At all Hen Parties you get the newbie; the one Hen that is experiencing the fun for the very first time, and the Pro; the one hen who has been to so many Hen Parties that she has really seen it all.
This one is dedicated to the newbies, to give them some kind of idea of what will await them. Depending the group of women they will be with, it can be non-stop fun and banter, or complete boredom.
It is mostly a “behind the scenes” perspective. While some of it may be a bit more risqué, other tales are the general idea behind every modern Hen Party.
Your typical hen evening can be described as: Much like a stag party. And we all heard about those, haven’t we? Hens come up with outrageous plans for the evening, various rules about the taking of photographs and the secrecy thereof, loads and loads of Champagne, pink cocktails and Vodka, loads more giggles and laughter and of course, making fun of men. Come the actual evening, it turns into the wearing of ridiculous outfits, fairy wands, sipping their cocktails through willy-shaped straws, hen-cackling and treasure hunts in Irish pubs for the pants of some random fella. During all this, it is the bride-to-be that appears to be more reserved, unlike the rest of the coup.
Although there may be some activity planned to include a few pranks on the bride-to-be, it seldom really materialise and it stays at dressing the bride-to-be up in some hideous outfit, pink sash, tiara and the ever-present fairy wand. Dares seems to be a popular game though, but it sadly only happens once most are bevvied and only demands for the guest of honour to ask yet another random lad if she could see his pectorals. The His&Hers quiz also seems to still be a favourite, with the appropriate tame questions and of course, the not so tame questions.
Without a doubt you do get the more free-spirited parties whereby it is a necessity for the bride-to-be to have completed a specified shopping list by the end of the evening. These shopping lists includes items such as 2 pairs of socks from a male and kisses from all the men in the pub bearing the same name as her groom.
About the question of how many times male strippers are involved, you get the Hens who honour the code of secrecy and of course say “almost never”. The seasoned Hens will say: “A stripper is almost always involved”.
Many Hens will rent a bus and travel to a hotel where a male stripper will come knocking on the door as their entertainment. He will then dance to his music, slowly strip parts of his body of clothing and allow the Hens to touch him, if they please. Again, you will find that the bride-to-be is the reluctant one, while the other Hens fall over their feet to get a piece of the action. All this, of course, is in the name of good fun. Most hens will regard the stripper as the entertainment it is and not let things get out of hand.
In some instances the professional Hens have really seen it all. It has been told that the mother of the bride-to-be was present at one occasion and acted as if she was the bride-to-be; not a pretty sight for those who stood to tell the tale.
Ultimately, the Hen party is supposed to be a relaxing yet fun-filled and carefree night on the town, in celebration of the bride-to-be as her official last night of freedom before she walks down the aisle.
But not all the grooms-in-waiting are as relaxed about the idea. Our advice to them is: if the thought of your bride having a night on the town with her mates makes the hair at the base of your neck stand on end, talk to her about it, as we are sure she has done when you had your stag party. There really is no need to get into frenzy about the night. The average Hen party is about as standard as the average stag party. The only difference is that Hens have brightly coloured, fizzy cocktails and a few plastic ornaments to swing around in the air.
Harmless, really.
