13th March 2009-the hens they are a-clucking!

The hens are clucking and plans are in full swing! Against my better judgement obviously!

A hen party is one of those wedding traditions that just comes as part and parcel of the planning and cannot (i am reliably informed) be avoided. With visions of 'L' plates pinned to my best dress and chocolate willy straws i resisted for a long time, but eventually was forced to give in after much pressure from some over-exuberant hens.

And i'm glad i did because planning a night with all the girls in my life is actually loads of fun and it's another thing to look forward to in the run up to the wedding. We have a theme (i'm told this is the thing to do) and plenty to organise (might even take my mind off the wedding for a while!) and it's amazing how girls can bond over a bit of list writing and making plans!

Now, because i am getting married abroad i have found that this impacts quite heavily on what i can and can't do for my hen night. For example, the craze of the moment is to organise a hen party abroad. It isn't unusual to find girls heading away for a clubbing weekend in Newcastle or even a whole week of partying in Spain, but it's not easy to ask this of your hens when they are already forking out for a holiday in Italy to come and watch you swap vows. Especially in the midst of an (whisper) economic crisis.
What makes it even more comlicated for me is that i'm from the UK but live in Ireland, so where's the best place to have it? Who do i ask to fly? Do i go there/ do they come here? You can see the predicament!

So i've kept it simple. No big plans, no mass exodus to the costa's or such-like. Just a good-old fashioned girly night out. I'm fortunate enough that those who really count can make it, even though it will mean more flights and expense to them! I don't under estimate the effort made.

And to show my gratitude i will make absolutely sure that the cocktails are potent and the glasses kept always full, and i will do exactly as i am told on the night (within reason).

It's a while away yet so i'll keep you posted on the plans. But there will definately be cocktails involved...

In other news this week has seen a mass rush of flight bookings and i think pretty much all of those coming to the wedding have booked! It's a great feeling to know who will be there now, makes it really exciting. We can stop stressing and start making plans for what we hope will be a fantastic week!