Diamonds, romance, cocktails, showers, pressies and the all time biggest girls and boys nights of your lives -
It’s party time, and it’s your time!

PARTY TIME!

You’re engaged, and now it’s time to revel in the pre-wedding partying.

Buck and hen’s nights

It’s the night you’ve been both dreading and wishing for – and now you’re ready to face it – You Last Night Out As A Single... This is the perfect opportunity for friends to take control, take you out, take you over and take the ‘mickey’ out of you! The last night of wild, excessive debauchery before the ‘sobering’ effects of marriage kicks in...
Historically, bachelor parties or Buck’s nights were the last chance (before his new wife took over the finances) for the groom to gather money for his own future use by gambling.

In Sparta, during the height of Greek civilization, soldiers were the first to hold stag parties. The groom would have a party for his friends the night before he was to marry. He would bid farewell to his bachelorhood and pledge his continued allegiance to his comrades.

Although most brides and grooms no longer view buck and hen’s nights as the opportunity for a ‘final fling’ (especially since the absent fiancé has paid the best friend to keep an eye out), these evenings are still as popular as ever. They give you the chance to engage in some serious partying with your closest friends, and to show them that you still love them and you’re still “there,” even though you’ve been A.W.O.L. while planning the wedding.

Buck and hen’s parties with a difference

• A day out horse riding, fishing, sky diving, playing golf, tennis or any other sport
• A tour of a winery complete with wine tasting and lunch
• A weekend of wineries!
• An exhilarating Harley Davidson tour
• A relaxing day out on the water
• An evening harbour cruise
• A delicious Champagne breakfast
• An evening at the theatre
• A pamper session at a day spa
• A Paintball battle
• A weekend on a house boat
• A day at the races. Don’t forget your hats, ladies!
• A shopping tour
• Dinner and a show, or dancing in a theme restaurant eg Caribbean, Latin American
• A party bus tour

The buck

The best man usually hosts the buck’s night and is responsible for seeing that the groom arrives home safely. Considering the name of the game is to consume as much alcohol as possible on these evenings, getting home is no mean feat! It is therefore advisable not to hold your buck’s night the evening before the wedding but rather at least a week before.
Even if you do intend to go out and get smashed, it’s a good idea to plan some food and to go to a pub or bar with entertainment. Comedy clubs, nightclubs, bands, cabarets and the like are ideal.

The hen

The hen’s night is a fairly modern tradition as the bride used to have a genteel shower as the ‘equivalent’ to the groom’s more rowdy night out. The chief bridesmaid usually hosts the hen’s night. Sometimes the bride is dressed in a veil, adorned with a feather boa or some beautiful flowers to wear in her hair. Sometimes this is a good time for the bride to receive gifts from her girlfriends that she would have received at a shower – like lingerie and beauty products.

While in the recent past the hen’s night was much like the buck’s night, complete with male strippers, today’s brides are moving more and more towards a more feminine “girlie night,” like a beautiful dinner at an elegant restaurant, or a DVD night of tearjerkers.

A growing trend is to have a joint buck’s and hen’s night. This way the bride and groom can share a fun evening out with both male and female friends. The party can either be mixed from the outset or the men and women can join up later in the evening, after dinner and drinks.

Alternative options

Who pays

Although the best man or chief bridesmaid usually hosts the night, they are not expected to pay for the evening. Usually, guests are asked to pay into a ‘kitty’ beforehand to cover expenses, and any remaining money can be used to purchase a gift for the bride or groom, or cover their taxi fare home at the end of the evening.

A final word of advice: the most important thing about the buck’s or hen’s night is that it is fun for the bride and groom. If the host is in any doubt as to whether a certain prank will go down well, forget it! Likewise, if it’s your night and you suspect your friends are cooking something up that you’re really going to be uncomfortable about, make sure you explain this earlier rather than later. You’re bound to find that your friends respect your wishes - after all, the whole event is designed with your enjoyment in mind.