5 Tips For Arranging A Stag Weekend

The groom has chosen you as the best man. Congratulations! Now what do you do? Begin preparations for stag weekend and later, using the events of the stag weekend as inspiration, write the best man's speech. Below are three key points to you started for the stag weekend.

Who's coming
Sit down and talk to the groom. Find out who his best mates are, other than the close circle of mutual friends. Ask about his student days, work places old and new, long lost childhood buddies, sports clubs and any of his fiancée's male friends. Does he want his father and father-in-law to come? What about other male members of either side of the family?

Once you have collected all the names, count the number of people you have. You may think there are too many at the moment but remember that some will not be able to attend the stag weekend. Aim for about 10-15 people if you can. Any more and it'll become unmanageable or there will be too many people who do not know each other and getting into places may prove a problem.

Gather all the names and contact details into one place. Skobee is a fantastic web 2.0 tool for organising an event between people when the details are still a bit fuzzy. Give it a go and let us know how if it worked for you.

When and where to go
You'll need to give people as much notice as possible as to when the stag weekend is going to be held. Suggest a few dates over email, over a pint or using something like Skobee. If you're planning on inviting folk who are not amongst your close-knit bunch of mates then make sure you consult these guys if you can.

Likewise, choosing a city to host your wild weekend is an important one, best debated between friends over email so everyone has a chance to air their views. Remember though, that you, the best man, are ultimately responsible for making the final decisions and you can't please everyone, and don't forget the groom's wishes. Location plays an important factor because often people live all over the country or possibly abroad. Plan a location that is easy to get to for all party-goers.

Accommodation
If you're chosen location is in a city, a hotel or B&B is the best choice of accomodation. Some have policies against stag and hen parties so make sure to double check. Book the accommodation as early as possible as it'll be difficult to find somewhere closer to time that can cater for a large group of lads. Consider if the place has a bar too - this always goes down well with everyone. The location of the hotel is also a consideration. Generally you'll be paying more to be closer to the action so consider everyone's budget as people will already have forked out for travel, and after having paid for accommodation, might not have much left to spend on the weekend itself.

What to do
Once you have decided on who's coming and where you're all going, research what there is to do. Where are the best pubs, clubs, and bars where 10-15 people can get in at the same time? Can you get group discounts by phoning around? Is everyone in your group happy to go to lap-dancing joints? If you have a vicar with you, lose him quick, he'll thank you for not putting temptation in his way. Find restaurants that can cater for a large bunch of lads on a Friday and Saturday night.

Other than night time activities, the weekend can be broken up by finding an exciting activity to do on the Saturday. In and around every major town or city there's companies looking for your business. It's always worth negotiating on the price of these activities especially when you booking in a large group. If the event or activity you plan to do is situated away from the town, see if the company can organise a minibus to pick you up from your accomodation as taxis can be expensive for out of town journeys. If people within your group have cars it may be good idea to put the car keys behind the hotel reception so you're not tempted to drive in the morning as more often than not you'll be drunk still.

Budget
You and the stag might be able to afford the cost of your planned weekend but what about everyone else. Once you know where you're going, where you're staying and what you're doing, work out a rough cost for transport, accommodation, activities, eating and drinking. You may have to reconsider your plan if things are looking a little on the expensive side. Perhaps it may be cheaper to travel abroad where you can get more for your money or that people won't be put off so much by the expense because they are in a different country.

Introduction to the Stag Weekend

If my memory serves me correctly, I have been on four stag weekends, which have been held in Liverpool, Stoke-on-Trent, Blackpool and Newcastle. Each weekend comprised of an activity of some kind, from watching football all day and generally getting drunk to more organised events including go-carting and paintballing.

Raising the adrenalin levels
Looking back, it is clear to me that the best weekends involved a hair-raising activity. For a lot of people, it's their first experience of an outdoors activity and possibly their last until the next stag weekend. All shapes and sizes attend stag weekends, some are fit, some are skilled, some shine only in the bar, but what an outdoor activity can do is put everyone on a level-playing field. When I went go-carting, the boy racer of the group was disqualified for dangerous driving, and if that wasn't enough for the poor bloke, a vicar won the overall championship. At paintballing, I'm sure my strategy of laying down low and moving in for the kill by slithering in the tall grass was superior, but because of my colour blindness, I hesitated when firing because I wasn't sure if my target was on my team or not.

Drunken Aspects
Plenty of shenanigans go on at stag weekends. There's a law if I remember correctly:

What happens on tour, stays on tour

or something to that nature. A few years ago I read a funny email stating all the unspoken rules that one silently abides by. If I find it, I'll post it here.

In my own experience, I was so drunk once, that I thought I was Spiderman, and because I was locked out a room I was sharing with a mate (he bailed an hour early because he was near collapse), I pushed up the bay windows at the end of the hotel corridor, climbed out on to the ledge, and shimmied along 20 metres to the left to my room balcony and climbed in. Over breakfast (full English, there is no other on a stag weekend) the next morning, I was told I repeated the idiotic feat a few times, idiotic because there was a 30 foot drop to the street below.

XXX
On 3 of the 4 stag weekends I've been on, the group of lads has inevitably ended up in a strip joint of varying quality. From what I can remember, the venues that charged an entry fee were a class above the lap dancing clubs that were free to walk into. The girls, the decor, the lighting, the whole experience made you feel less of loser. Also, it's probably advisable to go when your mates are drunk, otherwise they'll watch every reaction you make to the lap dance and there's nothing worse than your mates watching you when you have an erection.

Invitation
A lot can happen over one weekend and invariably involves drunken exploits, ego bashing in the form of sports, lap dancing, humiliating the stag, plus the added attraction one receives from the opposite sex just because you are part of a stag party. I'm going to write about stag weekends and I invite any willing contributors to get in contact.