We know what you’ve just run into. One of your best friends just trusted you with organising the single most important weekend of his life. The stag do! Maybe you’ve been a best man before, perhaps you’re a rookie on the field. Either way, this guide will help you pack up an outstanding weekend the groom will be grateful for. Maybe he will pay it back some time.
One thing’s for sure; we know how to do it!
This is a comprehensive guide that will take you through the process step-by-step. You can hire a company to do the most of them and to take most of the weight off your shoulders, but there are things nobody can ignore. At least nobody who wants to see the thankful face of the groom in spite of the terrible headache he has flying back home.
STAG Emporium can do for you much more than that, but first, let’s see how a real pro would jump into the project!
Face the fact, there is no too soon scenario. The sooner the better. You have a lot of stuff to get right, so if you want to stay far from trouble, gain momentum right now with this article.
Find out the most about his expectations. At the end of the day, it’s his weekend (even if some of the attendees will think otherwise), so you should consider his likes, hobbies, special requests. You are there to provide him as much comfort and fun as you can. So, write down everything the groom wants from the stag weekend! A good question is…
“What would you like to do in your ideal stag weekend?”
Yes, that’s right! Maybe you cannot catch up with all his needs, but you can be as flexible as you can in order to make most of his dreams come true!
Budapest Spa Party
As a best man, think about the group. Think about the size, what they want to do, how they behave. What kind of activities would create rapport within the group? What activities would bring them closer to each other?
For example, paintball is not good for 5 people, and if the group is 50 people, one gokart court won’t be enough.
If the group size is way too large (more than 20 people) make sure not to book too many activities, otherwise it will be a headache to keep everyone to the schedule, leave enough time between the activities for everyone to do some other stuff too.
Often the stag has circles of friends, who do not necessarily know each other that well. Try to find a person from each smaller group who are sort of “leaders” of that group and find out what activities everyone would be happy with, but don’t involve too many people and never put up the whole schedule to voting, as everyone will want to do something else!
Try to agree in activities which are equally acceptable for everyone, so that you don’t make a minority of the group feel like their word doesn’t count. Of course if the stag has a hobby or a special interest, it may be the case that certain people will not be too fond, but they’ll surely understand that it was the stag’s decision.
Consider at least the following…
Like we said before, invite everyone that will make your stag do better, and leave the others at home. Too big groups are hard to handle, and too small ones won’t have the necessary buying power. 10-15 people are ideal for a great weekend!
Most probably more people will say yes for the first invitation, and then when they need to transfer the deposit they hesitate, but you don’t want to lose money, so you will do it, right?
Set a deadline for the deposit you collect from the others. It should be a couple of days before you send the deposit, because someone surely will be late.
Try to estimate the number of participants, deduct one third of the group, and ask the offer for this size, and you will have only positive surprise financially. More on it later…
No special thing needed, just let them know who you are, why you are writing, and to save the date. Here is a simple letter.
Hi guys,
I’m glad to tell you that you are part of the group invited to the biggest party ever held on the planet: Peter’s stag do!
My name is John, one of the best friends of Peter’s, and I have the honour to organise this stag weekend for you. I will make sure that we have a lot of fun in a nice place somewhere out of town.
At the moment we are deciding upon some stuff, but the reason I’m writing to you is to SAVE THE DATE and book your days off from work on XXXXXXXX.
I will come back soon with some more details, take care until then!
Cheers,
Budapest
Of course, we recommend Budapest, but only if you want to have a great party weekend with some nice activities in the company of definitely the most beautiful girls in Europe!
Consider the activities you would choose based on the conversation with the groom. If you like speed, adrenalin, beers, wines, girls, limousines, nice weather, great nightclubs and open bars and people, you are most definitely welcome in Budapest!
Tip: you may want to check with the hen night in order to avoid being in the same country if you want to attend the wedding ceremony as well! 😉
Set up communication channels with the participants. Create an invite only Facebook event or group, and set up a mailing list with Google.
Try to avoid too much communication, because you may bore them and they won’t give a shit what you write after a while. Be structured and to the point instead. Let them choose between some easy stuff, but definitely not everything! This way things will be kept under control.
For this, there is one thing you should do in the first round…
Create two groups. One is for the ones that help you decide the most important things (2-3 people maximum), and the other is for everyone. You don’t want to communicate everything with everyone.
Be smart: avoid unnecessary disputes.
This aspect is very important. You can easily shy away some people if you set a high budget, but cheaper is not always better. However, there are deals when cheaper wins the quality round as well.
Depending on the price level and the value of your currency measured by the money of the target country, sometimes it’s really worth it to visit! Budapest is optimal from all points of view. The Hungarian Forint is weak, and the place is dirt cheap anyway, but girls are hot and activities are awesome!
You can have a decent stag weekend here for 120 euros or (95 GBP) per person, including 2 nights, airport transfers, a bar crawl and a day activity. Flights are between 100 – 150 GBP (130-190 EUR).
Again, this can be a deal breaker, so discuss it properly, and find the best value for the price you want to pay.
There is an important question here: who should pay for the stag? Should he pay for himself? You, as the best man will do it? Or all of you ship in? We think the former is out of question. He has to pay for the wedding, and it’s his weekend, so he shouldn’t pay for it. So, unless you are a millionaire, maybe you are better off calculating the budget per person without the groom.
You will most probably go for a party organiser that lets you cancel people until a deadline, and be aware that people will call off, but be strict on that deadline. The ones who pay can come. Others will see only the pics, if you let them.
