Preparation Before A Stag Night
Great stag nights don't just happen. You need to be the man with the plan!
Long before the groom is standing at the front of the church, looking to both
vicar and Best Man for support/wisdom/an escape plan, the stag weekend plot
needs hatching. We would recommend planning at least 3 months prior, especially
if you want a corker.
There are many things to be decided, with the lion's
share of early input ideally coming from both the Best Man and Groom. After
all, if he's contributed to the planning then he can't have any complaints at a
later date about where you've chosen, what you're doing and who he's rooming
with!
Did you know: Last Night of Freedom can help you arrange your stag night?
Stag Party Checklist
1: Firstly, you need to decide HOW MANY cast members there'll be. We
recommend around 10-12, but this will largely be determined by how many good
mates the groom has, who gets on with who (don't pretend that it's just the
women who have this problem) and if there's an activity or event that he
particularly wants to include, e.g. there's no point taking 25+ guests if he
wants Quad Racing and White Water Rafting as his daytime entertainment, there's
likely to be too much waiting around (though Paintballing and Karting would be
ideal!) Other major factors in the final group size will be the choice of
destination and, most influential of all, how many complete bottlers wimp out
at the first disparaging remark from their partner. Their loss!
2: Group size sorted, a decision must be reached as to WHEN the whole
shebang will take place. Ideally, a two week gap between the stag night and
wedding is required, allowing the groom to either grow his eyebrows back,
change the name on his tattoo or thumb his way back from Calais.. Also, once a
date has been chosen, stick to it!
3: The most usual restraint hereafter is BUDGET. In other words, how much
can everyone afford to blow on a weekend of mass carnage that they probably
won't remember beyond the Sunday night anyway? Everyone's financial position
must be taken into account for this bit and some sort of compromise reached -
or last-minute pull outs can be expected. Again, if organised early enough then
this can be budgeted for and even paid off week to week, perhaps into a central
account specifically set up for the stag weekend. Who said that blokes can't be
organised? (Your wives and girlfriends, that's who!)
Treasurer
This brings us nicely to our next issue, MONEY. As quickly as possible, the most
financially responsible member of the group should be assigned as treasurer. By
"most financially responsible", we realise that this may end up being the one
amongst you who merely qualifies because he has less outstanding parking fines
than the rest of you when you sit to ponder the role in the pub, and it might
also be defined by others as simply "he who is tightest in the round-buying
stakes", but, whatever your criteria is, make sure this role is assigned
ASAP...
It should be the newly-crowned Treasurer's job to collect all of the stag night
funds from the rest of the group and to pay all expenses promptly. It would
seem logical that if there was an accountant in the group to delegate this task
to him - though it goes without saying that you need to pick someone well known
to everyone, lest the money end up in a Swiss bank account quicker than you can
say "Nick Leeson". In our experience, it might also be an idea to set up an
individual bank account for the explicit purpose of the stag getaway. (We would
also advise you do this with a central e-mail account, set up especially for
stag-related correspondance between the guests and Primary weekend
co-ordinators. Too many stories of plate-throwing, email-reading,
Stripper-phobic girlfriends to ignore here!)
Details, Details, Details
With the money issue behind us, we can get to the fun bit: deciding exactly
WHERE, and just WHAT to include. These are big issues, which is why we've
devoted a large area of the site to them, namely location and activities.
You might also like to crank things up a notch by introducing a stag night theme
to the evening, though as with every additional you need to take the original
budget into account. With this in mind, check out some of the wonderfully wacky
and tacky offerings in our Shop section, especially the Costumes, T-shirts and
Novelties. Maybe you're better off starting with the extra that no stag night
is complete without - the booking of the Groom's Stag Night Stripper. Our
recommended national agency will deliver an absoluter belter (or two?!) to the
time and place you specify, though make sure to check around first for a
suitable venue and time before you make the call.
Once you've chosen a location, any budding Michael Palins amongst you will do
well to dig up any extra little facts or snippets they can about the host city.
This might be easy if you're going down the local, but potentially a great deal
more difficult if you've chosen on going abroad.
The research must take into account both the days AND the nights, of course.
Making it up as you go along when you're there is a loser's game. Find out
which pubs and clubs are stag-friendly before planning a route through them.
Write all of this down, with perhaps a suggested time next to each venue, then
email or print out for all those involved. This way, any latecomers or strays
will easily be able to find their way back to the group. You may get a few
"Mary Poppins" jibes at moments like this, but that will only be from those
who'd struggle to find their own arse with both hands, so care not a jot at
such insolence!
Trust LNOF...we've arranged over 5000 stag parties your know!
Ok, now it is time for us to plug our own company. We organise both brilliant
stag weekends in the UK and quality stag weekends abroad too, in cities as
diverse and exciting as Edinburgh, Budapest, Vilnius and Madrid.
Before you do anything else, have a quick browse around the site, making sure to
check out some of the 20+ locations in the UK, or any of the growing list of
stag weekends abroad.
One last piece of essential preparation is to check out the nightclub/s. Often
the final destination of a stag night, make sure you've researched its dress
code and, if possible, try to ring them up nice and early to get on their guest
list. Tell them you're travelling all the way from (then say somewhere that is
very far away) just to visit their club - it might swing it. Make sure you
check this with them close to the time, since a "Yes, just tell them I said it
was okay" from the manager might not carry any sway with the ugly bouncer in
front of you on the night. Get a name of someone who WILL be on duty that
night, just to doubly ensure no problems in getting in.
Oh and one more thing... HAVE A TOP TIME!
»» Ok now it is time to take it to the next step: During Your Stag Night