Fancy Dress Parties

Planning a Stag or hen do?

First things first!..........

get the Stag or Hen to help you draw up a list of guests. Once you know who's coming, you can decide what sort of budget you should be aiming for. If all the guests are loaded, you can think about a Stag/hen party in Prague. If not, somewhere local might be more up your street.

Who to invite

Essential Stag/Hen party advice

Choose the group carefully - this can be a tricky operation but this is probably the most important element of a good Stag/Hen party.

Planning - start booking accommodation and travel etc as soon as you can. Remember, not everywhere accepts Stag-hen parties so call ahead and make sure you're welcome wherever you plan to go.

Practical jokes - what would a Stag party be without a couple of harmless pranks? Remember though to keep them just that - harmless. The Stag is there to have a good time and celebrate friendship.

Break the ice - if the Stags don't know each other too well, try and use techniques to break the ice. For instance, Stag t-shirts or fancy dress instantly give everyone something in common and can provide a bit of a talking point.

Look after the Stag/hen - as Best Man/Brides maid, it's your job to make sure he or she is looked after and gets back in one piece.

 It's always a nice gesture to invite the bride and groom's fathers but you may live to regret this unless you can get rid of them early in the proceedings.

Try to keep the numbers sensible to avoid spending most of your time keeping the group together. Also, really large groups can become quite cliquey which doesn't help with Stag or hen party bonding. Ideally you want everyone to develop friendships that carry over to the wedding day and maybe beyond. Make sure everyone can afford the weekend up front. There's nothing worse than someone holding the group back or being left out because they've run out of money.

Lastly, make sure the people you invite get on with the rest of the group. If you have a friend that's rude and obnoxious, you may want to think about leaving them behind.