Organising a Hen Weekend with Crocodile Events

Hen dos have become major events for any bride-to-be and the last night of freedom is now more than just a tour around some local bars and pubs. The city centre phenomenon of hen parties in fancy dress on a hen night is a scene that has become more familiar to us.

But beyond the media attention, what is the real truth about organising hen dos? At Crocodile Events, we are experts in hen parties and have been professional organisers of hen weekends for many years. The next few paragraphs will give you some of the low down on what to expect, what to do and what to avoid.

Hen Dos with Crocodile Events

Firstly, many successful hen parties are now structured hen weekends with at least one overnight stay in a UK city or seaside resort. This allows the hen to spend quality time with her friends before the big day and gives her an opportunity to go away and have a break to relax from any wedding arrangements. A group activity during the day and/or the evening is usually included to ensure that the hen party do something to remember the occasion as well as having plenty of fun in the process!

The location for the hen night can vary for many different reasons, but it is important to think of the guests in the initial stages of organising the hen weekend. Where does everyone live? What budget can most people afford? Do you want a location central to everyone?, or do you want to travel and maybe have the hen party in Europe? When you know about the people and what they can do, you will be able to plan the right hen do in the right place. From that point you just need to find a group travel company that specialise in hen dos.

Once you've thought about the guests, budget and location, you then really need to think about what to do on the hen weekend. This may sound like an obvious question, but there are plenty of activities that the hen can do to give hen dos that special edge. On our website you will find plenty of options, all with different themes and experiences. Think about some of these options in relation to the group and more importantly, the hen ­ how would these activities fit in to the weekend? Have you enjoyed particular hen dos before?

Some hen parties like to prove that they can do things even better than the stag parties and try karting or go across country on quad bikes. Others like to laugh for an entire afternoon with fun games like It's A Knockout, which is 3 hours of inflatable games and costumes. If you want an experience for the hen weekend, then try horse riding through open countryside or even punting on the river in Cambridge. There are now a wealth of hen dos to choose from, in fact many companies like Crocodile Events will allow you to build your own hen dos.

These activities will set the tone for the hen weekend and create momentum ready for the hen night. When it's time to celebrate and have a few drinks, there are some great ways to keep the party going. A successful way of keeping everyone together and having fun on the hen night is to chose a themed party night, where everyone can have fun without too much effort. The themed nights also offer something different from a night down the pub.

If you still want to try a few bars, then a party bus is a great option. It will do all the hard work for you ­ take you to the locations with priority entry before dropping you off at a club. There's also a sound system on board to keep the hen night going! Another great option for hen dos is a riverboat cruise, with a disco and bar on board. There's generally a meal included and this is a novel experience before you hit a club.

Other superb hen night options for the big night out include a medieval banquet or school dinners, with entertainment from your compare, great costumes and plenty of opportunities to dress up. More recently, latin nights have offered new twists to the evening with a salsa lesson included to give you some hot new sexy moves on the dancefloor!

Your base for the most hen dos is the hotel, this is an important part of the hen party experience. At Crocodile Events, we vet all of our hotels in advance to ensure that you get high quality rooms in high quality locations. We will also use our professional expertise to place you in a hotel that is easily accessible to your daytime and evening activities. So sit back and relax, the hen weekend is sorted, you can now get on with the best bit ­ enjoying it!!

Hen dos & Don'ts!!

Hen dos : Relax and enjoy the event/process. Organising a hen weekend can be as much a pleasure or a burden, the difference is your outlook. Do not get too worked up about making it perfect, lead by example and enjoy yourself from start to finish.

Hen dos : Ask the venue before you dress the hen up. Some venues have strict policies on fancy dress because they want to create the right atmosphere for other customers. If you openly ask before you arrive, it will prevent any confusion on the night.

Hen dos : Coordinate a group activity. This will ensure that the hen has plenty of quality time with everyone. It will give the weekend a structure as well as bringing the whole hen party together for a common bonding experience and will also help keep you safe.

Hen dos : Pass on room allocations in advance. In large groups, there will always be people that get on with certain friends more than others. Give yourself time to best arrange room allocations in advance. This will get the hen weekend off to a good start because it will save time when you check in to your hotel and prevent any bad feeling on arrival.

Hen Don't: Do not let a guest over-rule the hen. When you are organising a large group of people, you will occasionally get differences of opinion of what should and shouldn't happen. The most important person in the hen party is the hen herself and if she wants to do something, then the guests should accept her judgement.

Hen Don't: Do not forget to take your booking pack. Please do not expect to be able to just find your location by jumping in your car or wandering around the city. Make sure you know exactly where to go and how you're going to get to your destination. When you book with Crocodile Events, you will be given full details of your accommodation and activity centres before you arrive so you can plan your journey in advance, Making for well organised and fun hen dos.

Hen Don't: Do not pay for anybody who hasn't confirmed. With many group contracts, you will have to pay in advance to secure rooms or activities. When the time is ready to pay, if you haven't heard from them or had full payment, don't gamble on them turning up. Most venues have cancellation charges if someone pulls out at the last minute and why should you lose out? You can always add them on later if there is availability.

Hen Don't: Do not make the hen weekend too complicated. Simplicity is the key ­ the more you try to organise, the more chance there is that it could go wrong! Leave in plenty of time to coordinate the group and empower people to make their own decisions about some things on the day!

Hopefully some of our experience in organising hen dos will help you along the way to a wonderful hen party, one for the stag dos to be envious of.