Hen parties play a vital role nowadays in the whole wedding process. It is an opportunity to see out the brides final days as an unmarried woman, while also allowing those who might not be able to make it to the wedding itself celebrate with her. In the past these do’s were a simple single night out but they have now morphed into quite an impressive array of different parties.
Hens now travel abroad combining the celebration with an excuse for a holiday! Hens travel all over Europe and it is not just for the sun. Some of the destinations offer things to do you could only dream of in the UK.
What are the current trends?
Hens have always been well catered for compared to men when it comes to activities where learning is a part of it. Men and stags seem to place almost all their time concentrating on drinking and adrenaline. Hens on the other hand can separate their partying with experiencing new things.
Much like every year, we at Hen Heaven are often booking parties to take part in a variety of classes such as Dance instructions and drawing classes. Of course, hens 
don’t take off the drinks completely and cocktail making classes are still easily the best seller. These activities are typical hen party activities but one of the major trends of the last few years is the increasing options being done that would be viewed as typical ‘male’ choices.
When it comes to stags their activities of choice are often high octane and team based. Fighting in the woods with paintball guns for instance is a hugely popular choice for stags. We have seen many hen groups move towards these types of activities over the last couple of years. It seems that the girls like to get just as grubby as the men.
More and more hen parties are taking on action based days. Intertwining their love for getting pampered with getting muddy. We have not however seen the type of humiliation tactics stags are known for. Perhaps that is one step too far for the girls and should stay that way.
What are the most popular destinations?
Of course, there are two types of hen parties that we deal with. Those that want to go abroad and experience something out of their comfort zone and those who prefer their home comforts.
In the UK, London offers everything a hen may desire, but that doesn’t necessarily make a great party location. In London you will be sharing the streets with the millions of residents and maybe even more tourists! Hens like to go somewhere with a happy medium with no lack of things to do while also being accepted as a hen party.
For many, this means heading to the coast in the UK. Traditional seaside resorts like Brighton and Blackpool answer the call and still offer so much even after hundreds of years of partying behind them. They are still a popular choice for the modern hen. Surprisingly however it is not these two that tops the list but another seaside resort starting with ‘B’. Bournemouth!
Bournemouth offers a huge variety of bars and nightlife and thanks to the location on the seathere is also a happy mix of active pursuits like kayaking and SUP you can take part in.
In terms of abroad you may be surprised that Amsterdam proves just as popular with the girls as it does with the boys. More than just its liberal pursuits, Amsterdam offers an amazing time and cultural experience which is so easily and quickly accessible from the UK.
For sun soaked fun hens are hugely interested in southern Spain and especially the exclusive resort of Marbella. Perhaps trying to emulate the celebrities and reality shows, hen parties see Marbella as a place they can dress like ladies, without behaving like them!
Hen parties on these scales are a relatively new phenomenon, only since the nineties has a weekender been common and it seems that it is not only getting more and more popular but is coming in line with the stags too. Perhaps we aren’t so different. A hen party on Mars is the same as a Stag on Venus it seems.
By Joshua Mason of Hen Heaven
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