My Hen Do - Part 1 ♥

In April I had my hen do and it was so much fun, almost as much fun as the wedding day itself! I decided to have my hen do in Brighton as I used to live there and I just love the summery, happy-go-lucky atmosphere the seaside town has! I also knew I wanted a vintage themed hen weekend and Brighton is the perfect setting for all things kitsch and retro! I'm writing about this in two (maybe three!) parts as there's just so many photos and cool details to share!



Excuse my serious face! Being a hen is serious business!! Haha. I curled my hair for the first day even though we weren't getting dressed up or anything! If you can't get glammed up on your own hen do, when can you! :-) I also had my nails painted in a vibrant red shellac to match the vintage glamour theme!



I knew from the beginning that I didn't want people to stay in a travelodge or hotel. I really love getting dressed up and having 'pre-drinkies' with all of the girls before we go out, and if we were all in separate hotel rooms it wouldn't be as fun! So I went on airbnb and had a search for houses or flats to rent. I had never used airbnb before and I am totally converted! You can find some cool places at a fraction of the price it costs to stay in hotels. We rented a lovely little apartment near the train station and it was just perfect.



Renting a whole place also meant I could decorate! I settled on some colourful paper bunting for the fireplace to give the living room a party feel! There was also an ipod dock and speakers so a very cheesy playlist was made and tunes were played all weekend!



There were 2 bedrooms in the flat that slept 2 people each, and there were 2 sofa beds in the living room. There were 6 of us staying so we fit in nicely! The other bedroom was really colourful and nautical themed which was a nice touch being a Brighton pad!




I loved the idea of hen goody bags and wanted to get personalised canvas bags for the girls but it was proving pricey and I couldn't find the right kind of look. My theme for the hen was 'pin up' vintage 1950s style, and I love all the old style illustrations of pin ups by Gil Elvgren and the like! So I decided to make my own bags using these kinds of pics. I found a pin up girl who looked like each friend and represented them in some way! For example, a cat or dog lover, a fan of sewing, a bake-aholic! I used photoshop to write their names over the pic, printed off and stuck to brown paper bags bought from ebay. I also wrapped a little bow on the handles too.

Inside I put a variety of little gifts. Here they are listed out for inspiration if you are making your own goody bags! (sorry I forgot to photograph the contents!)

- Polka dot compact mirror
- Love hearts scented candle
- Pair of earrings (each pair different!)
- A Nails Inc nail polish
- A mini cupcake bath bomb
- A Vogue postcard with a handwritten note
- A mini Lindt bunny
- A sachet of coffee for the morning after
- A paracetamol for the morning after!

They didn't cost me much at all and they went down well. I think everyone liked the bags more than anything! It's a nice touch to give your hens a gift as they are committing their whole weekend to you and spending a lot of money too!

The first night was just the girls staying in the flat so we had some low-key drinks and then headed for a tasty dinner at Bill's. It was delish and I had the most amazing dessert - orange and chocolate sorbet! Nom.




Stay tuned for part 2, and maybe 3 and lots of pin up fun!


x


Comments

  1. The hen do party favour bags are sooo cute! airbnb looks amazing too, I'm hoping to go on holiday to Paris next year so it should come in handy for finding somewhere to stay. Can't wait to hear more about your hen party :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's brilliant! I have recently booked another replace in Portsmouth to stay in for when I go to Victorious festival, can't wait! I bet Paris has some gorgeous places xxx

      Delete
  2. I've never heard of airbnb before, thanks for sharing I'll definitely check it out!
    Love the look of the bags. I made goody bags for my friend's hen (I was Bridesmaid) and they went down so well, everyone loves a goody bag! I wanted canvas ones too but opted for DIY paper bags to cut costs! X

    Leanne - A Slice of My Life

    ReplyDelete
  3. love the nail polish color its so fun! Gel nail polish is super nice for special occasions but such a pain to get off
    Allison from www.mercuteify.com

    ReplyDelete
  4. Seems like you had a lovely time! Love the theme :) And I've always wanted to visit Brighton. It seems like such a charming town!

    xx Mimmi, Muted Mornings

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular Posts