Remember! You’re not a bank, so ask for the money on time and keep the deadlines. You can set the final numbers based on the money that flows in.
If there is a big group, you definitely should think ahead!
Take care of the groom and the closest group of friends. Choose a level of accommodation that fits best with your needs. Remember, it may be difficult to accommodate a large group of people, so you should be early enough. Always have everyone sleep in one place, because splitting the group will make the whole stay slip out of your hands. We can surely arrange one hotel for all of you!
You may be better off using the buying power of the stag organising company. STAG Emporium can offer you better prices than the ones you can find over the net, so you’ll save money. Just ask!
Smart Tip: If the group is dangerous, choose a simple hotel, because the bill can shoot to the moon in a 5-star hotel.
Budapest Laser Tag
Should you have activities at all? Maybe not, if you are a group that know each other for ages, but if there are at least some strangers, activities can help you with socialising and having a good laugh together.
Anyways, it also depends mainly on the stag! What would he like?
You may also want to consider the numbers. How big is your group? Some activities are not for large groups. A beerbike has only space for 15 people, so a larger group would need to rent two bikes which would split the group. A large partybus or Hummer for 30 people can however do the trick and drive everyone crazy in your vicinity.
Consider games. You can quickly and surely can tune up a party with some drinking games in your pocket. Also, be aware that it’s extremely easy to overplay! Of course, the groom doesn’t, but maybe single guys in the group want some flesh! If you want to go for a lapdance tour, Budapest is your place to be with STAG Emporium! OK, he’s one of your best friends, and he deserves a great stag weekend. But come on! He gave his heart away, so he gets what he earned! You definitely can liven up the party with some stag pranks!
Anyway, it’s boring only with sharks, you need a kitty in the company, so our guides will see you through the whole weekend, looking for the ways they can serve you! We made a fine selection, you will see.
Be aware which activities have a no alcohol policy, and avoid those if you think you can’t keep away the group from the morning shots!
Smart Tip: You bet, we want you to hire us, and we also want you to have a good time here anyway, so keep in mind that if you prefer doing everything alone, you may want to get on the guest list of the clubs you plan to visit in order to skip the queue. However, we understand, if you want to wait the queue, because you can meet a hell lot of fine chicks, but with a large group, you may have an unsportsmanlike advantage over the locals by entering the club in the VIP lane.
If you don’t hire a stag company, you should be aware that you must organise the transfer of the whole group in the city. From the airport to the hotel, from the hotel to the activities, the pubs, strip bars, nightclubs and the way back. If you want to enjoy the party, hire us! We will give you a minibus that takes everyone to the place. It will be even cheaper with much less work.
It’s much better way to order a strip limo on the airport and have some fun right after landing. With style.
There are fun ways to travel in Budapest, just ask us to get to know more about it.
Try to get to know the place beforehand. It’s an obvious topic that most people may easily overlook, but it’s easy to mess up and you can get yourself in some trouble if the group gets hungry.
A company with a local knowledge knows where to go to refuel. You can eat through the whole world in Budapest!
Consider a stag dinner with a dancing queen spicing up the food.
Stag costume
Make your stay stand out with a stag dress. You can have a common t-shirt or an entire set for some of the activities. If you want to avoid showing off, you may not be the right person to organise this stag do for your friend!
If you want to make your stay memorable, consider a stag dress. For the stag certainly, but even better, for everyone.
We think a cow with a sound pussy or a giant dildo will do, but you may reconsider to buy something here.
4-6 weeks before the weekend you should already have been able to collect all the deposits and have the final program and numbers. Have it closed with STAG Emporium, and communicate to the participants. An email like this will do.
Hey guys,
Good news! The party for Peter is all set, and we are ready to go.
All you need to do is confirm your place in the group. You can do this by sending me the deposit to this bank account by XXXXXXXXX.
Bank account details:
XXXXXXXXXX
The rule is simple. If you transfer the money you come!
Cheers,
According to our experience, it’s essential to bring some pain killers and sick bags with you. Also, it’s nice to communicate what kind of clothes the group will need for the activities. It can be real pain to find out on the quad race that some of you brought only party outfits! Especially if you didn’t tell them to bring anything else.
Believe me, not everyone thinks the whole weekend through, so you need to warn them.
Be a leader of the group! Remember, you are there to serve the groom. And we will be there to serve you!
Talk to everyone, get to know them a bit, and ask for their feedback. Ensure that you will help them with everything they need. Let them have fun, but be strict when it comes to deadlines (when meeting to go for an activity for example).
Take as many pictures as you can, unless you sense the groom needs more privacy!
Most importantly, be close to the groom at all times. Whatever he needs, make it happen. If you cannot do it, ask our guides, they will surely can!
After you collected all the congratulations on your job organising this weekend, enjoy your extra free day off work, because you will need it.
You can collect the pictures from the others on that day, and make a collection for the stag of the funniest and most humiliating moments of the stag weekend! Be careful, though, you are there to serve, not to get your best friend in trouble!
Enjoy!
As you can see, organising a perfect stag do is not an easy project. There is plenty of stuff to consider, and take care of. You can do a good job alone, but if you want to give the single best experience to your friend, you’ll be better off with a stag do organising company, like us.
We have the local knowledge, the buying power, we offer the best guides and we are really flexible. You make up your mind, and we get things done. That’s how it goes here.
On the other hand, this is also a huge responsibility. It’s good to have someone local help when things go wrong (with a stag weekend, they can, believe us), and when they do, at least you have someone to take responsibility and take control to get things back in order.
If you have any questions, we’re here to talk! We love interruption. Contact us!
STAG Emporium