I’ve never been responsible for organising a Hen’s. I put it down to the fact that none of my closest friends have plans to marry anytime soon, or no one in their right mind would ever bestow me with that level of responsibility because I regularly forget the simplest things – like feeding the cat.

I have however been witness to many friends planning a Hen’s and have picked up a few handy tips along the way.

Now if you are reading this thinking ‘Oh god! I have to plan a Hen’s and I have no idea where to start!” then I suggest one of the first things you do is register to receive the Hire A Hunk Planning Guide. Seven handy and simple tips on what to consider in your party planning prep – some of the most obvious and simple steps to consider can often be the most likely to be overlooked.

I have briefly chatted with some girlfriends who are in the midst of planning Hen’s Parties to get some ideas and advice from them that might be helpful for yourself.

First piece of advice from my friend was to never become close enough with anyone so that it results in you being asked to be their Maid Of Honor, which all too often the responsibility of the Hen’s Party falls to. I think the difficulties she is currently experiencing with some of the guests may be influencing her thought and opinions on what should be a fun and carefree event…

Stemming from her experiences I have come up with a helpful tip; make sure you consider the guestlist when organsing the event, and be sure that any activities planned are something that everyone attending would want to do and feel comfortable participating in. I know quite often we want to make everyone happy but it can be hard – a Bride I know insisted her Hen’s be held at a paintball centre so she could take out her wedding planning fury on her guests. Turns out not every guest likes to be shot up with painful paintball’s a couple of weeks before attending the wedding – apparently some bruises take a while to heal.

Another pearl of Hen Party wisdom I will throw your way is to try and add a unique element to the event that makes it that little bit extra special. I know getting a stripper and drinking cocktails through penis straws is a tried and tested staple of a Hen’s Party, but c’mon! While it passes with flying colours the ‘most phalluses you can get in one room’ test, it does lack in originality. Think outside the box. When organising a party or even a present I love nothing more than thinking about creating an element of surprise – something the guest of honor (or even the others guests) was not expecting. Strippers are always expected…but hired hunky guys dressed as horses who give guests piggy back rides in a Spring Racing Carnival themed Hen’s Party – SURPRISE! Well actually…I’ve always wanted to be in the presence of a muscular man painted head-to-toe in gold body paint – and I guess this is the exact situation that I could make that happen! Lol

Look, if you are wanting to throw that special Hen’s Party and you are struggling for ideas look and ask for help! Talk to friends and those that know the bride well to brainstorm some unique and fun ideas. Do what I do with every question I am faced with in life – google it! Also rest assured that if you are really struggling there are professionals and people well versed in the art of throwing an awesome Hen’s event that can help you through!

Last handy tip from my friend currently involved in planning a Hen’s – make sure you invite a couple of people you know that are going to really get involved and create a fun party atmosphere to compensate for those guests who do not. Also to provide yourself with some relief from those guests who have been “busting your balls” about making sure you provide a certain brand of champagne because that’s the only one they drink.

Yup – I’m picking up that my girlfriend is still feeling a bit bitter about the whole situation…

 Happy Tuesday

XX Hire a Hunk XX

Take my dear friend Celeste* for example (lol - when I asked her what she wanted her pseudo-name to be that was her answer)…

She’s on the tail-end of the ‘party planning’ experience, and to put it bluntly – its’ been HELL!

You see the first hurdle was the fact that the Bride requested TWO Hen’s Parties; a High Tea Party on a weekend afternoon for friends, family and Nan, then a fun-fuelled night of drinks, dancing and strippers for the ladies that want to let their hair down and who wouldn’t go into cardiac arrest if they happened to cop a peak of the entertainment’s “tools of the trade”. Now already that’s taking on double the load as two parties requires TWO different guest lists, TWO sets of invitations, TWO separate days on a busy social calendar, and DOUBLE the stress and headaches which Celeste is now dealing with.

Now anyone would know that when planning an event getting invites out and receiving RSVP’s is of the upmost importance to get things moving along smoothly right? You would think most potential guests would understand they need to get their butts into gear so the person planning can lock it in and collect the funds? Well it seems 80% of Celeste’s Hen’s guests aren’t the ‘understanding’ type.

Let me paint a picture – it’s the day that the RSVP’s are due for the Stripper Cruise. Celeste is totally FREAKING OUT! From 28 guests – she’s only heard back from 2. She keeps getting told by the assistant hen’s party planner that everyone will be attending so keep it locked in. Uh….slight issue of the fact that the money for each person needs to be paid IN FULL today. Celeste is trying to do the call around to beg people she barely knows for money. So far…it’s not going well. Celeste is going bright red in the face and I think I just heard her demand the money or the promise of the guest’s first born child…

After juggling work and party planning commitments all afternoon and being promised by guests that their money will be transferred into her bank account in the next day, my mate has bitten the bullet and paid for the event out of her savings – and she’s pissed (and unfortunately for Celeste not in the “I’ve had a few champers and I’m Queen of the World” type of pissed)!

So it’s now been 4 days since RSVP’s and money was due from the guests, and you can just imagine how cool, calm and collected Celeste was when she logged into her online banking and found NO money.

