A couple of weeks ago I received the text from my best friend Sarah that every woman dreads receiving once she’s settled down a bit: “BABE!!! Sarah’s getting married and we’re doing a WHOPPING hen weekend in Bristol! SO excited!” Followed by approximately seventeen party hats emoji and some GIF of someone popping open a bottle of champagne.
Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE Sarah – we’ve been friends since university and I’m so happy she’s found someone who she loves enough to marry (!!!) – but hen dos?? Oh lordy hen dos. I’ve been on enough now, sat in my mid twenties whilst all my friends start getting engaged and married to really know what I like and, more importantly, what I don’t when it comes to weekend-long celebrations of marriage-before-marriage.
And from those days of ugh reminiscing I’ve learnt one thing: you CAN celebrate the wedding without feeling like you’ve stepped straight off the set of Halloween Horror Nights. It just takes a little more thought than your average weekend away – and a lot more self care.
You see lots of hens getting “creative” with how they decide to show everyone that they’re part of the bride’s squad.
Matching boob pocket t- shirts emblazoned with “Best Bride Tribe” across the front, dodgy L-plates to hang off your bikes that scream “LOOK AT US! WE’RE ON A HEN DO!” at passersby for miles, and honestly, penis. Straws.
We all know hen dos feel the need to festoon themselves with every penis- shaped item they can lay their hands on but PLEASE, can we just stop making toasties with them at weddings? ! My personal hen night from hell was at Blackpool with my cousin Emma. Her maid of honour obviously liked the farmyard animals section of party shops with buying us all neon green satin toilet scrubber hats to wear.
Pair that with the obligator sugar cage and you’ve got one hell of a recipe for humiliation. She also made us all wear matching hot pink velour tracksuits with “FUTURE MRS” and “TEAM BRIDE” printed on the back in glitter. Bless her, she thought she was being funny.
We looked like the living embodiment of a certain type of early 2000’s girl band and traipsing around Blackpool wearing inflatable penises was one of the most embarrassing things I’ve ever had to do. Honestly I wanted to apologise to the general public for our collective existence. The good news is though, that through trial (and many, many errors) I’ve compiled a list of everything you need to know about dressing for a hen do without making yourself hate the concept of celebrations before weddings.
DISCLAIMER: If your friends are anything like mine then you’re going to be hit with two seperate days of celebration; morning/afternoon activities followed by an evening meal. So this handy dandy list takes both into account. HEN FUNDAMENTALS 1) Identify your bride squad styleeth.
All my friends know that I’m the QUEEN of hen do outfits. Ask anyone. I will research the location of your weekend away before you even book it just so I have plenty of time to mentally plan my outfits.
If your friends are anything like mine then chances are you’ll have two separate days; morning/afternoon activities followed by an evening meal. Talk to the bride about it! Nine times out of ten they’ve probably spent days staring at Pinterest boards looking at wedding-related crap they don’t want or need so they’ll DEFINITELY appreciate a chat about hen do outfits.
More than likely they’ll have already asked you to wear something specific for the evening so that leaves you free reign for everything else. When my sister asked us all to do her hen do we were asked to include some gold jewellery/shoes/accessories for the Saturday night meal. Simple.
And it meant that in photos we all looked cohesive but didn’t have to wear the same damn thing. When my friend Priya got married last summer we decided that as the bride’s sister had simply said “dress smart for dinner Saturday night” we would interpret “smart” however we liked! Talk it out as a group and figure out if there’s a colour scheme you’d all like to stick to, a certain item everyone could wear during the day etc.
Remember you want to look good in photos together but also IN the photos. 2) Invest in a good denim jacket. I cannot stress this enough; denim jackets are the unsung heroes of your wardrobe and once you start utilising them properly I swear you’ll never not wear yours again.
They layer really easily, can be dressed up or down and are great for building out your outfits. Pair one with your poshest jeans for a smart but comfy daytime look, throw it over a graphic tee and your favourite skinnies for casual evening vibes or literally wear it as a jacket if the weather dictates. Mine are all from Jigsaw and I love them to death.
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Same rules apply for jumpsuits! They’re fantastic for hen dos as you can wear them day and night depending on what you throw together. Throw a denim jacket and some killer heels on for the evening and bam; effortless chic.
I have this wide leg black number that I’ve taken to at least five different hen dos now – and styll have plans for many more. They come in handy for so many activities too. No worse feel than trying to hula hoop wearing a dress that refuses to budge, am I right?
Dresses are also amazing if you want to feel fancy AF for the evening bit – again, just throw on a denim jacket and call it casual. 4) Shoes are everything. High heels are the devil, and also sell-your-soul-to-the-devil expensive.
Please please please don’t feel like you have to wear yours on a hen do. Trust me, you’ll regret it. You’ll be walking up and down cobbled streets.
You’ll be standing around in bars. You’ll probably end up dancing on tables. None of these things go smoothly wearing heels, trust me.
I learned my lesson years ago after doing a murder mystery night in mine; we ended up having to secretly deflate one of them because it kept exploding through the carpet as she ran. Buy some cute flats that go with everything, or even better some mules that you can easily slip on and off but still feel fancy. My current go- to are these gold glitter block heel numbers from COS.
They’re high enough that I don’t feel like I’m wearing flats, but comfortable enough that I can actually walk in them all weekend without crying once we’re done. This goes for all your outfits. If you feel uncomfortable/self conscious in what you’re wearing you will NEVER relax enough to actually enjoy yourself.
Once you start worrying about your outfit staying intact all weekend is ruined. Pick breathable fabrics, reliable shoes, and DON’T WEAR SHORTS. Unless you’re poolside the whole time, nobody wants to see your thigh flab chafing against itself all weekend.
Trust me. Hen do dress example; breathable linen midi dress with jeans leggings underneath incase it gets chilly (and to avoid showing your privates in public laundrettes), flat sandals with lashes and a denim jacket. DONE and DONE.
5) Pick an accent colour. Speaking of not wanting to see your privates in public laundrettes. Coordinate with the girls!
But not by ALL buying matching underwear (although that is fun, lets be real).
Pick a colour scheme that goes with where you’re staying or that you’d all wear anyway then BY THAT ACCENT COLOUR ACCESSORY. Scarf, hat, necklace.
Ask everyone to wear something bride’s favourite colour AS WELL AS the accent and now you’re looking good together without looking matchy matchy. Win win. And brides, if you’re throwing your hen do; let your girls wear whatever the hell they want in exchange for that accent colourPLEASE.
It’ll make you like them again. Ok so here are some of my top picks for both day AND night hen do outfits that you can wear over and over again post-celebration. For DAYTIME For NIGHTIME Just remember to have fun with it!
You’re celebrating the love of your life getting married so chill out and pick things you know you’ll LOVE wearing. Photos will be taken and shared so make sure you’re proud of what you’re wearing. Happy henning!
