When your close friend is getting married, it’s usually a cause for celebration. The excitement around it can encompass everything, so much so that some of the stress doesn’t come until later. The stress of wedding planning is famous, but if you’re in that privileged position of planning a stag or hen party, what can initially feel like an honour can swiftly become a crushing responsibility. How do you plan something that you know they like? Is it too large or too small? Who do you invite?
It’s tricky to answer a lot of these questions, and the complete subjectivity of the answers can make it difficult to turn anywhere for support.
Going Big
The first instinct you might have could be to make this night one for the ages. You might research venues you can hire out and big trips you can make, or you might think about all of the people you could invite. There is a definite appeal to this – an event of such magnitude is bound to be memorable, and a heightened range of activities can prevent the risk of one not landing as much as you’d hoped.
Again, it’s all about taste. However, going big just for the sake of it might lack any sort of direction that directly appeals to the person you’re planning this whole night for, which could backfire.
Keep It Low Key
That is by no means a necessity, however. In fact, you might find that a smaller, intimate affair with just you, the groom or bride-to-be, alongside some of your closest friends and family members might make for a memorable time. You could play to some familiar pastimes, such as going to places that are important to you as a group or engaging with activities that you’ve always enjoyed – like incorporating lightning roulette into some sort of casino-themed party or making arts and crafts a central component.
Having this chance for the party to be a time to reflect and laugh with the people who mean the most to them might be something that they deeply appreciate before a big moment in their life.
The Guest of Honour
It’s important to bear in mind throughout this process that you don’t have to make your vision for this party fit any sort of pop-culture template. The idea of a stag/hen party is one that has been perpetuated through countless movies, books and TV shows – one where it’s usually played for outrageous comedic effect. This can add to the sense of pressure that you might be feeling in relation to it.
However, keep in mind who this is for. If you were selected to do the bulk of the planning, chances are that you know them well, and you know what they would and wouldn’t like. Pulling other friends and family members into the planning committee if you aren’t sure can also help to lighten the load and give you an idea of which direction to go in.
