The planning guide
How to plan a hens party that feels like her
The song she knows every word to. Her favourite people around one table. That first look across the room when she realises you’ve all come together for her. Start with what she’d love, then work through the people, money, date and shape of the celebration, and end up with a plan you can share. With room for you to enjoy it too.
From the My Ultimate Hens team. Female founded in 2011. About 10 minutes to read, and the tools take a little longer.
The short answer
How do you plan a hens party? Start with her.
To plan a hens party, agree what the bride would enjoy, who she’d like there and what everyone can comfortably commit to. Choose the date and the shape of the celebration, confirm the bookings and travel, then send guests one clear plan with the time, inclusions, amount and reply date.
That plan is the part you get to be proud of. You turn the things she loves into something the whole group can say yes to.
Everything below works without an email address. The date tool, the question card and the one-page plan are yours to use, copy and print.
Start with her
Start with what she’d love
Ask who she wants beside her, what she’d love to do and what she’d happily skip. A surprise can still be personal when the essentials are agreed first.
If she says, “I’m easy,” make it easier to answer. Would she picture a long lunch, making something together, dancing, or getting away for the weekend? Leave room for an answer you haven’t suggested.
Keep one thing she says in her own words. It becomes the sentence you come back to when you choose the plan.
Is there a kitchen tea or shower in the mix too? Hens party, kitchen tea or bridal shower sets out which is which and how to fit them around her.
Before you book: ten things to ask her
Start with the first three. Keep the rest for the details.
- Who would you really love to have there?
- What would make the day feel like you?
- What would you happily leave out?
- Would you love a day, a night or time away together?
- Which dates could work around the wedding and everything else?
- How much would you like to know in advance?
- How do you feel about games, performances and being in the spotlight?
- What would make the cost and travel feel comfortable?
- Is there anything about food, access, drinks or taking part we should plan around?
- Is there a song, memory or little detail you’d love us to include?
Keep her answers in her own words.
Guests can tell you their own needs privately. She isn’t expected to guess them.
My Ultimate Hens · How to plan a hens party · myultimatehens.com.au/hens-party-inspo/how-to-plan-a-hens-party
People
Bring her people into the picture
Start with the people she’d like to invite, then work with a realistic headcount while you check what’s possible. Confirm plus ones with her. Keep three numbers apart: who you’re inviting, the estimate you use to explore, and the final confirmed headcount.
Keep a small planning circle for decisions and a wider chat for the invitation. Ask about practical needs privately before booking.
If her work friends and her oldest friends haven’t met, give them something easy to share at the start. A little making, tasting or a well-chosen game gives the first conversation somewhere to go.
If this is you: guests who don’t know each other, or guests flying in.
Money
Agree the amount before anyone commits
Talk about what feels comfortable before you book, including travel, accommodation and anything outside the main plan. Agree how the bride’s place will be covered, too. She may pay for herself, others may offer, or the group may share it. Make the arrangement clear before you ask for a yes.
Our guide to who pays for the hens party explains the different ways to handle it. Wondering what it all costs? The hens party cost guide has the numbers.
The date
Find a date her people can put in the diary
Check with the bride and the people she most wants there, then narrow the date with your planning circle. Think about the wedding lead-up, travel and anything on in the relevant state, like public holidays, school holidays and local events.
Once the date is agreed, let guests know so they can plan around it. Availability and the group’s circumstances still need checking. A date in the diary is where it starts.
The reasoning behind the windows below is in our guide to how far ahead to book a hens party.
Put her hens in the diary
Add the date and the kind of celebration you’re considering. These are planning guides. The dates in your confirmed booking take priority.
Already booked?
We remember your date and shape on this device so you don’t have to type them twice. Nothing is sent anywhere.
The general guide
- Explore and secure the main plan: day and night packages around 8 to 12 weeks ahead, accommodation weekends around six months ahead. Availability varies.
- Let the group save the date: once the date is agreed.
- Add the personal details: around four weeks ahead.
- Check numbers and booking requirements: around three weeks ahead. Use your booking’s actual due date.
- Send the final details: during the final week.
Add a date on the left and these turn into dates.
These are planning guides. The dates in your confirmed booking take priority.
My Ultimate Hens · How to plan a hens party · myultimatehens.com.au/hens-party-inspo/how-to-plan-a-hens-party
The shape
Give the celebration a shape
Choose one shared highlight, decide where food fits and leave room to enjoy being together.
Picture flower crowns still on at the table afterwards, the class finished but the conversation carrying on, or everyone getting ready in the same apartment before heading out. Which kind of moment feels like her?
A day, a night or a weekend can each feel like a proper occasion. Start with the time the group can comfortably share.
What could her hens look like?
A few practical choices can help the plan take shape. Start with the time together, then the moment she’d love most.
Check first
A day built around something shared
Build it around one shared highlight, sit down to eat and leave time for the conversation that carries on afterwards. A daytime celebration could suit the time you have.
An evening with a proper first moment
Give the night a clear beginning: somewhere to meet, something to enjoy together and a plan for what follows. That first shared moment gives everyone a way into the celebration. Check the starting and finishing times before the invitation goes out.
A weekend with time around the main event
There’s room for arriving, getting ready together and spending time in the same place around the celebration. Start with who is staying and what the accommodation actually includes. Confirm access to the rooms before promising an afternoon getting-ready session.
Still choosing the format
Start with the one part she’d love most. Then compare a day, a night and a weekend against the time people can share. You can keep the feeling and change the shape.
This points you in a direction. It isn’t an available package, and it doesn’t confirm pricing, food, access, dates or inclusions.
