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Planning a hen party is a lot of work. There are so many things to consider! It’s easy to get stressed out by the whole experience.
You want to make sure your bride says goodbye to single life in style. But you also want hen party planning to be simple and pain free. That’s why we’re here. We want to make your hen party planning easy and enjoyable. That’s why we’ve created this handy hen party checklist.
Our hen party checklist was designed to make planning a hen party easy. It was created for those of you who’ve decided to plan the hen party yourselves rather than going through a booking company. So here goes. Here are the 13 steps you need to follow to plan your hen do.
Now you’ve seen an overview of the hen party checklist, it’s time to delve in deeper. We recommend you work through the steps in the order that they are presented. But please be aware that every hen party is different. You may not need to follow every step. By reading through each point, you can figure out what you need to do.
Possibly the most important step to take, ask the bride some key questions to get your hen party planning off to a good start. We recommend you read this blog post to find out which questions you need to ask her, 11 Questions To Ask The Bride BEFORE You Plan The Hen Party.
By asking her questions, you can establish the kind of hen party she wants. You can work out an approximate hen party budget and potential dates for the hen do. You can also figure out who’s planning to hen party with you. Last but not least, you’ll be able to find out whether she wants a theme and whether all the hen party plans should remain a secret.
If you followed step one, you’ll now know who’s invited to the hen party. Once you know who’s invited, ask the bride for the guests’ contact details. Create a spreadsheet to record the names of all your guests and their contact details. You may want to ask the bride how she knows each guest if you don’t know who they are. You can update your spreadsheet with relevant information about your guests as you plan the hen party. For example, you could note down whether your guests have paid and what dates they are available.
The bride should help you with this step. If you asked the questions in step one, you should now know a per person budget. Work out your total budget by multiplying the number of guests by the per person budget.
Once you know the total budget, you can start working out what you can afford. Take into consideration hen party accommodation, activities, accessories, food, drink and transportation. Every hen party is different so please be aware you may need to consider more than what we have listed in this blog post.
To help you keep track of your budget, create another spreadsheet. Note down everything, you know you will need to pay for. Once you know the kind of things you need to book, you can start contacting hen party businesses. Note down any quotes you receive on your spreadsheet as you get them. Once you have all quotes, you can decide what to book.
Make sure you consider whether the bride will pay for herself or whether the rest of the hen party will cover her costs. This can have a huge impact on your hen party budget. Find this out early to avoid any financial mishaps.
Whether you’re planning the hen do with the bride’s sister or her bridesmaids, it’s important you communicate. You don’t have to meet in person. You can call each other or email, whatever works best for you.
Find out whether the bride would like one person to be in charge of all decision making. Once you know this, discuss ways in which you can all help out. Everyone has their strengths.
Once you’ve established everyone’s strengths, be sure to delegate! Sharing the workload will make hen party planning that much easier. It can be a big undertaking so don’t try and do it all by yourself. Organise regular catch ups so that you can update one another on your progress.
To help you with this step, read this blog post, Hen Party Planning | How To Delegate Diplomatically.
Once you’ve reached this stage, you can send your first email to your guests. Your first email should provide information about potential dates for the hen party and what you think the per person budget will be. If you think the budget may slightly change once you’ve received all the quotes, make your guests aware of this.
You should also tell your guests the kind of hen party the bride wants. For example, if the bride wants a weekend away in the UK, let your guests know. After all, they’ll need to have a general idea of what they’re saying yes to.
Once you have all your replies, you should an idea of a date for the hen party and you’ll know your final numbers.
To help you with these first 5 steps, read this blog post, 5 Steps To Kickstart Your Hen Party Planning.
At this point, you will need to start collecting money so that you can pay deposits and start paying your suppliers. Depending on your per person budget, you may want to ask your guests for their money in instalments. Or you may decide you want it in one lump sum.
If you decide to ask for instalments, you may want to consider telling your guests that if they’ve told you they will attend the hen party, you’re expecting them to attend and pay the full amount. The last thing you want is to be out of pocket for a hen party activity because five of your guests drop out at the very last minute. And give your guests plenty of time to give you the money so that they can save!
Now you know the date of the hen do and your final guest list numbers, you can actually start planning the hen party. Have a meeting with your fellow hen party planners and decide what you need to book. You should already have a list of all the different things you’ll need to book. And you should know what kind of hen party the bride wants. If you don’t, revisit steps one and three.
