15 Steps to a Fab Hen Do

Posted on June 6, 2013 by stacie

When it comes to organising a hen party, trying to work around everyones schedules, arranging activities that everyone will enjoy and making sure everyone has a great time can sometimes be a bit of a headache!
So, Spicy Hen has compiled a few of our top tips to help you from start to finish!

toptips

1. Don’t humiliate the Hen. Make sure that what you do for her is within her comfort zone, if you are unsure, ask her to make a list of things she would love to do, and hate to do. That way you can ensure she will be prepared for only good surprises!

2. Add a little fun to the evening, whether that be having Buff waiters serving food and drinks or through cheeky accessories that the Hen and guests can wear during the party.

3. Ensure everyone’s tummy’s are full, you don’t want hungry guests, and it’s not advised to party on an empty stomach! Start the evening off with a slap up meal at the hens fave restaurant.

4. If you’re moving between venues make sure transport is organised and on time. Whether you take a taxi, or a limo you don’t want to make everyone wait around.

5. Provide a little memento for each guest at the end of the night to remind them of the Hen night. Why not get some professional photos done, or some personalised wine glasses with names & dates?

6. Remind the Hen that it’s her last night of ‘freedom’ so make sure she has fun (within reason of course!).

clothes

7. Choose a theme! All wear something in the hens favourite colour, or dress up from the hens favourite era!

8. Remember not everyone will be in the same spirit as the Hen so try and have activities and games on standby that everyone will enjoy.

9. If you’re all heading to a club or bar ensure that they know a big group is arriving so you can avoid queuing up, and make sure you mention it’s a hen night, you might even get a free bottle of bubbly!

butler

10. Not everyone will know each other so get the girls to mingle. Party games are a great way to break the ice or try asking how each person knows the Hen.

11. Make sure you spoil the hen throughout the night! After-all, this party is in honour of her!

12. If the party is at home keep the room organised – clear empty glasses and plates and keep the kitchen and drinks area organised and tidy. Why not hire a butler to do some of the work for you!?

13. Make sure you book everything in advance to ensure everything runs smoothly!

14. Communicate with the other guests! When you book an activity or you decide to change something, keep them as up to date as possible. Make sure everyone knows the name of the nightclub, hotel, and even the street names, just incase!

15. HAVE FUN!!

Learn A Wedding Dance With Your Hens

Posted on June 4, 2013 by stacie

Forget the Bride & Groom’s wedding Dance! Choose your song and learn a dance choreography with your hens and then perform it live at your wedding!

hendance

Book a fun dance activity on your Hen Weekend and the trained choreographer will create an easy to learn dependable routine dependant on your experience and ability. Choose your song and learn a dance choreography with your hens and then perform it live at your wedding! Choose your dance lesson NOW!

Dance tips and advice:

Select a song that is not too long! A Song between Two to Three minutes long is best. Songs longer that that may get boring for your guests!
Practice your dance routine with the girls! Regular practice is the only way to get comfortable with the steps and with dancing together with your girls. Plan to practice…At least three 20 minute sessions a week.
What size is your dance floor ? Find out what size your reception dance floor is and try to practice your dance using the same approximate space at home with the girls.
Plan when will the dance happen? Will it be at the beginning of the reception or after dinner?
Inform you team! Tell your Band , DJ and Photographer, when you plan to do your surprise dance. To be sure of getting great pictures of your dance, tell your photographer when you plan to start your dance routine and if possible demonstrate which dance moves you’d like them to capture..

Bride-to-Be Gift Ideas

Posted on May 27, 2013 by stacie

Friends and loved ones of the bride have it tough. When a bride is getting hundreds of presents from her registry, it can be hard to figure out other things she wants. Yet never fear, your trusty guide is here to give you ten great things that every bride needs!

A Spa Gift Certificate: Every Bride will be more than likely stressed out in the lead up to the Wedding! An inexpensive manicure or pedicure will help her look great at pre-wedding events, tense muscles will love a massage, and a facial will help her skin look fantastic for wedding pictures.
Lingerie: Every bride can use some reminders of her beauty and sexiness. Give her some gorgeous lingerie that will help keep the spark alive after the wedding night.

Engagement Memories: A newly married couple will have lots of documentation of the wedding day itself, yet few have documentation of planning the wedding. A bride will love a beautiful album with pictures of her shower, a journal for recording her thoughts during the process, or a scrapbook you’ve put together.

Pre-Wedding Pamper

Posted on May 22, 2013 by stacie

Planning a Hen Party can become quite expensive, along with all of the Wedding costs and preparations, it can sometimes feel overwhelming! Here at Spicy Hen, we have come up with the perfect solution…..

pamper

We all know that we want to look our best on the Big Day, many women treat themselves to Spa Days a week or so before the Wedding, but have you thought about combining these wedding preparations with the Hen Party?
It’s no myth that most women love to be pampered! So grab the girls and enjoy a
weekend away at a fancy Spa and relax, unwind and let the stress float away.

