Hen night and stag night activities: top tips

Hen nights
The hen night is an opportunity for the bride to let her hair down in the company of her best mates. Nowadays, hen nights range from a night on the tiles with the bride clad in "L" plates and a mini veil to a luxurious day (or weekend) of pampering in a spa.

The chief bridesmaid or another close friend usually arranges the hen night on the bride's behalf. The cost of the hen night itself is split between all the hens. The bride is not usually expected to pay for anything herself on the actual hen night.

The hen night usually takes place about a month before the wedding day. Put a date in the diary soon after the engagement is announced, so that all the hens can keep it free.

It's sensible (and considerate) to keep the cost of the hen night within certain limits, or some friends may feel that they can't afford to come. Hen nights were traditionally an evening out—these days, popular hen night choices range from a hotel spa weekend to a few days abroad, so hen nights are very often hen weekends, and that means more money.

If a wild knees-up isn't the bride-to-be's scene, a good alternative to the traditional hen night is a bridal shower—a more leisurely and intimate gathering where the bridesmaids and other close friends "shower" the bride-to-be with gifts while sipping tea or quaffing champagne.

Stag nights
The classic stag night cliché is a rowdy night on the tiles that ends up with the hapless groom-to-be handcuffed to a lamppost in his boxers.

However, 21st-century grooms tend to take a more sophisticated approach, and nowadays popular stag night activities range from a day's golfing or go-karting to weekends away in European cities or beyond.

If you're stuck for ideas, there are plenty of stag night specialist tour companies who specialise in stag nights and will help the groom bid farewell to his bachelor days in spectacular fashion. Many offer fun outdoor activities, such as paintballing, abseiling or clay-pigeon shooting—followed by an evening bonding in the pub over a few drinks, in traditional stag night fashion!

Sports fanatics will be wowed by the prospect of a stag night that involves watching their team play or attending a major sporting event such as next year's Monte Carlo Grand Prix. Tickets may be hard to come by, but some stag night companies specialise in arranging days out and weekends away to top sporting events.

To prevent things getting out of hand, nominate a responsible member of the stag night party to keep an eye on the groom and guarantee that he gets home in one piece at a vaguely sensible time!

And don't get too stressed about the arrangements for your stag night—bear in mind that one of the key duties of your best man is organising the stag night, so make the most of him!