The Ultimate Hen Party Planner: A Step-by-Step Guide
Being selected to plan a hen party is ultimate display of friendship and love from a bride to be. The planning and organisation of a hen party is sometimes a daunting task – where do you start?
Below is a step-by-step guide to help you become the Ultimate Hen Party Planner.
Included is a timeline breakdown of when to complete important milestones, as well as a numbered checklist. The Hen Party Planner is the ultimate and complete guide to make your life as easy as possible.
The Ultimate Hen Party Planner Guide
Six months to go…
1) Find out what the bride-to-be wants!
The first step to planning a hen party is finding out what the bride wants; it is her hen party after all.
Dancers? Pyjama party? Skydive? There are endless possibilities.
Gaining insight into the type and style of hen party she wants gives you valuable information in the planning process.
Some questions to help you find out as much as possible are below:
- What do you imagine when you think of the perfect hen party?
- Where would you like the hen party to take place – in the UK or abroad?
- What specific friends are a ‘must’ on the invite list?
- How many people would you like to invite?
- What rough date would you like it to take place?
- What sort of budget would you like to set?
- Does she want to be involved in organising the hen weekend?
Once you have a rough set of guidelines to follow, the specific planning can commence.
2) Meet with the hens
Now you know all the above information, you need to get together with the hens to discuss possibilities. Although not all the attendees of the hen do must attend this meeting, inviting a close group of friends will ensure you have a good flow of ideas.
You will need to discuss venues, locations, activities etc to then create a rough schedule. With this information, initial calls can be made to see if the dream can be made a reality. This will also allow you to create the hen party around the decided budget, hopefully avoiding any expensive surprises down the line.
We advise steering clear of an alcohol-infused evening, nothing good comes after a bottle of wine when planning a hen.
At this point, the bride would have decided how involved she wants to be in the planning of the Hen Party. She may or may not attend. If she has attended, make sure you keep a few surprises and ideas quite so there are some surprises over the hen weekend!
3) The decision
Now you have lots of ideas for the hen party, it is time to knuckle down and make a final decision. You must decide:
- Location
- Hotel
- Date
- Set of activities
Deciding as early as possible is important. Although months away, the earlier you book the easier it is to stick to your original plans, and it increases your chances of getting a better rate. Of course, you will want to keep costs to a minimum, therefore booking early helps with this.
4) Get organised
Organisation is key to a fabulous hen. Creating a spreadsheet on either excel or google docs will help keep track of necessary information. Planning a hen party is an involved job and has a lot of information.
Here are some column examples of what to include:
- Hen names
- Hen nicknames
- Payments and dates they are dues
- Individuals payments already made by hens
- Confirmed/unconfirmed bookings
- Hotel room plan
- Activities and times, they are booked
Getting organised gives you the best chance of staying stress free and on plan. It also gives you the opportunity to work out budget and payments. At this stage you can work out a payment plan and deadlines to make sure everything is paid on time. This also gives the hens as much time as possible to work out their finances.
5) Send invites
Although your hen party is likely to know when, what, who and where the hen party is you still need to provide a formal invite. Think of it as the final cherry on the cake and signifies it is happening!
It is also a great keepsake. Physical or digital, it is a great memory to look back on in years to come.
6) Create a WhatsApp group to keep in regular contact
Perhaps make a hen party group chat? Using either WhatsApp or another form of social media will make hen party planning a lot easier when it comes to chasing payments, informing people of changes, and double-checking details rather than individual messages and having to relay information.
Two months to go…
7) Collect final round of payments
It can be difficult to round up everyone’s payments, therefore asking them way in advance saves the awkward ‘you still haven’t paid for ***’ on the night.
Using your payment plan you can incorporate a date around two months before the hen party. Collecting payments as early as possible allows some wiggle room for if anyone is late to pay.
It also means you will not need to fork any expensive bills when payments are due. Now you have your spreadsheet, it will be easy enough to track who has paid for what and when. Use your group chat to kindly remind who owes what!
8) Create an itinerary
Did you like making the previous spreadsheet? If so, put those skills to work by creating a full rundown of the hen night. By now all plans should be in place, therefore formulating all this information and sending it to everyone allows all hens to know what to expect and their individual role they play during the night.
This can also be an excellent time to prepare the bride for what she has in store. Depending on how involved she wanted to be before the actual hen party, you can use it as an insight into her special weekend.
One month to go…
9) Double check all bookings
Although you may have repeatedly said to the transport you want picking up on the 1st of April at 7:00 pm, they could still get this wrong. You will want to double check and even triple check bookings to ensure the night goes as smoothly as possible.
As well as all bookings, double check with hens they know all important details. Mistakes can be made, but you will want to avoid these at all costs to ensure a fun night for all. As the planner of the hen party, it is your responsibility to ensure no stress for the bride!
One week to go…
10) Decorations, refreshments, and outfits are bought
Of course, this will depend on the type of hen party you have gone for but ensure all items you need are purchased a week before so that nothing goes amiss.
Cheeky straws? Check. Cocktail mix? Check. Party dress? Check.
A good tip is to create a list of toff items you need, then ticking them off once they are with you. This will make packing and transport as smooth as possible. You may have limited room in the case so finding another hen to help share the load makes things easier.
The night before…
The night before…
11) Decorate the area
Now you have all the decorations, it is time to put them up. This may have to be done on the day of the hen as you may not have access to your area the night before.
If you can get it sorted the night before, it gives you plenty of time to blow up the balloons, stick the banners up, set up table decorations and enjoy some time before the big day (the hen party of course).
12) Debrief the bride-to-be
At the point the bride might know the ins and outs of the night, they might not know a thing- this is when you need to debrief her on all the information you deem necessary in order to prepare for the night ahead.
13) Relax & enjoy
All preparations have been made, now it is time to relax and enjoy the night! Although you have been detailed, organised, and planned the night to a T, remember to have a laugh and enjoy your time. The bride has only one hen party, therefore, enjoy it as much as possible. If issues do occur, laugh them off- nothing should ruin your time celebrating the bride’s final moments of freedom before she becomes a Mrs.
Now you have your own Ultimate Hen Party Planner Guide...
Following the guide above will put you in the best position possible.
Remember being as organised and working things out early will make for a smoother planning process, lower the price of the hen, and allow you to stick to your original ideas.
Do not forget to double check bookings and keep the hens informed in the run up to the hen weekend.
And finally make sure you enjoy yourself. If you work this hard planning the perfect hen week, you deserve to have fun!
If you would like to be inspired by our amazing Hen Party suppliers, take a look at our list!