Pre-wedding parties: to be or not to be?
Good idea: Have a pre-wedding celebration. Bad idea: Have it the night before your wedding and not enjoy your special day.
Bachelor parties, Stag nights, Bachelorette parties, Hen parties, your last night of freedom…great fun! But beware, there have been many horror stories of Brides or Grooms having “a last fling” or too much of a party, ruining the special day.
Generally the Best Man, Maid of Honour or friends arrange a surprise pre-wedding party for the Bride or Groom. However, this should be taken up with great responsibility and should be planned well in advance and take place well before the wedding. Furthermore, someone should take responsibility for looking after the Bride or Groom until they're safely tucked into bed, especially if there's alcohol involved.
There are no hard and fast rules regarding pre-wedding parties, everyone does things differently. However, the party planner should always take the Bride or Groom's preferences into consideration when making the arrangements and perhaps even ask for their input. Don't divulge too much though, the element of surprise must remain!
For the Groom:
The Best Man is generally responsible for planning the Stag night or Bachelor party. Guys are notoriously more raucous than girls, and the Best Man should put his own interests aside and make sure that the Groom behaves himself and doesn't get into any sticky situations. Although guys sometimes take an oath of secrecy, no Groom wants to get married with the guilt of having that “last fling”, especially when all his mates know about it.
Traditionally most men will opt for what is commonly known as a “booze cruise”. This also normally involves strippers, which should remain a purely visual experience. The Groom's friends should support and stay with the Groom the whole night to avoid any pre-wedding disasters.
If the Groom however isn't the drinking, stripper type of guy, here are a few alternatives:
Have a golf day, if the Groom and his friends are partial to a round every now and then;
Go on a white-water rafting weekend, for guys only;
Go off-road! Try a 4 X 4 or off-road biking day or weekend;
Pack the bakkie and go fishing or hunting;
Do something extreme: skydiving, bungee-jumping or cage-diving;
Go on a road trip!
Whatever you choose, the most important thing is that you have fun, but be responsible at the same time.
For the Bride:
Although Bachelorette parties don't tend to be as rough as stag nights, there is the odd exception. Women can become just as out of hand as their male counterparts.
At all the Bachelorette parties or hen parties I've been to, the Bride-to-be is dressed in dishtowels and ballet shoes and other ridiculous attire, and some good old fun is had while she opens gifts brought by her friends. This type of party is also known as a Kitchen Tea and is generally held during the day.
As with the Groom, it is usually the Maid of Honour, Bridesmaids or friends of the Bride that plans and takes responsibility for the party.
Bachelor parties, Stag nights, Bachelorette parties, Hen parties, your last night of freedom…great fun! But beware, there have been many horror stories of Brides or Grooms having “a last fling” or too much of a party, ruining the special day.
Generally the Best Man, Maid of Honour or friends arrange a surprise pre-wedding party for the Bride or Groom. However, this should be taken up with great responsibility and should be planned well in advance and take place well before the wedding. Furthermore, someone should take responsibility for looking after the Bride or Groom until they're safely tucked into bed, especially if there's alcohol involved.
There are no hard and fast rules regarding pre-wedding parties, everyone does things differently. However, the party planner should always take the Bride or Groom's preferences into consideration when making the arrangements and perhaps even ask for their input. Don't divulge too much though, the element of surprise must remain!
For the Groom:
The Best Man is generally responsible for planning the Stag night or Bachelor party. Guys are notoriously more raucous than girls, and the Best Man should put his own interests aside and make sure that the Groom behaves himself and doesn't get into any sticky situations. Although guys sometimes take an oath of secrecy, no Groom wants to get married with the guilt of having that “last fling”, especially when all his mates know about it.
Traditionally most men will opt for what is commonly known as a “booze cruise”. This also normally involves strippers, which should remain a purely visual experience. The Groom's friends should support and stay with the Groom the whole night to avoid any pre-wedding disasters.
If the Groom however isn't the drinking, stripper type of guy, here are a few alternatives:
Have a golf day, if the Groom and his friends are partial to a round every now and then;
Go on a white-water rafting weekend, for guys only;
Go off-road! Try a 4 X 4 or off-road biking day or weekend;
Pack the bakkie and go fishing or hunting;
Do something extreme: skydiving, bungee-jumping or cage-diving;
Go on a road trip!
Whatever you choose, the most important thing is that you have fun, but be responsible at the same time.
For the Bride:
Although Bachelorette parties don't tend to be as rough as stag nights, there is the odd exception. Women can become just as out of hand as their male counterparts.
At all the Bachelorette parties or hen parties I've been to, the Bride-to-be is dressed in dishtowels and ballet shoes and other ridiculous attire, and some good old fun is had while she opens gifts brought by her friends. This type of party is also known as a Kitchen Tea and is generally held during the day.
As with the Groom, it is usually the Maid of Honour, Bridesmaids or friends of the Bride that plans and takes responsibility for the party.
Here are some fun ideas for a Hen / Bachelorette party:
- Have a themed kitchen tea and dress the Bride accordingly;
- Have a pamper party! Visit a day spa with a group of close friends, or have a pamper day at home;
- Have a champagne breakfast;
- Have a pool party (with some hired entertainment for the more daring);
- Host a cocktail party for girls only, and mix up some wicked cocktails. For the more adventurous, hire a stripper, but hands off!
- For the very adventurous, have a sex-toy party. It's similar to a Tupperware party, but without the Tupperware;
- For laughs, have a karaoke night, either at a karaoke bar or hire a karaoke machine;
- Dress the Bride up as a fairy, ballerina, bunny or something fun, and take her for a night on the town! Again, make sure she keeps her hands to herself, lest there be tears on the wedding day.
Whatever you choose to do, make sure you have fun as this will technically be your last night of freedom. Do not however think that when you get married all the fun will stop – on the contrary, the party only starts then!
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