Make an itinerary and plan what you’ll do when. This way, you won’t book too much stuff.
Now it’s time to start finding the right hen party companies for you. At this point, you may want to use our Hen Party Supplier Directory! You can search our Supplier Directory by category and location to find activities, accommodation, accessories, food and drink companies for your hen do. We only work with super cool and unique UK-based hen party companies.
Once you find hen party companies you like, contact them and get quotes. Make a note of any quotes you receive on your hen party spreadsheet. Once you find businesses that fit your budget and your requirements, book them!
If you’re planning a hen weekend away, we recommend sourcing your accommodation first. Hen party houses will take up a good proportion of your budget, can get booked up quickly and be challenging to find.
The process of booking your hen party may be an ongoing progress. Just make sure you keep a record of what you’ve booked, paid for and your timings so that you don’t get confused. Once everything is booked, confirm the plan and timings with your guests. Let them know whether they need to sort out their own transportation. And if the hen party plans are a secret from the bride, make sure your guests are aware so they can keep their lips sealed!
Once the hen party date approaches, you may want to buy some fun hen party accessories and decorations. You may not need to follow this step. Find out whether the bride actually wants any accessories or decorations before you start spending money,
If the bride wants accessories, consider whether she wants to be decked out head to toe. Or whether she just wants to wear a few subtle accessories.
You should also think about colours and a theme. Does you bride want a vintage hen party? Or is a classic cream and gold colour scheme more her thing? Does she want to wear a flower crown? Or just wear pink head to toe? Whatever she’s looking for, visit our Hen Party Directory to find super cool hen party accessories and decorations. Need help deciding your theme? Check out our hen party themes blog post.
If you want to decorate your hen party accommodation or activity venue, a good idea is to ask the business whether you have permission to decorate their venue.
Take this step if you really want to go the extra mile! You can either DIY your hen party accessories and decorations yourself to personalise your hen do. Or you can buy fun personalised hen party accessories from a variety of shops these days.
If you’re interested in getting crafty, check out our favourite hen party personalised DIY projects. This hen party balloon tutorial is easy to replicate and will have a big impact! Are you stuck for ideas? You can personalise hen party bags, wrap a hen do pass the parcel or make hen party invitations. The list goes on.
Your bride may not want to play any hen party games. Find out before you start follow this step.
We love hen party games! They can reallly break the ice and get the party started.
When choosing your hen party games, think about how much time you want to fill and whether the game is appropriate for all your guests. If the bride’s mum and gran attend the hen party, you may want to save the ‘sillier’ games for later when they’ve gone home. Every hen party is different. Ask the bride if you need guidance here.
To help you choose your hen party games, check out our Ultimate Guide To Hen Party Games.
Get the party started by playing your best friend’s favourite songs! A great idea is to ask your guests for a song suggestion. That way, you know all your guests will enjoy at least one song. We recommend creating the playlist at least a week before the hen party. Bear in mind, it can take longer to make than you expect so give yourself plenty of time.
By now, you will probably have gone back and forward emailing your guests. All your guests should have paid you and they should know all the hen party details.
As there is a lot of information to take in, we recommend sending your entire guest list one final email. The purpose of this email is to confirm the date and timings and remind them whether they need to bring anything in particular. You can also remind them of the address and any other important information they should know.
Make sure your hen party guests have a phone number so that they can reach you in case they need help on the day. Start building the hype by telling your guests how excited you are to see them all! If the hen party is a secret, remind them. You don’t want the surprise ruined at the last minute.
Hurrah! All the hard work is done. You’ve planned everything. Now you just need to execute what you’ve planned.
Have a folder filled with all your hen party accommodation and activity confirmations and receipts. Make sure you have a record of any phone numbers you may need for activities or accommodation. We recommend having your itinerary to hand, so that you know what you’re doing when.
Once the hen party rolls around, there really shouldn’t be much to do. Just make sure you enjoy yourself. The bride will have an incredible time so make sure you do too!
We hope you found our hen party checklist useful!
That’s why we created our Supplier Directory. You can search our Supplier Directory by category and by location to find actives, accommodation and accessories that are right for your hen do. We only work with super cool and unique UK-based hen party companies! We hope you like what you find.
Visit The HenBox Supplier Directory Now To Start Planning Your Hen Do >
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