It goes without saying that you will have a range of lads on the weekend and so budgets and availability will have to be considered. But a night out in the stag’s home town is, quite frankly, not an option. Not only because this should be a night out with a difference rather than just a night out at the local, but also because bumping into a neighbour, relative or friend of the bride-to-be at any point is hardly conductive to giving your mate enough space to let his hair or trousers down.
More importantly, even if you’re not the most organised of men you need to get a date in all the lads, or in this instance bucks’, diaries as early as possible. Avoid the nightmare of trying to co-ordinate a dozen lads by booking them up before it becomes an issue. Remember that although they might not be ‘that kind of bloke’, if they’ve got a bird, it is highly probable that she’s got their weekends planned for the next decade.
Traditionally the bride and groom send out their official invitations six to eight weeks in advance of the weddings, so aim to do at least the same thing for the stag do. Allow more time if possible so that you are guaranteed to be able to get accommodation for a large group. And, of course, being as brides, mothers and mothers-in-law tend to get the hump about husbands-to-be showing up bruised or useless a week before the wedding, plan to have the stag to do at least two weeks before the big day. Or his and your lives won’t be worth living.
Highlights to think about
1. Range of budgets and availability.
2. Home or away.
3. A date for the diaries.
4. Your place in the wedding schedule.
Invitations
Who to invite, who not to invite? It’s a toss up. Is it better to have the future father-in-law not speaking to the stag because he’s hacked off he wasn’t invited? Or to have the possibility of him threatening your mate’s wedding tackle after witnessing his drunken mauling of the saucy stripper? And do you want the world and his wide boys there, or would you prefer to keep it to a select few? If you’ve got a tricky situation and are not sure which way to go, the answer is simple – why not have two stag nights? All Alternative Stag do with your real mates and a second stag night down the pub with the outlaws (soon to be in-laws) and wide boys. Nightmare scenario neatly sidestepped. No casualties.
Invitations can be straightforward. But if you’ve already decided what type of do you’ll be having and the dates are informally agreed, you might want to really go to town with them. They are an excellent excuse to get into character for your theme and roll out a couple of embarrassing photos of or quote s from the stag. Just bear in mind that the more effort you make in organising the stag do, the more effort the bucks will be willing to put into the actual event.
