Stress – a state of mental or emotional strain or tension resulting from adverse or demanding circumstances.
At Tranquility Ireland we don’t believe that stress is conducive to organising a wonderful hen party.
In our book, planning a hen or stag party should be a fun experience, with as no stress or drama. You’re planning a party after all! When it comes to organising a hen party, lots of different personalities and opinions come into play, which is where our guide to organising a hen party stress free helps.
With mammys, bridesmaids, college mates, work friends, cousins childhood pals and sibling, all getting together for a night out or a weekend away, planning a hen party can be pretty challenging alright. So whether you’re a bride deciding what to do, or a bridesmaid putting the plans in place, our tips and advice can help you avoid disputes, and minimise the drama of planning a hen. Needless to say, why would you go anywhere other than Tranquility Ireland when we make it this easy.
1. Who is the lead guest?
Choosing bridesmaids can be tricky, but one of the biggest roles for your bridesmaids has is to plan your hen, so choose well and make sure you choose those who know you well enough to give you the hen party you deserve.
The perfect hen party planner know you well is organised and unflappable, but still fun and flexible. And once you’ve got your bridesmaids (or hen party planners if you’re not having a bridal party), it’s down to them to put the plans into action
If you’re planning as a group of bridesmaids, make sure the workload is spread out evenly; try not to take over, but also be sure to do your fair share of work. Most drama and stress that arises within bridal parties happens when one person ends up doing all the work – so try to share the workload. Sometimes you may have more time then say other bridesmaids who may be pregnant or busy kids, have matters to deal with in their personal life, health issues or live abroad for example. If this is the case then you can try to help each other with their tasks.
It’s not a competition, keep the competitiveness for the activities just because one person made the memory book, doesn’t mean she’s a better friend or bridesmaid to the bride than the one who booked the activities. There is nothing like hen party planning to bring out insecurities in each other so be nice to one another.
2. Who is attending
Where do you start with who to invite to your hen party another topic that deserves its own post. The bride will have an idea of who she wants at her hen party she might see her hen as a celebration of her singlehood with her closest friends, for another, it’s a chance to bring friends from different aspects of her life together ahead of the wedding. Then what happens with Aunties, work friends, cousins, extended family and friends, work colleagues and of course lets not forget about the Mammys. It’s best to check in with the bride about these – often a smaller group is so much easier to manage, and if it’s kept to very close pals, what is becoming increasingly popular is a home and away hen party, the home one, of course, being for the Mammies and Aunties etc. Also, don’t forget to ask the bride she may want a mixed gender hen party especially if many of her pals are men. Don’t assume anything
If you do have to invite someone who tends to be a bit out there (as in is a liability when it comes to drama, there is always one :D) it might be worth assigning someone as a buddy for them – or at least take turns so that the bride and the rest of the group won’t fall victim to their antics and everyone can enjoy the hen party as best as possible.
3. Paying for the party
This is rather challenging and obviously, it is one of the most challenging parts in hen party planning. You will want to give your girl a great time, but you also need to be mindful of everybody’s budget. The hardest part is these vary from person to person
Get an estimate from the beginning and as early as possible, so everyone knows how much it will cost before they agree to go. It is great for groups to get it paid earlier or to pay gradually. Even if you get a deposit from everyone at the start so then you know who is going.
Explain the costs to the group so they know exactly what they are getting for their money and then they can be as prepared as possible- there’s nothing worse than being told a hen party will cost €200, when you’ve no idea what you’re paying for. If the cost is growing, think about having activities that the group can choose like spa treatments or one less night for some guests, so everyone will be happy
the cost of the bride is usually split between everyone but make sure everyone is aware and willing. It usually doesn’t amount to much when split between everyone.
4. Save the date
At Tranquility Ireland we book up very well in advance if you want popular dates such as a bank holiday weekends we recommend you register your interest and secure your deposit at least a year in advance especially for the extremely popular Tranquility House
Before you book Tranquility you will also need to have an idea of numbers and of course circumstances may change but you need to have a ballpark number so that the right property to sleep the correct amount can be chosen for your group.
A fantastic idea is to create a poll for your group choosing 3 pinnacle dates that suit your bride because she is thee most important. Once this is done choose the date that suits everyone best and contact us straight away.
Our greatest advice is to give A LOT of time, as the more time the better
5. What to do
Activities are an important part of hen planning, and again, the bride is the most important in deciding and deciphering what activities are best. We have a fantastic list of activities that make it easy for you to decide. Look at the group as a whole and decide what would be best to suit everyone but most importantly look at the bride’s interests and always lead with that in mind.
Be sure to consider of anyone who may be pregnant, mums or older guests when you’re making your plans too, it can be tempting to pack in a lot over the day or weekend but time to sit back relax and chat is important too. Also hangovers may need to be accounted for 
6. Communication
Use technology to communicate, create a group in WhatsApp, Viber or messenger and don’t include the bride if there are any secrets. Ensure you don’t forget anyone and if someone has no got the messaging app the contact them separately. Provide a rough itinerary before the day or weekend so that the group can prepare themselves as much as possible. So that you too can enjoy the hen party too.
Email is a very good tool for the initial stages of the hen planning, so details don’t get lost in a stream of chatter.
You can decide to keep details a secret from the bride, but make sure to let her know what she need to pack.
The main thing you need to remember throughout the planning is who it is for… your bride. Give her a party that represents her and that she will enjoy
