These are the top hen and stag do trends for 2023 for a celebration you and your attendees will be talking about for years to come.
Top Hen and Stag Do Trends for 2023
The hen and stag dos are the most highly anticipated wedding event, minus the wedding day. So, whether you’re maid of honour and looking to plan the perfect hen – or want to take the reins and book your own – our guide to the top hen and stag do trends for 2023 will help you plan the perfect celebration.
Sober Stag and Hen-dos
Hen and Stag-dos have a notorious reputation for being tipsy affairs, however brides are increasingly ditching the fizz in favour of physicality at their hen parties. Yoga, park runs, and dance classes are slowly creeping up on boozy bar crawls as the centrepiece of many weekends.
Last Night of Freedom, the UK’s leading hen party organiser, has revealed that wellness is slowly becoming focus of many a bridal party plans. But perhaps the most startling change is the increased thirst for teetotal hen parties.
According to Matt Mavir, Last Night of Freedoms’ managing director, ‘While the bubble hasn’t quite burst for boozy hen parties, demand is definitely drying up, we are getting requests for hen party activities like mocktail workshops, rather than cocktails. It is becoming rarer to find a large hen party where at least one member isn’t teetotal.’
A recent polling revealed that a quarter of British women, aged 25-34, are now teetotal. Among women aged 16-24, that figure almost doubles – suggesting teetotal hens could one day become the rule, rather than the exception.
And as the market grows, there’s now far more choice for brides-to-be who don’t want their hen party memories clouded by hellacious hangover.
‘Once upon a time, a hen party consisted of drinking for two to three days with maybe an activity thrown into the mix. However, that’s changed immeasurably. Groups, especially younger brides, are far more interested in making memories rather than getting drunk.’
‘That’s why increasingly groups are instead opt for a lavish spa break in the likes of Bath and York, where they can get pampered for a few days and come home feeling revitalised – rather than reaching for the aspirin as soon as they walk through the door. We’ve seen a huge boom in bookings for our more holistic activities too – packages like mobile yoga and our energetic dance classes.’
Sten Dos
A ‘sten do’ does exactly what it says on the tin – you guessed it, a joint stag and hen do. Brides and grooms celebrating together before their wedding day is set to become more popular than ever in 2023, as many more couples share a friendship group – plus, hen and stag dos don’t cater for same-sex couples.
At-home Parties
Feeling the pressure of yet another hen do abroad?! With searches for ‘at home hen/stag do’ seeing a huge 9600% increase over the past year, staying put in the comfort of your own home is set to be more popular than ever for hen and stag dos in 2023.
It was revealed that attending a hen or stag party in 2019 was estimated to cost £391. Budgeting is therefore likely to be more important for couples in 2023 than ever before – think barbecues, afternoon tea and at-home entertainment, from make-your-own cocktail bars to mobile spas.
Micro Dos
We’ve all heard of micro weddings – a trend that saw a stratospheric rise in popularity thanks to the pandemic. Unsurprisingly, this is now translating into micro hen and stag dos, a trend that’s set to be big for 2023.
Searches for ‘small hen do’ saw an increase of 215% over the past year and are, more than ever, about making up for lost time.
Delayed Celebrations
With many celebrations going ahead with far fewer guests than planned and some couples opting for ‘sequel weddings’ – a big bash a few months after the legal ceremony – one of the most searched for terms in 2021 was ‘can you have a hen do after wedding‘. Many couples will look to challenge the tradition and celebrate after their weddings in 2023.
Activity-based Hen and Stag Dos
With the emphasis on spending quality time with friends and family more important than ever post-pandemic, hen and stag dos in 2023 are likely to see activities incorporated far more frequently.
Activity and experience provider Fizzbox also collated some Google Trend search data to see how the pandemic has affected hen and stag dos.
The ever-popular cocktail class still takes prime position for hen dos as the activity hens are booking the most for 2023, alongside nude life drawing, hiring ‘cheeky butlers’ and attending a male cabaret show. For stag dos, the most popular activities booked for 2023 include bubble football, beer bikes and bar crawls to the more untraditional Squid Game.
Keep it Local
Fizzbox also showed that hen/stag do searches for UK destinations have remained considerably higher in the last 12 months, a huge factor being the effect of travel restrictions which continue to change last-minute in 2023.
Couples are therefore predicted to choose the safer option of a hen and stag weekend in the UK for 2023, with the most popular destinations booked for 2023 for hen dos including Liverpool, Brighton, London, Bournemouth and York.
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