Gatsby & Games Hen's Party in Canberra
I was lucky enough to be invited to assist in planning my beautiful cousin's Hens party, The ladies in my family have a history of planning great hen's parties as the "final fling before the ring" and this party was no different!
Planning
Our beautiful bride already had ideas of what she wanted, so we sat down as a bride tribe and picked her brain. She told us she wanted a high tea, games, a 1920's Gatsby themed party, and a night out. She also told us she didn't want any real life willies at her party!
The bridesmaids and I kept in contact via FB Messenger and discussed ideas (a lot of which we found on Party In Canberra - obviously), decorations, cakes, hot food and the games. We tasked ourselves with different jobs to share the workload, then brought everything together on the day.
Venues
We decided we'd book a high tea at the Hyatt in Canberra (delicious and convenient) then move to a hotel room where the tribe could play games and get ready to hit the town together. Unfortunately for us we had left this too late and Summernats was on that weekend... everything was booking out!
Just a bump in the road though, and on to a new plan. My beautiful Mum kindly offered to host the party at her place, and it was perfect! We held the afternoon tea there with the games and our own delicious food. Once that was all done we moved to the QT Canberra for dinner.
Costs
Always a touchy subject for hen's parties. As part the bridal party, you usually end up out pocket. You are the one buying things (even staple items like food and decorations) so its important within the bridal party to make sure you have a fair split of costs.
For our party guests, we asked that they their dinner at the QT ($100 for 2-course dinner, and 2 cocktails), plus an additional $15 per guest to cover some of the other costs (food decorations, and surprises for the bride) - this way the bridal party weren't all out of pocket.
Don't forget the House Keeping
We started off the afternoon by having everyone sit in a circle. I stood in front of everyone and introduced the bridal party, told them to help themselves to food, where the toilets were, and checked everyone had name tags.
Games
I love playing Hen's games, they are hilarious! When playing games I think it's important to keep the group together, and team games are good at getting people to mingle more and get relaxed and make new friends. Name tags are also great because you are never going to remember the names of all your new friends.
Potato Stockings
My all-time favourite hens party game! It's a great to get everyone up and is just hilariously entertaining!
You need:
- 3 stockings
- 3 large potatoes
- 3 large oranges
Put the potato in the stocking and wrap one leg around your waist so that the stocking dangles like a shwing shwong between your legs. Using only your body (no hands) swing the potato through your legs and hit the orange from the starting line, across the room to the finish line.
Bridal Questionnaire
Always a crowd pleaser and gives you special insight into the relationship of the Bride & Groom.
You need:
- To ask the groom a series of questions
- Something to put into the brides mouth (shots/gum/chocolates)
Ask the bride the questions you have asked the groom. She needs to guess what his answer would have been. For every answer she gets wrong, she has to have a shot/a piece of gum or chocolate.
Bridal Pictionary
You don't need to be a good drawer for this, in fact, it's more fun if you're not.
You need:
- large paper stuck to a wall
- a thick market which won't leak through the paper
Write down a word relating to the bride and groom, marriage, sex, love, whatever. The bride draws the paper out of a hat and has to draw what it is. Whoever guesses the most, wins!
Memory Lane
Can be lovely and loving, or rude and crude. it's up to your guests to decide how they want to play.
You need:
- Paper and pen for each person
Each person writes a memory they have of the bride. She reads them out and guesses who it is. Good for laughs :)
Special Details
As the days should all be about the bride, we ensured we did things to make her feel extra special.
The Cake & Cookies -
The Hummer - At my own hen's I was lucky enough to have a Hummer take me from my party to the dinner and wanted the same for the bride.
Pampering - Who doesn't love getting pampered and looking amazing?! The bridesmaids arranged for her to spend he morning getting her hair and make-up done so that she was party perfect!
Bridal Tattoos - one "Bride Tribe" tattoo for every guest!
Kiss The Miss Goodbye- Each guest loaded up their lippy and kissed a piece of paper for the bride. next to their lips they wrote their names & we framed it as a keepsake.
Bride Tribe Pride
The day was a great success - when the bride calls and tells you what a magnificent time she had and how special she felt, you know you all did alright! The smile in her voice is why we do this.
Xo Katie
If you need help to plan a party in Canberra, book a party planning meeting with on of our consultants. It will save you time, money and help you create amazing party memories!
