How to Plan a Hen Party

This is our definitive guide on How to plan a hen party…if you need some guidance on how to plan a hen party you are in the right place! 

Planning a hen party can be tough, especially if you have not planned a hen party before. 

Deciding on the best hen party location, hen party themes, hen party activities and hen party hotels can be overwhelming!

But, don’t worry – we have been involved in hen party planning for many years organising dance classes for brides right across the UK. 

So, without further adieu, let’s take a look at our guide on ‘How to plan a hen party’.

It is a question we get asked all of the time. How do you plan a hen party? Our answer is ‘One step at a time’.  Planning a hen party takes careful thought, good organisation and strong negotiation skills. It is all about ensuring that the bride and your bride tribe have an unforgettable experience.

You may have heard the saying ‘Fail to prepare, prepare to fail’. Well, that is exactly the same with hen party planning! Before you start looking at hen party locations, hotels and activities we would recommend downloading a project management app like Trello, Todoist or Asana. These apps allow you to add all of your ideas, to do lists, notes, images, links to websites and more! You can also invite other hen party attendees if they are helping you with the hen party planning. 

Before you start asking the other hens where they want to go, or what they want to do for the hen party you first need to decide on a date. Without a date you will not be able to check the availability of hotels, get prices for hen party activities and confirm your bookings. 

There might be some family & friends who have responsibilities so always check in before finalising the hen party date(s) Ask the bride first, it is her party after all!  Once you have identified a few dates that would work best for the bride and the immediate family/friends you can then get to work on the hen party guestlist.

The next step in the hen party planning process is confirming the attendees. It might be a good idea to get the bride involved at this stage. The last thing you want is a bitter bride as you invited an arch enemy who tried to neck on with the groom on the last night out! (Well, we might be going a bit far….but I’m sure you get the picture! 

Why not make a night of it? Invite some of the other bridesmaids around, get your best notebook out and make a list of all of the girls (and any boys!) you would like to invite to the hen party! When you have finalised your attendee tell them the date(s) and find out if the can attend

Online messaging platforms like WhatsApp, Facebook & Live Chat is the most popular form of online communication in 2020. WhatsApp is the perfect platform to brainstorm and share ideas with your bride tribe! Create a WhatsApp group and invite all of the confirmed hen party attendees to the group. This will allow you to communicate with all of your hen party guests with ease.

There are so many amazing hen party locations, hotels, activities, bars, restaurants and clubs!  So, before you start planning, set a budget per person. If you are staying local this should be relatively straightforward, however if you are planning on making a weekend of it there are other costs to take into consideration including travel & accommodation.

The next step in the hen party planning process is deciding on the hen party location. There are many popular hen party cities across the UK including the party capital of Newcastle, the bright lights of London right through to the historic city of Edinburgh.

If you are really looking to push the boat out why not look at the best hen party destinations abroad? The white isle of Ibiza, Prague or good old Benidorm!

In every city across the UK, you will find a wide variety of hen party friendly hotels. Many of the hotels will require a damage deposit so make sure all the other hens are aware of this and factor this into your budget. Bear in mind that if you are planning a hen party over a Bank Holiday or near a key date you will need to book well in advance to avoid disappointment. 

What is a hen party without a bit of dancing? Get the party started with a hen party dance class. We operate right across the UK and you can choose a range of dance classes including Dirty Dancing hen party dance classes, Disney, a little bit of Salsa or why not try a Beyonce Hen Party Dance Class! We have a range of dance packages for your hen party, so before proceeding go on and take a look!

Think amazing venues, your own choreographer, bubbly, a gift bag for the bride packed full of hen party accessories, and a whole lot of fun!

Some other hen party activities to consider include:

• Afternoon tea
• Cocktail masterclass
• Spa day
• Salsa Dancing
• Go karting
• Pamper Day
• Pole Dancing Lessons
• Life Drawing Hen Party
• Wine Tasting

Pick a couple of activities you think the bride would enjoy most, and don’t try to cram too much in! Trying to squeeze too much in can add some stress on the day, and can stretch the budget a little tight.

If you want to create a unique hen party that your hens won’t forget in a hurry, why not pick a hen party theme?  Themes are a great way to keep your hens engaged, and they are great fun! They can also help you decide activities that can be related to your themes. 

Here are some hen party themes that we love:

• The Roaring 20’s
• Back to the 80’s
• Disney Princesses
• Pyjama Party
• We love the 90’s
• Angels & Devils
• The Great Gatsby
• Keeping it Classy – black and white

Let your imagination run wild, hen parties are meant to be fun, and a hen theme is the perfect way to make yours stand out from the crowd! Whether you decide to go cheeky, silly, vintage or classy, just think of those amazing hen party pictures for you’ll come away with!

You have decided on your location, booked your hotel and hen party activities. All that is left to do now is to send the hen party itinerary to the bride tribe! Things to include in the itinerary include the following:

• Where you are meeting on the day
• Flight times (if the hen party is abroad)
• Check in time at the hotel
• Hen party games planned 
• Hen party activities booked and times
• Time of the hen party activities
• Do’s and don’ts (yeah, right!)
• Hotel check out time 

If you get yourself organised in advance, it means you can really relax and really enjoy the day/weekend with the bride tribe! Planning a hen party isn’t an easy task, however, using the above ‘How to plan a hen party’ guide above will help you with the planning process. 

Break the hen party planning process into small steps, and allow yourself one day to complete each of the steps so you do not become overwhelmed. When you have finished planning the hen party, crack the vino open and give yourself a pat on the back! 

Happy hen party planning!