Place
Choose a place the plan can settle around
Start with where the group is coming from. Staying local can leave more time together. A trip away adds travel and accommodation decisions.
If you’re moving between stops, look at the whole route before booking. If you’re staying overnight, confirm where bags can go and when the rooms are available. The getting-ready moment needs a place in the plan too.
Getting around
Make the journey part of the plan
Check getting to the first stop, moving between activities and getting home. Count the time to gather the group, collect bags or change outfits as well as the journey itself.
Sometimes one area and an easy route are all you need. Sometimes shared transport is part of the fun: the song goes on, everyone is together and the next part of the day has already begun. Our guide to how to choose hens party transport walks through it.
Arriving at a hotel doesn’t always mean getting into the room. A bag drop and a check-in are different arrangements.
The invitation
Send something they can say yes to
Send the date once it’s agreed, then the full invitation when the details are ready. Give the group the day, meeting time, place, amount, inclusions and reply date in one message.
Add one sentence that makes them picture it: “We’re making something together, then sitting down to a long lunch to celebrate her.”
Keep personal questions private, and make it easy for someone to tell you if the plan doesn’t work for them.
The message, ready to edit
Fill in the first three boxes. The bits in square brackets are yours to complete once you’ve checked them against your confirmed booking.
THE FULL PLAN, ONCE THE BOOKING IS CHECKED
Nothing confirmed yet? Start with this one
Use it before any commitment. It makes clear that a yes to the idea isn’t a paid booking.
More wording for the group chat: the maid of honour group chat starter pack.
The little things
Add the little things she’ll recognise
Choose one personal detail to carry through: a familiar song, a few words from someone she loves, or a small surprise that makes her laugh.
Then open the hens party checklist to track what’s left. These can help with the finishing touches, once you know what the day needs:
The week of
Put the useful details in one place
Check the confirmed booking information and send one final message with the meeting point, time, what to wear, what to bring and the agreed way home.
Give the few remaining jobs a person: who has the booking details, who brings the surprise and who takes the photo with you in it. Then leave a little room for the day to happen.
Give someone a job
Get yourself in the photo
To keep
Her hens, on one page
The plan, the people and the details worth keeping together. There’s no task list here. The hens party checklist does the ticking.
Fill it in, or print it blank
Anything you leave empty prints as “Still to decide”, ready to write on. What you type stays in this browser tab. It isn’t sent or saved anywhere.
Getting a hand
Want to see how it could come together?
If you enjoy making the arrangements and the plan is straightforward, organising it yourselves may suit you well.
If you’d like to choose a celebration with its sequence and inclusions set out, explore the My Ultimate Hens package range. Start with what she’d love, the city, your date or date range and roughly how many people are coming.
Our team can help you understand the relevant packages and what each one includes, so you can decide what fits her and the group. Inclusions differ from package to package, so each page spells out its own.
My Ultimate Hens was female founded in 2011. Read the story behind it.
Quick answers
How to plan a hens party, asked and answered
How do you plan a hens party?
Start with what the bride would enjoy and who she’d like there. Agree the amount people can commit to, choose the date and shape of the celebration, then confirm bookings and travel. Give guests one clear plan with the meeting time, inclusions, amount and reply date. Add personal details once the main plan is settled.
Who should organise the hens party?
A maid of honour, friend, sibling, wedding party or the bride herself can organise it. Agree a small planning circle and a clear person for each job. Ask the bride about her guest list, preferences and surprises before booking, so the celebration reflects what she would actually enjoy. If you're the maid of honour, here are the maid of honour hens party duties: the five jobs that are properly yours and the ones you can share.
How far ahead should you plan a hens party?
Start once you have a likely date and an idea of the group. My Ultimate Hens recommends exploring day and night packages around eight to twelve weeks ahead, and accommodation weekends around six months ahead. Availability varies. Use the timing guide for detail and your confirmed booking for actual deadlines.
How many people should come to a hens party?
There is no ideal number for every bride. Start with the people she wants there and the kind of celebration the group can comfortably share. When considering a package, check its current minimum and maximum numbers. An early estimate helps you explore. Final numbers need to follow the booking requirements.
Who pays for the hens party?
Agree the arrangement before anyone commits. Guests may cover their own places, and the bride may pay for herself or be treated by friends, family or the wider group. Make any shared contribution clear, including extras outside the main plan. The who-pays guide explains the different arrangements in more detail.
What do you do at a hens party?
Choose something the bride would enjoy sharing with her people. That might be making or tasting something, a relaxed meal, entertainment, time away or a night out. Give the celebration a shared highlight, think about food and movement, and leave enough time for everyone to enjoy being together.
Can the hens party still be a surprise?
Yes, if the bride would enjoy that. Agree the date, people, practical needs and her comfort with attention first. Keep a few details secret rather than making everything unknown. Guests still need enough information about clothing, timing, costs and travel to decide whether they can join.
Do you need help planning a hens party?
You can organise it yourselves, especially if the plan is straightforward and you enjoy making arrangements. A My Ultimate Hens package may suit you if you’d like to choose from celebrations with their sequence and inclusions set out. Compare the actual scope with what you need help arranging before deciding.
Her hens
What are you picturing for her?
Tell us the city, your date or date range, roughly how many of you are coming and the kind of celebration she’d love. We’ll help you explore the relevant My Ultimate Hens packages. Still choosing? Start with the part you’re sure of.
A few quick details:
Done. Her hens are officially under way.
Keep an eye on your phone, the first text comes from one of us, not a bot.
See all hens party packages