Why not Book yourself in for a Spicy Spa Day?:

Full Body Massage
Facial
Eyebrow Shape
Eyelash Extensions
Manicure & Pedicure
Hot stone treatments
Aromatherapy
Body Wrap

Enjoy all of these treatments, with a bottle of bubbly and great company!

Common Hen Party Dilemmas

Posted on May 10, 2013 by stacie

Arranging a hen party sounds simple enough, but trying to get a group of girls to agree on anything, let’s admit, it can be a nightmare. There will be key decisions that you will have to take, whether you are the bride or the maid of honour.

surpirse

Dilemma 1: Should the hen night be a surprise or planned with the bride?

The majority of hen nights are arranged in consultation with the bride. They may not know everything that is going to happen on the night, but they usually know the date, who has been invited, and where the party is going to start.

If you are arranging a surprise, make sure it is something that the bride would really love. Be honest with yourself; is she a burlesque dancing, male stripper, all night drinking session kind of girl, or would she prefer a cookery class and a manicure? Also consider whether you have the resources to pull off a surprise party. Will you be able to contact all the people she’d want to invite? Will you be able to arrange a date when you know for sure she doesn’t have anything else planned?

Dilemma 2: One night or more?

It is becoming more common for hen parties to take place over an entire weekend. Taking a trip to a different city for a hen party can be a great way to get that party feeling.

Many hen party groups opt going abroad. Unsurprisingly there will be a larger range of activity options for you and for your friends in the UK. No matter what the tastes and preferences of your group are you’ll be able to find something that suits all of you. The options available in the UK are as varied as the hen parties, whether you are looking for beaches, big city excitement or buzzing nightlife, you will be spoilt for choice.

Of course these types of hen party can be very expensive, and you will need to judge whether the people the bride wants to invite can afford it.

Dilemma 3: What hen party activity?

Struggling to decide what activity to choose for your hen weekend? Have you thought about a dance lesson? Dance activities have become extremely popular for hen parties. Why? Dance lessons are unconventional, fantastic bonding experience and create memories that your group can look back on and laugh heartedly.

Remember, hen party dance activities are extremely popular amongst ladies are typically booked months in advance. So, if you want to take dance lesson on your hen weekend, it is imperative that you plan ahead and make necessary arrangements. Look through the dance activities providers’ websites, gather all the information you need and make reservations for the dance lesson well before the hen weekend to avoid last minute disappointment.

Throwing a good hen do is easy. Just use some of the other ideas already out there. Start browsing around different hen party sights to get a good idea of what other people have done with great success for their own hen do. Good luck with the planning!

Staying Safe on your Hen Night

Posted on May 7, 2013 by stacie

A Hen Do is all about enjoying yourself and letting all of your worries in life float away for one night… But that doesn’t mean you should let all of your inhibitions float away too, you want to remember the night for all the right reasons.

safe

Spicy Hen have prepared a Hen Party Safety First -Guidebook for you!

Hotel:

1. Make sure every member of your Hen Group that the following phone number prior to departure:

Chief bridesmaid or Lead Hen
Hotel reception,as well as the hotel address
Local taxi number – check it on Yell.com.

2. If you have time also print out a city map for each person. Or on arrival pop into the Tourist information centre and pick up a map for everyone!

3. Make sure everybody has a hotel key. Or, you might want to leave the hotel key at the reception so you don’t need to look after it.

4. If possible pre-book taxis for returning to the hotel. Or arrange to leave together. Make sure that everyone leaves at least in pairs, never let anyone walk back to the hotel on their own.

Nightlife

Try to keep your hens in one group.
Control your drinking!
Be prepared…your Hen Party will attract some male attention. Keep an eye on any drink or food. Make sure that you do not accept a drink from a stranger!
Don’t leave your phone, purse etc. on display. You don’t want to lose them or being stolen!
Never let anybody leave alone. Always stay and walk in groups! Especially if you are new in a city!

Getting home

Pre-book taxis home, or a minibus!
Remember: Licensed cabs should have ID on display.
Don’t walk home alone!

Hen Party goody bags

Posted on May 2, 2013 by stacie

When you’re making a goody bag for the Hen Party guests, it’s always good to put a mix of fun & essential items in there.
It can get quite expensive, especially when there are more than a few guests so shop around! Try Ebay, Poundshops & 99p shops always have a party isle and even have a look around your house, maybe you’ve got some unwanted presents that you could use (such as mini shower gel sets).

goodies

To save you some time Spicy Hen have put together a list of goody bag filler ideas, don’t forget most of these items can be bought in multi-packs!

