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Out of all the best guy friends, you got picked as the best man. Lucky you!
While it comes with great honour, it also requires you to face a lot of responsibilities.
You will become the ultimate go-to guy for wardrobe advice, wedding speech feedbacks, and whatnot. Most importantly, you will be tasked to make sure that the groom enjoys the best time of his single life at his stag party.
To avoid ruining your groom’s stag night, here’s a complete preparations checklist you should follow:
Picking the Schedule
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Before you start with anything else, you must choose the date for the party. Consult with the groom to determine his availability.
As a rule of thumb, don’t schedule the party a day before the wedding.
You don’t want to see the groom throw up during the matrimonial ceremony, or worse, miss the next flight home because everyone got escorted off the plane due to disruptive behaviour.
Remember the incident at Manchester Airport with the 23 stag do party members? It went horribly wrong for the groom’s entourage.
Pick a schedule that is no more than two weeks from the big day. This will give you enough time for damage control in case you all went over your heads.
Creating the guest list
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There’s a slight chance that you already know every lad on the list. However, the groom might include some people you haven’t met yet like his distant cousins or favourite workmates.
Part of your responsibility as the best man and the organiser of the stag party is to get acquainted with everyone.
Find out their preferences and limits. Some may not be available to travel far or others might not be too keen on trying new things. There will always be party poopers, but surely, you still want the best for everyone.
Collect everyone’s basic contact details (emails, phone numbers, WhatsApp accounts, etc) so you can all get in touch, most especially once you start planning the party specifics.
Setting the budget
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Once you finalised the guest list, you need to determine the working budget. Some of the key factors that will most likely affect your stag party expenses are as follows:
- Accommodations
- Type of activities
- Nightlife
- Travel expenses
- Food and Booze
- Costumes
Weigh in on each item to get a rough estimate. More importantly, determine how much each stag party member can contribute to the celebration expenses.
If money is not an issue, you can surely go all-out. On the other hand, if you have a limited working budget, you can always find discounted packages.
Choosing the Activity
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Nowadays, there are a lot of stag party ideas you can choose from. There is an activity for every type of stag.
Whether your buddy is an adrenaline junky, travel enthusiast, thrill seeker or anything else in between, there’s surely a fitting activity for him and every other member of the stag party. Here are three popular stag party themes you can take inspiration from:
#1 Zombie Apocalypse
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Calling all The Walking Dead die-hard fans out there! The Zombie Bootcamp offers a one of a kind stag party experience. It’s an overnight action-packed activity where every lad on your team gets to channel their inner Andrew Lincoln or Norman Reedus.
#2 Classic Stripper Party
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Inviting a female stripper to a stag do party never goes out of style. It’s an undying tradition. You can choose from various costumes and dance routine depending on the personal preferences of the groom. Some of the popular choices are strippers in police and nurse uniforms. But you can always try other more exciting options.
#3 Ultimate Road Trip
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If the groom loves road trips, then do him a favour. Plan the best one for him! There are a number of great road trip destinations you can choose from depending on your current location and availability. Some of the crowd favourites are Las Vegas, Belfast and The Wild Atlantic Way.
Booking the accommodation and arranging the transport
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Finish ticking all the items above? Good.
Now you need to double check your bookings. Make sure you booked everything on the right date. Moreover, you also need to arrange transportation.
You’d be surprised by how many stag members forget where they’re staying on the night of the festivities. It’s best that you arrange for the hotel transports to avoid any issues.
Take care of the big guy
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You’re in charge of the groom.
Keep an eye on him. The last thing you want to do is explain to the bride-to-be why her future husband can’t make it back on time for the wedding.
Know where to draw the line, most especially when things are getting out of hand.
Photo by Kats Weil on Unsplash
Planning your best friend’s stag party may seem like a daunting task, but don’t worry; you got this!
How hard can it be to ensure that your best bud enjoys his last days of singlehood? Just follow the to-do list above and you’re off to a great start.
Feel free to make a few improvisations along the way to accommodate the needs and preferences of your gang. Also, remember to stay out of trouble as much as you can. Happy partying!