As schedules get busier and time seems to fly by, arranging a surprise hen’s night can be challenging. With the best of intentions, most maids of honour end up asking the bride for input into arranging the hen’s night, whether that’s setting a date, drawing up a guest list, or deciding what she wants to do. If you do want to have a bit of fun and give the bride-to-be a surprise hens party, here are seven tips on getting it just right:
Hold it well in advance of the wedding
If you plan to hold the hen’s party a couple of months before the wedding, the bride won’t be expecting it and it will be more of a surprise. She also won’t be wondering why you haven’t talked to her about organising hen’s night, or why you are being noncommittal about the details.
Make sure everyone knows it’s a surprise
It sounds obvious but a great number of surprise parties are ruined by clueless friends blurting out something because they don’t realise the arrangements are supposed to be secret. Whether you inform people about the party by e-mail or over the phone, always start and finish by reminding them that it’s a surprise.
Check her work schedule
Usually, the bride would have some input into the date of her hen’s night, and many even take a day off to recover. Try to find out what her work schedule looks like; it’s not fair to plan the party just before a big presentation, or when she’s supposed to be on call. If you are inviting work colleagues to the party this shouldn’t be too hard to do, but otherwise, you’ll need to try to talk to her manager.
Make bogus arrangements for that day
Make plans with her, or enlist the help of her fiance to arrange a fake outing for the date of her hen’s party. This will reserve the date so she doesn’t book anything else, and she won’t be missing out on anything because whatever she was supposed to be doing won’t actually happen. If she plans to go out with her fiance, she’ll be dressed up and ready to party and he can simply deliver her to the hen’s night venue.
Give her chance to dress up
If a bride has planned her hen’s night, she will spend hours getting ready, so it’s only fair to give her the opportunity to dress up if it’s a surprise. If you kidnap her during the day make sure there is somewhere she can take a shower, do her hair and makeup, and change into her favourite outfit that you will have smuggled out of her house. Surprises work well if a spa day, a makeover, or a shopping trip are included as part of the hen’s party.
Consider the guest list carefully
A surprise hen’s party only really works when you know the bride well enough to know who she would want to invite and who she wouldn’t. Again you can ask the groom-to-be for his input, you might need him anyway for contact details. If you are in doubt about the guest list, you may want to reconsider the surprise party idea. Don’t forget, if you invite her future mother-in-law you might need to keep the party arrangements fairly clean and innocent.
What type of party girl is she?
Brides-to-be can usually influence the type of hen’s party they have, so if you are arranging a surprise, make sure it is something that the bride would really love. Be honest with yourself; is she a pole dancing, male stripper, all night drinking session kind of girl, or would she prefer a cookery class, afternoon tea, and a manicure?
