen party organiser has to face. It’s a dirty job but someone has to do it. The good news with our Foxy Hen system is that someone can be us and our interactive itinerary system. All of the hens log in to pay their own way through their Foxy Hen accounts or alternatively they can ring in to pay and we will take all of the payments for the hen party individually over the phone. It completely removes the stress of payment chasing from the organiser’s shoulders.
6. Finding new ways to surprise the bride
When all of the usual stresses of organising the hen party have been completely removed from the chief bridesmaid, the only things left to worry about are the little details like party favours and ways to surprise the bride, activities like ‘CSI: Save the Groom’ and ‘Draw a Nude’ could be good to keep as a hilarious surprise for the bride-to-be. You can always get some quirky merchandise to kit out the hen party, or plan some personal or comical hen party games like a ‘Scavenger Hunt’, ‘Porn or Polish’ and ‘Toilet Couture’.
7. The morning after
This is a universal struggle for every hen, not just the organiser, but it’s still one of the biggest stresses. Paracetamol, mints, nail polish, lip balm, and even a little bubbly and chocolates are all irresistible after a night on a ‘booze cruise’ or ‘VIP Nightclub Experience’. Prepare some hangover kit goodie bags and all of the hens will love you forever.
8. Saying Goodbye
When the weekend is over, you will wonder why you ever stressed about planning it at all. With the great time you’ve had from both the bespoke and sporting activities, the hilarity of some hen night out moments and all the new bonds and friendships that have been formed, the hardest thing to do after a weekend will be to say goodbye. Thankfully, you still have the wedding to look forward to!
For more info on The Foxy Hen or to book your hen party, pop over to their website here!
Main photo by J Wiley Photography via Green Wedding Shoes
