These days it is very rare in fact to do it the simple way, who, what, where, done. The simplest of things that can be decided in 30 seconds, don't be so silly.
What is more common though, are those that decide instead of going through the hassle of arranging it all (clever clogs), merge their last night of freedom with their other half... and it becomes a STEN. Lazy but clever.
No, No.
I have to go and do it the difficult way. The way that in all honesty, I genuinely cannot be bothered with.
I feel I want to boycott the whole thing & make a stand & just not have one. That would be so simple!
Hen nights/weekends go 1 of 3 ways:-
1: a load of girls meet up, dressed in next to nothing, all scantily clad, covered head to toe in edible willies & L plates & sashes at what not, off their trollies down the local club with a stripper in tow, ending with photo's that quite frankly resemble a freshers fancy dress bar crawl's worst nightmare!
2: a few girls head off down the local pub or indian for a nice meal and off they go home (usually including the hen night kit).
3: a few girls meet up for a nice spa weekend with a nice evening in some fancy bar/lounge and swan off to the poshest most expensive hotel in the area.
Which don't get me wrong, a spa weekend sounds lovely, a nice relax but when you have 5 hours of sitting around a pool side with one 'complimentary' 30 minute hand rub or massage it seems such a waste of money and hours in the day to be honest with you!
I don't like any of that! No offence to anyone who has had one, I am sure it was fun and wonderful for you, but not my cup of tea!
Yes ok so number 2 isn't bad but in all honesty staying local to me I can do any time I like, and I don't because I don't like it!
Most of which also end up with matching tshirts/hoodies etc which isn't the worst thing in the world by all mean's!
But that is just about as much cheese as I can take to be honest!
So why is it so darn difficult to sort something out?
Sorting the date alone seems to have taken more time, stress, energy and effort than it's worth!! Probably more so than the rest of the wedding!
Also, why should we HAVE to fork out £1-200+ when barely any one in the current economic climate can actually afford it! I know I'm having a rant, and I know full well I am going to have to fork out something like that anyway but why should we HAVE too?!
A wedding costs enough as it is, whether its a £3000 wedding or a £300,000 one, enough is enough!!
Oh and then when I finally have sorted the date, yes thank you very much - weekend in April by the way - I then need to search for hen ideas. Plenty of websites where I can see hen packages that again somewhere along the line include Buff Butlers, Strip Club VIP Access, front row seats for the Hen, yeh no thanks, a strangers crotch in my face, no you keep it!
If none appeal I can then go and create my own. Oh great! No not great. To get a quote I need to send off personal details and await a phone call. Who then spend the next month and half harassing both myself and my Maid of Honour. You want custom, well not here!
Also, these sites, you can't decide what package you want until you decide on location. Can I just see the packages please & their prices for all locations and take it from there?! No, too simple, I have to click on a location and choose a hotel (no information available unless I go back and start over) and same goes for picking activities! Over and over.
I then finally find a great website which has packages to offer, but also a create your own with drop down boxes & ?'s at the side to hover over to give you information! Followed by a quote there and then. Perfect.
Or so I thought. Scroll down a bit & in small print says "for parties with less than 12 guests,you may incur a small up fee", so now we are made to feel bad for not having 100's of friends! Isn't less more? Doesn't the saying go, quality over quantity?
The friends I have close to me I can probably count on one hand (maybe two at a push) but they mean more to me than anyone and I don't need 50+ people to attend my last night (or two) of freedom!
The prices alone are ridiculous, but then you have to wait and see what people can afford, you don't expect them to fork out loads, I try and please everyone else of course! Yes its MY last night (or two) of freedom, but it's my friends who are willing to fork out to share it with me, so I want to make sure they have just a good a night! When you have so many different interests, finding common ground & something for everyone it starts to leave the cheap side!
So then you have to find out the average between them all and make something enjoyable, fun and exciting around that, and then the harassing phone calls & hidden charges are straight back out to bite you on the bum!
So I'm thinking rant over, and yes I am sure I will end up spending more than I would like, but still within reason on what will hopefully be a good night or two! It's taken about 4-5 months to get the date sorted so let's see how long it takes before I throw my computer at the wall & arrange the actual weekend!
Too much effort I tell you! This whole wedding malarky really is a learning curve in so many ways.
Its no wonder that the Hen end's up with L plates!!!