Hen party Sash or Badge
Glowsticks
Love Heart Sweets
Party Poppers
Plasters
Pink Mini Candles (Or choose the hens favourite colour)
Naughty Straws & charms – You know what we mean
Paracetamol
Toothbrushes (A must if your planning a Hen Weekend)
Facemasks
Folding Flat shoes (You can buy these super cheap from Ebay!)
Perfume Samples (Pop to your nearest perfume counter & let them know it’s for a Hen party!)
Chewing Gum or Mints
Lollipops
Make a CD of all the best party tunes!
Mini bottles of Wine
Disposable Camera
Mini Hairsprays
Retro Sweeties (Cola Cubes, Flying Saucers etc.)
Lip Balms
Mini Chocolate bars

Happy Shopping!

Spicy Hen & Organise a Hen

Posted on April 23, 2013 by stacie

organise a hen

Spicy Hen and Organise A Hen are delighted to announce Spicy Hen’s listing on the Organise A Hen website!

Organise A Hen is a website allowing you to do exactly that. Organise a hen do, hen weekend, hen night or hen party across the UK with the help of useful tools, search facility, ideas and inspiration. Spicy Hen are proud to be the first Performing Hen activity provider featuring on Organise A Hen. If your Hen loves to shine on stage (or video camera!), the Performing Hen, with the Spicy Hen’s dance classes, will give her that all important limelight to shine!

Tips for a Hen Party Guest List

Posted on April 22, 2013 by stacie

Everyone knows that organising your wedding guest list is one of the most difficult
parts of planning, but little gets said about your hen party list – even though this can
be just as tough. Just how many people are you expected to invite? Do you have to
ask every female attending the wedding? And will your mother in law be offended if
she’s not asked to go clubbing…?

dos

After chatting with lots of other brides-to-be (and preparing for my own hen party –
only a month away!) I’ve put together some ‘dos and don’ts’ for making things a little
easier…

Don’t: Ask your Maid of Honour to do it
If you’re feeling overwhelmed, it can be tempting to hand over all hen party tasks to
your Maid of Honour. But while she’ll be expecting to plan activities and surprises,
she will really struggle with a guest list (and probably secretly hate you for giving
her such a difficult job!) Handing over the responsibility will inevitably mean that
someone important is missed, or that your relaxing spa day is ruined by the
appearance of a colleague you can’t stand. Don’t risk it; do it yourself.

Do: Decide how many people you want
Some people are at their happiest in a big crowd, while others prefer the company of
just a select few. If you hate the idea of being the centre of attention in a huge group,
don’t be afraid to establish a more intimate guest list with only your closest friends
and family. You may find that other people start hinting for an invite, but stay strong
and don’t compromise – it’s your day!

Don’t: Invite anyone that will make you feel uncomfortable
Worrying about making a fool of yourself in front of your boss or snobby cousin will
only spoil your day (and stop you enjoying the cocktails!), so leave out anyone that
will make you feel stressed.

Don’t: Be afraid to celebrate twice
Depending on what sort of hen party you’re planning, the decision to invite family
can be awkward. While some Mums would be first in line for a pole dancing lesson,
others would feel uncomfortable – so think carefully about what you know your family
will enjoy. Paintballing probably isn’t your Nan’s idea of a good time, after all. But
if your dream hen isn’t ‘family appropriate’, you could always arrange a separate
celebration. This means you’re free to go wild with your friends (and enjoy that
Butler in the Buff without embarrassment) as well as enjoying something a little more
civilised with the family.

The most important thing to remember is that it’s your day, and you’ll have the best
time if you’re celebrating with your favourite people. Never feel obligated to invite
anyone you don’t want to – do it your way, and you’re guaranteed to have a fabulous
hen party.

– Nikki Walker is a wedding stationery designer and blogger at Little Love Notes.
She is getting married in July 2013, and has no idea what her bridesmaids have
planned for her own hen party. (She trusts them, though. Sort of.)

Glamourous Paparazzi Experience

Posted on April 18, 2013 by stacie

Are you looking for some sophistication at your hen party? Why not try out some professional photographs with memories that will last for years to come!

We offer an opportunity for you and your girls to dress up and be a celeb for the night. Guaranteed celebrity treatment though-out the shoot. Start your glamorous night out with a photography session, where our professional photographer will make you feel like a million dollars and will capture you and your friends looking your most captivating.

Grab your friends, get dolled up and put on that LBD and let our photographers do their thing! Enjoy the full paparazzi experience before your night out, choose from one of the glamorous locations or recommend* one of your own.
* Additional transport charge might be incurred for some venues based on the location, please check with us.

Check out what some of our Spicy Hens had to say about this package:

Sarah: “Me and my hens had an amazing time on our photoshoot! The photographer Nadine made us feel so at ease and we enjoyed posing for the camera! I absolutely LOVE how the photo’s turned out and the photo of us all standing outside the pavilion now has pride of place hanging on my bedroom wall. Thank you so much!”

Leanne: “ I had a brilliant time on my photoshoot, and so did all of my friends. I was looking for something really special to remember my final days as a single lady! And this photoshoot idea was perfect. The photos are stunning and I can’t recommend it enough! I felt amazing all day.”