You see…stress leading up to a wedding and its related events isn’t just isolated to the Bride – sure the Bride has to worry about her hair, makeup and that the little figurine that represents her on the top of the wedding is skinny enough, but the lady put in charge of organising the Hen’s Party has to worry about not being able to afford to eat for the next few days because she has had to front the money for uncooperative guests. It’s causing her so much stress that Celeste has taken the day off work today (ok, well in all honesty the beautiful weather today may have slightly contributed to her sickie).

I probably wasn’t thinking very clearly though when I witnessed my mates stress-out and suggested that she just should have organised ONE Hen’s party; could have hired a couple of hunks to topless waiter during the day (Nan would have been able to control her BPM), then as the afternoon winded down and the older family guests went home, we could have got the night rolling with cocktails and some hunky entertainment. I think she wanted to punch me in the face for making it sound so simple.

So my advice may not have come in time for Celeste – but you can take advantage of my wise words. Keep it as simple and straightforward as possible. Remove the stress by organising something at home and just hire in some tasteful and hunky help! No stress created by trying to chase RSVP’s and money for a booked cruise. Hell…if anything you wouldn’t mind if no one RSVP’d – just means you have more of the attention from some good looking men in your own home.

Organisation is a skill that we would all love to have nailed down! Although unfortunately there is large quantity of us woman that struggle when organizing something and completely loose ourselves in the tiny pieces.
When I try and organise my errands, I usually only like to use a piece of paper and a pen. I can sit there for hours, writing down everything that I need to do. By the end of it I'll feel a lot more relaxed and will most likely have a large list with everything ordered and my head space feeling nice and loose. I use the same method when I organise parties, events or when I'm just going out for a few drinks with a small group of friends.
If your thinking about planning an event or a party I would approach it with something similar to this:

Pull out some ideas with a brainstorming activity. This is going to clearly identify the aim of the party/event, from this write down the reason and any other miscellaneous details involved. Honestly brainstorming works wonders, people underestimate how great a quick storm of ideas can really be; good or bad.

Grab a close friend and hit up a nice cafe; that sells some great tasting drinks and work up an invite list. Who you do want there and who you don't. Your friend can help you out if you have any issues with deciding on the whos and who nots.

Research is always something that's required, it even has it's part in party planning. Jump onto the internet, flick through some magazines and do some research to make sure what you want to do or what you need is available. Once again any details that stand out; note them down onto some paper. You can even get your close girlfriends involved, I am sure they would be more than happy to help out and share some opinions on the ideas.

These are the sorts of organisational methods that I use and after I usually do these sort of things, I have a clear idea and outlook on what I'm about to partake in. This becomes really useful when planning a party, as there are so many elements to worry about. It's so important to know what your doing first and what you want from the your party, remember that your the host. If you figure out and work with the couple of points I stated, I can guarantee you that you'll be set onto the right track and on your way to hosting an exciting evening!

Some things should be left to girls..

So my best friend is Irish and she recently rang me to tell me of a disturbing phenomenon that had been recently taking over Europe in the form of reality TV. What, you are asking could be worse than Jersey Shore (one of my all time favourite guilty pleasures!!) Hold onto your seats ladies because there has been a show that has shown the ugly result when the groom organises the hen’s party. Yep you heard right, the creators of this show have decided to see what happens when the groom takes over control – I don’t think Afrojack meant for them to take over complete control in this means when they wrote “I want you to take over control” (for those who don’t know what I’m talking about do yourself a favour and Youtube it –one of the hottest tracks doing the circuit. Anyway the hair wrenching show follows the journey the groom takes in deciding what his fiancé would want, been given guidelines, he is let loose into the wild and goes about planning their wedding from the church, reception and guests to what they will do for their hens night. In this particular episode the groom decided that it would be a fantastic idea to send the gals to a boot camp while himself and his boys sat in the pub..ahhh yeah right because that’s what we all dream of after months  of getting “bride dress ready” to have our supposedly relaxed night consist of crunches and squats. Apart from choosing a church on a highway, the dress that she specifically didn’t want and forgetting some people to invite, our old mate did ok and still got the fiancé hobbling down the alter after a strenuous workout. Guys, please, there is a reason why girls organise these things- WE”RE GOOD AT THEM!! And yes it may be stressful and we may pull out the bridezilla but in the end it just works!! So for those of you who are thinking  of holding a hen’s night for your best girlfriend or planning your own I thought Id make it easier for you and introduce one of our hunks and see what they had to say (because in reality they have had enough experience in knowing what puts a bang into an unforgettable night!!

INTRODUCING…. Paul

STATE: NSW

AGE: 33

FAVOURITE THING ABOUT BEING A HUNK?: Meeting new and different people and being able to share their big day :)

ESSENTIALS FOR A SUCCESSFUL HENS NIGHT: A great group of friend, cocktails and fun games

MOST ATTRACTIVE FEATURE OF A GIRL: Her Eyes

WHAT CAN YOU ADD TO AN EVENT?: Unstoppable fun and endless crazy dance moves !