So there were tears, champagne and air kisses all round when your girlfriend asked you to be her maid of honour – but now you feel the pressure and have got a bit of a sinking feeling because there are a group of girls waiting for you to put on the hen weekend of all hen weekends!

A hen weekend is a mouth-watering weekend for so many reasons, spending special time with your best friends on earth, reminiscing of old times and all those laughs ….its important to get it right!

Organising the hen weekend is one of the most important pre‐wedding tasks, and you’ll want to give the bride a proper send‐off. Today’s hen weekends are less about strippers and L‐plates (unless that’s what you want) and more about originality and style.

You don’t need to head overseas to enjoy a fabulous hen weekend, heading to a great city or the coast offers something for everyone. Those looking for a fabulous celebration should book their own private house. There’s lots of options available to you when you have your own place for the weekend such as Private in-house dinning, Spa pampering at your leisure, Yoga in privacy, Wine and Cheese tasting, Dance Class, Cocktail Making, Life art drawing and even Butlers in the buff!

Combine this special time with friends along with walks on the beach and a spot of shopping. For those looking for something livelier, Brighton has plenty to offer in terms of nightlife; fun hen weekend activities, great meals out, and the possibility of a cheeky cocktail or two ‐‐ guaranteed there will never be a dull moment.

The most important things are Location and Property, if you’ve booked a Vallance Residence in Brighton then you are on the right track and everything else will fall into place! We even offer the opportunity to book all of your activities for you!

Take a deep breath and start at the top:

Finances

Before you get carried away with L plates, Live art drawing and butlers in the buff, you’ve got to get a whole lot of logistics, numbers and money together while working to a deadline.

A hen weekend staycatation is probably the easiest to organise. The best thing to remember is the whole point of a hen weekend is for the bride’s girlfriends to gather round her before the most important day of her life. The point isn’t to pressure those girlfriends into a 3 day no expenses spared extravaganza.

Arrange to talk with the key people – closest friends, the hen herself and the girl who is deemed the most fun. Decide how much money you’re likely to have and how to make it stretch into the most fun possible. This will determine which locations will give you the best value for money.

Once you’ve sorted dates and have an idea of a locations, you need to get them to show you the money!  This is probably the worst part of the job but also the most important. Give strict and punishable deadlines!

Some of the more organised hen party’s even set up a standing order or a kitty for when they’re out on the weekend. This means that you’ll never get stuck with a hundred pound round no matter how much champagne you’ve had!

Hotel, B&B or Private House?

One of the most important things is where you stay! A cheap B&B down the back streets, larger chain of soulless hotel where you will be mixing with other hens and stags (Yuck) and more than likely in small cramped rooms on different floors! Just will not do!

When you book your own private property, you can have breakfast at your leisure, share the whole house without interruptions and spend that all important time together. In the long run it will save you money and time trying to find somewhere to sit for breakfast, moving tables to accommodate your group – even an afternoon coffee or a bite to eat can be a challenge in a small B&B!

Make sure you book a property that offers you the space and privacy you need. You need light and space, space to sit and chat with a coffee, space to eat, room for your activities, a place to party and dance if you want too! Definitely need lots of bedrooms, you don’t want to share beds, definitely no bunk beds! Lots of bathrooms, plug sockets for hairdryers and curling tongues! Soft towels and clean white cotton sheets (don’t worry about the self tan!) plus plenty of mirrors!

Try and book as early as possible as lots of the best places can go a year in advance. Try and secure a private residence close too but not in the centre of a great city but within a short taxi ride to the night life. You don’t really want to be in the middle of nowhere paying out all your money on cabs.
Send out emails to your potential hen crew and put strict deadlines for responses. Then book with your definite numbers. It’s a lot easier to add a few to your group than wait and try to book for a big group later.

Remember the earlier you book the better your choices.

Its estimated that once the accommodation is booked you have between 4 and 6 months to sort out a great hen do. However most good properties get booked up quick!