On a night out in town, 9 times out of 10 you will see at least one hen do on your travels between pubs. They often include skimpy outfits, and something that draws attention to the bride herself. It will more often than not involve bucket fulls of alcohol, and references to all the men the bride can no longer “have”.

Is it your idea of a good time?

Various Anne Summer’s “uniforms” being worn to attract the attention of men to the single hens, and the opportunity for the soon to be married hen to find out just how desireable she still is, before she is off the market for good.

I find it all quite tacky. Diminidhing themselves as sex objects, women on hen do’s tend to attract all the wrong attention for all the wrong reasons. And it rarely ends well. Hangovers and forgotten actions - never a good mix!

I recently saw a fairly tasteful hen do in Manchester - a soon-to-be farmer’s wife, and all her cows! It was brilliantly done, black t-shirts with white spots for the cows, all with black trousers with taiils and udders (washing up gloves blown up!), and masks that moo-ed. The “hen” herself was dressed as a farmer, complete with flat cap and muddy wellies - even the bouncers were surprised to see them! There wasn’t a short skirt or low cut top to be seen.

This kind of hen do reflected both what the “bride” was becoming, and that her friends wanted her to be comfortable and not on show for drunken men to grope at.

I liked it. Shame that most women (and men) find that the best way to celebrate an “end to single life” is to push the boundaries on their “last night of freedom”.
I think it should be a celebration of a freind commiting herself to someone she loves.

But I guess it depends on your point of view.

America singer, songwriter and actress Stacey Ferguson known to her fans as Fergie has recently revealed her plans to wed her fiancé actor Josh Duhamel, in a fairytale styled wedding next summer.

The 33 year old Black Eyed Peas star is reported to spending in the region of $1.5million on the nuptials scheduled for June 2009.

It is believed that Fergie is designing her own wedding gown with the help of world renowned fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld.

A close friend of the pair is reported to have commented to a US magazine about Fergie and wedding planners:-

“Fergie has just started interviewing wedding planners. She’s also working with Chanel designer Karl Lagerfeld on getting her fantasy gown. They are taking their time to get everything right. They only plan on getting married once,”

Fergie met 35 year old daytime award winning TV actor Josh in September 2004 when she the Black Eyed Peas appeared on Josh’s NBC TV series Las Vegas and the couple have shared a home in Brentwood, California since 2007. They announced their engagement last Christmas.

It has also been reported that the couple decided against rushing preparations for their wedding because they wanted every tiny detail of the day to be just right.

When a pair of motorcycle fanatics planned their recent wedding, they opted to arrive at their chosen wedding venue amidst a procession of more than 100 other bikers.

The 31 year old bride Jenny Hadfield and her 47 year old husband to be arrived at the Pastures Lodge Hotel in Mexborough accompanied by members of the Yamaha Virago-Star Owners Club in Doncaster for a Rocky Horror themed - bikers wedding ceremony.

The couple were wed by the registrar at the hotel in the presence of more than 350 family and friends, and two guards of honour on motorcycles.

The happy couple joined the convoy of more than 100 other Yamaha enthusiasts and travelled from Doncaster’s’ Castle Park Rugby Club to the hotel.

After the ceremony had taken place the couple and their guests, some of whom had turned out in fancy dress for the occasion, headed back to the Rugby club in order to resume celebrations which had gotten underway the night before the wedding as a combined hen/stag stag night.

The groom had expected to see many of his fellow bikers on his big day but was astonished at just how many turned out to wish him and his bride well. He said:-

“I couldn’t believe how many turned up. There were bikers there from all around Britain as well as from Holland, Switzerland and Germany. It really made our day and they looked after us like royalty.”

The tradition of the hen night is as ancient and deep rooted as the tradition of marriage itself. In days gone by all the females from future wedding party, including all of the bride to be’s family and friends gathered together at the house of one of the bridesmaids or even at the brides home to celebrate the forthcoming wedding.

The hen party entertained the bride with tales of married life and gave her advice and helped prepare her for her future as a wife. It was customary to offer the bride small token gifts to accompany her on her journey through married life, and overall the festivities were decidedly modest and low-key.

However in these modern times, the avant-garde bride expects something very different from her hen night, with the hen night celebrations occasionally requiring as much planning as the wedding or the honeymoon! Modern hen nights are exciting and entertaining, and often incorporate travel abroad or overnight hotel stays in popular towns and cities across the country. Games such as bridal bingo are quite common.

Usually, after some general ideas from the bride to be, the Chief Bridesmaid is allocated the responsibility of arranging and co-ordinating the hen night, organising the venue, hen party invitations and any other requirements for the celebrations, for example any activities that need equipment or accessories, such as the bridal bingo mentioned earlier.

On the brides part, her hen night will form part of her future wedding memoirs which she will treasure forever, so whether the plan is for an intimate get together with close friends, a night of touring bars in and clubs in a chauffeur driven limousine, or a week of non-stop partying in sunnier climes, the overall aim should be to make certain that the hen has a good time.