Hen & Stag
Hen & Stags
The merry maids and men that are busily helping with your wedding preparations fully intend to give you the best possible ‘send off’ to married life. Though the thought of obscure inflatable dolls and other paraphernalia may frighten you, it’s best to be confident that both Best Man and Chief Bridesmaid will do their very best and pull off an event to remember!
Let’s start with the Hen. Organising cocktails, dinner and entertainment afterwards is the normal Hen extravaganza and is also an informal way of getting female family and close friends together. The Chief Bridesmaid needs to ensure that the Hen get-together is as close as possible to what the Bride has in mind; remember it’s all about her, so the entire occasion needs to make her feel special.
Organising the Hen is a lot of work and needs to be handled properly. Firstly, accommodation needs to be booked well in advance of the date, particularly for Ireland’s most popular Hen locations – Kilkenny, Killarney, Galway, Dublin, and Cork. Most hotels and guests houses offer group rates, offering a slightly reduced rate. The Chief Bridesmaid needs to keep everyone mindful of the agreed dates and ensure that all arrangements are in place. For Hens who would like alternative treatment of their feathers, an all-consuming, pampering Spa break is simply perfect. Spa hotels, such as the very high standard on offer here in the South East, provide the perfect setting for your nearest and dearest to get together and savour the wedding build-up. The great variety and styles of Spa treatments on offer, together with great food and a really stress-free environment may just be the perfect way for the Bride to truly relax before the biggest of days.
If getting back to nature is appealing, then outdoor pursuits such as horse riding, off-road driving, Go-karting, and hill-walking are all good ways of having some fun, enjoying the group and working up a good appetite for the night ahead! For Grooms-to-be, the trend is increasingly the short break in Europe in top cities such as Budapest, Prague, Barcelona, and the everpopular Amsterdam. Again, it’s all about booking well in advance and especially flights for which group seats may be hard to come by. If the main man wants to escape out of the country for a few days, then about four months of a lead-in time will give the Best Man and fellow stags plenty of time to get everything just right.
For the Best Man, who is usually very involved in organising the Stag, the best place to start is to go online and visit the national tourism websites for the chosen destination to get a feel for what’s on offer. When it comes to accommodation abroad, word of mouth recommendations are great but if none are available, stick to the better known international hotel chains such as Hilton, Marriott, Kempinski or Accor. Whatever Hen or Stag Extravaganza is on the cards, make it great fun, ruffle a few feathers and lock a few horns!
