Hens parties are tricky business. Pleasing brides with an original and 'pinterest' worthy event can not only be demanding, stressful but expensive. I have to admit, a love attending a great hens party, but when it's been my turn to coordinate them it's a whole different story.
Of course it really depends on the bride you're catering for. Lucky for me, two of the hens parties I've been involved in coordinating have been for 'please no stripper and novelty straw' type brides. They were fun brides, both wanting a 'chilled' weekend away with the girls and open to some 'hens type' activities.
Whilst a toilet paper fashion parade never fails, I was determined to think outside the box and work with other bridesmaids on creating a memorable event. (ok lets face it, like all bridesmaids, we were competing to throw the best hens ever)
So I thought I'd share the 2 hens activities that have made hens history. (well in my circles anyway!)
1. One hens party was situated on a beautiful property with a huge pool. Our bride had already requested all guests to bring their swimmers for a pool party, so this inspired the concept. You know how some people hire belly dancers, or line dancers to come and 'train' the guests as a fun activity? We did the same - except we hired OLYMPIC SYNCHRONISED SWIMMERS. No joke. It took a few phone calls I must admit, but in the end, I tempted 2 Australian Olympic synchronised swimmers to attend our party and teach us a 'synchronised water routine' to the brides favourite song - 'shake it off' by Taylor Swift! It was the ultimate surprise! All guests (say 20 ladies at least) were asked to put their swimmers on, were handed out matching swim caps and nose plugs - and then we blasted some music and had both synchronised swimmers (in full glitter performance wear!) run out and jump into the pool to announce the activity! Hands down - every single guest had an absolute ball. After an hour of teaching a few tricks and practising the routine, the final performance was filmed and ended up being a hilarious but memorable hens momento.
2. My second bride was a little more reserved. She wanted a wine and cheese night (snore) but to spice up the night I decided a 'short film' might work. And not just any short film. In the months leading up to her hens, I tracked down her 9 ex-boyfriends and decided to host a mini interview - on film of course. This is a brilliant concept for those type of friends you've had a long time. She is one of my best mates since school, so this was not only hilarious for her, but actually super fun for me too! With the age of social media, and a promise to each guy they would only be needed for 10mins max, I managed to track down all 9 and get them each on film to answer some embarassing questions about her as a high maitenance girlfriend. Some of the reasons she broke up with them (the best was breaking up over him wearing joggers with jeans in public) when she was younger was wet-your-pants type stuff after a few wines at the hens. My plan was to play the video in intervals throughout the night, but when the bride and guests realised what I had done they demanded the whole thing be played - and it was such a hilarious and memorable hour for everyone. The video ended with an interview with her fiance, I had him conclude on a more serious 'heartfelt' message which had the bride in tears and no doubt realise she definitely waited for the right one. So this one takes a little effort, and iphone and some very basic editing (MAC videos are the best) but makes for a stand out hour.
Hope either of those ideas have provided some hens inspiration to think outside of the box (or copy your heart out too!) But of course if you're bride wants the stripper and novelty straw event - good luck to you!
And of course for any memorable moments or hens events, Travelshoot can absolutely help capture the fun with a local photographer in over 90 cities. An awesome momento and gift for any lucky hen!
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