Hen Night Panic

tryingtobetheperfectHW

Not mine.

My friends.

I am so scared, I am maid of honour and I have never organised anything like this in my life, and it is proving difficult.

There are three bridesmaids, myself included and we are all broke! (I'm on the maternity and just found out my company won't let me do part time when I go back so I now have no money coming in til I find a part time job, ones a teacher that had been covering maternity with the promise of a permenant position in Sept, but that never appeared so she's jobless now, and a student!)

I love the bride to be, so much, she is my best friend in the world, and I really don't want to let her down, by it just being a standard night out.

We are going to another city, meal then night out.

Is there anything i can do to make it a little more hen nighty with out breaking the bank?

I've thought about doing a mr and mrs style quiz on the way up there, but I can't think of anything else!

She's quite classy I mine that in a nice way, but willy items and strippers would not go down well, she definitely like the finer things in life, and I just want to give her a great hen do.

argggh sorry for rambling it's just approaching fast!

White_Sapphire

Which city are you going to? Have you searched for free/cheap things to do/voucher codes for meals & activities etc?

How about posting a request for help on the local moneysaving board as well, to see if you can get any local insider info?

Or, if it's going to be a struggle to do the traditional hen night on a budget (after taking into account travel, accommodation, drink, food & activities), could you go to the home of whoever has the largest living room and have a girly night with pampering, dvds, pizza (or get everyone to bring something to share) and lots of wine?

elliebobs

Does she actually want a hen night??? I only ask as I'm not having one; personally the thought of going out with L plates and deely boppers on just leaves me cold. if someone presented me with a stripper I would seriously walk out!

I would much rather do something that I would never normally do. For example, a snowboarding session, afternoon cake making class, pottery, life drawing class etc etc. You can still have a real giggle and if you make something then she will always have a reminder, even if it is a wonky ashtray!

aarchk

I held an afternoon tea at my MILs house. A local salon sent a girl down to do treatments (manicure, pedi & facials) for £20 per treatment and we did the cakes and sandwiches ourselves, then out for a meal in the evening. It was nice and also cheap. Some of the girls did a questionnaire thing with my hubby where I had to guess the answers he had given to a lot of questions - some were quite random and made us laugh after a couple of bottles of wine. We went to pizza express for the meal and took 2 for 1 vouchers with us, then a bar after that.

you could also do a 'dress the bride' thing using toilet roll - I saw that once on dont tell the bride, looked fun!

Personally I think that expensive days out and weekends away are out of most peoples means at the moment so dont be embarrassed about not doing anything fancy. I did do a cocktail making session at Vodka revolution which was fun so maybe worth checking out, if theres enough of you it may not be too expensive.

minerva_windsong

I like White_Sapphire's pampering night idea; you can buy cheap nail polishes, face masks, wash in/wash out hair dyes etc, and then rent some DVDs or get some cheap girly films off Amazon, and make your own pizza (buy the bases and then put your own toppings on - maybe see who can best render the bride's portrait on a pizza) and cupcakes (make fairy cakes and decorate them yourselves).

The Mr & Mrs quiz idea is good too; we did that at my boyfriend's sister's hen night. If you or someone you know is a bit of a whizz with computers maybe you could film the groom answering the questions and make it like a slideshow-type thing?

tryingtobetheperfectHW

We are going to York, which is too far away, we are Leeds based, but far enough to make it into something different.

She definitely wouldn't want the whole L plates thing, it needs to be just a normal night out where she feels really special I'm thinking about getting everyone to sign a massive piece of card with a whole in the middle for a photo of us all on her hen night, so she's got something to remember it.

Will definitely go post on the local board, didn't even know they had these so thank you!

minerva_windsong

tryingtobetheperfectHW wrote: »

We are going to York, which is too far away, we are Leeds based, but far enough to make it into something different.

She definitely wouldn't want the whole L plates thing, it needs to be just a normal night out where she feels really special I'm thinking about getting everyone to sign a massive piece of card with a whole in the middle for a photo of us all on her hen night, so she's got something to remember it.

Will definitely go post on the local board, didn't even know they had these so thank you!

My boyfriend's sister had this at her wedding this weekend - the photographer printed a picture of her and her new husband whilst everyone was distracted by the buffet and then it was circulated round the guests in the evening. It's now in pride of place in their living room, so definitely something that people will love.

linzi_h

Instead of doing all the usual 'hen night' stuff, make a theme such as a little black dress but the bride to be wears a different colour or everyone wears something red (you get my meaning). If you want her to stand out a little then you could get some tiaras from ebay or wilkinsons and get her a veil to match her outfit (you don't have to get white or pink if you don't want to). You could also see if there are any revolution bars in the area too - you can all put to for a reserved booth where you get a choice of different packages - we went to one in Liverpool and they brought a load of buffet items (which we all didn't eat as there was a load!) and a few cocktail jugs and between about 15 of us it was about £10 each. You can then do some games on the night out if you wanted, dares if thats your thing. Find out what her boundaries are and work inside them too, she will love you for that!

Good luck! x

crapwithcash82

I agree with Linzi, I would make it a "theme" but a theme that everyone would be comfortable with, like the little black dresses, or everyone wears a certain colour of corsage (maybe her favourite colour?) you could pick up these in New Look or somewhere?

Also, after the hen night, I would gather as much photographs of your night as I could and make her a photobook - you get loads of deals for these, where you get them free and only have to pay postage, just google them and the offers will pop up. I did this with a friends wedding photos last month and they absolutely loved it.

Also, it might be worth phoning round a few places in the city your heading to, and say you're coming as a hen party, and would they do any deals or offers for you.

I'm sure whatever you decide, she will appreciate because you're her friend and you're putting effort and thought into it...... fancy being my bridesmaid?!!

findingmyownway

You could keep an eye on the York groupon page for offers at spas or similar? The discounts are often decent.

Or depending how skint is skint, there is a Go Ape at Dalby forest which is approx £25 but would entertain you all for most of the day (3hrs doing the course, picnic in the forest etc).