Plan the perfect bucks party!

So one of the boys is getting married! You know what that means? It’s time to throw a party! Some may call it a bucks party, or a bachelor party, or even a stag do, but whatever name it goes by, you know you’re in for a good time! 

Now, a bucks party is a rite of passage for the groom. It’s a chance to spend some quality time with friends and family before settling down into married life. Not to mention the celebrations are a whole lotta fun! But, in order to have all that fun, someone needs to plan the party!

There’s no hard and fast rules as to who’s job that is, so if it’s yours, or your helping a brother out with the party prep, we have some info that may make things a little easier.

Let’s just call it The Who, What, When, Where and Why.

Let’s face it, it’s not everyday one of the boys gets married. So let’s take some time and make sure this is a boys day or night not to forget.

 

Why do I need help?

Now we know that sometimes us guys aren’t too fond of, say, an instructional manual. So, that’s not what we’re calling this, let’s just call it some friendly advice from a mate. And take it from us, a little planning and organisation now, will go a long way on the day of the party! So, rally the troops and let’s do this right, and do this well, so you can all get out there and have a good time at the party!

Follow these steps, and you can ensure that not only the groom, but you and all the guests, can kick back and enjoy the ultimate bucks party!

First things first, before you start any of the planning, speak to the groom himself. Whilst you might have an idea in your head as to what a bucks party is all about, the groom may have a very different idea!

Some things to consider asking include;

• Who does he want to invite?
• What dates work for him?
• Some do’s and do nots and any other special requests.

Understandably, you may want to keep the nitty gritty details to yourself and surprise the buck on the day! However, covering off a few simple questions with him at the start will make sure you are on the same page and you are planning a party he is going to love!

Who’s coming?

Next up, the guest list. After speaking to the buck you’ll know who he wants to invite and who the other groomsman are (i.e the other blokes you can rope in to help you out!).

Get the lads together who are going to help you, and spitball a few ideas that the groom may have mentioned. Maybe he wanted a boys trip, or maybe he wanted something low key, but bring everyone up to speed on what his thoughts were. You’ll then be able to create a rough budget and a ball park on costs involved and be able to pass that info onto the rest of the boys.

From here, it’s a good idea to reach out to all the boys the groom wants to invite and give them a heads up on your initial planning. This includes, dates, any initial ideas on the celebrations, and an idea on the budget.

When’s the party?

This is a straight forward one, and no the answer isn’t the night before! Speak to the groom about potential dates, and run these by the guests.  If you’re struggling to find a date that suits everyone, ask the groom who are non-negotiable attendees and work the dates to fit in with their schedule.

Generally speaking bucks parties are 4-6 weeks out from the wedding. This gives everyone plenty of time to recover, as well as freshen up and look sharp in time for the big day itself. We’ve all seen the movies, you know what I’m talking about! 

Where are we going?

This is where it starts to get interesting! So where’s the party at?!

Whether you’re sticking to local celebrations or going to Vegas (or Bris-vegas) there’s some logistics to consider when deciding on your location.

Accommodation:
No matter where you’re headed with your celebrations, considering accomodation as part of the plan may be a good idea. If this blows the budget out too much, offering it to the guests as an additional option could work too.

 
Transport:
Trust us, thinking about this ahead of time can save you a headache on the day. Think about where you will meet up, how you’re all going to get around, and most importantly, how you’re all getting home or to the hotel for the night.

Options:
If you’re going all out, and heading on a weekend away, you have to consider not everyone may have the availability or the extra cash to do so! It may be a good idea to have an option, for those who’d love to be involved but can’t go away for the entire weekend. Starting communication early with the guests about availability and costs will allow you to factor these things in before locking in numbers for accommodation and activities.

What are we doing?

Now when you hear bucks party, maybe the first thing that comes to mind are pub crawls and strippers, but there is a whole world of activities you can include!

There’s no one-size fits all when it comes to these celebrations, and putting your heads together to come up with the ultimate bucks party should always have the grooms preferences and interests front of mind.

Here are a lists of some themes and corresponding ideas to get the brain ticking over;

• Sports Lover - Corporate box at the footy, go-karting, paintball, golf tour
• Adrenalin Junkie - sky diving, bungee jumping, luge, speed boat, white water rafting
• Rev head - quad bike tour, hot laps or rally car driving, limo hire
• Water lover - fishing trip, surf lesson, kayaking, scuba diving
• Foodie - BBQ masterclass, steak dinner, burgers and beers
• Loves a bevvie - brewery tour, whiskey tasting, winery tour

There are nearly endless activities to chose from, so sometimes narrowing down a theme can help stay on track. Once you have some ideas divvy up the activities, get some quotes and then get back to the guest list in order to confirm costs with them, and numbers to book the activity.

Words from the Wise

It’s no surprise that we have helped plan out our fair share of epic bucks parties! So we will leave you with some final words of wisdom

• Know your audience.

There’s two parts to this. Firstly, personalise it to your groom. Know what his interests are and try and tailor the celebrations to something you know he will love. Secondly, tailor the activities to the guests. If your guest list spans the ages, chances are everyone may not be up for a couple of hours of paintball, so keep this in mind and potentially give options for activities that may not suit the whole crowd.

• Group Chat

Setting up a group chat will make communication between all the boys that are planning the celebrations, much more straight forward. Do this early on and it will keep all communications in one spot, making things much easier to reference back to whilst the planning is underway. 

• Consider the itinerary

It may be hard to try and narrow down all the activities you want to do for the bucks party, however it’s important to keep things realistic. It’s ok to leave some space between activities for some down time during the day. It gives the groom, and everyone else, time to chill and mingle with all the guests!

• Communicate

Find out how much the groom wants to be involved and keep him in the loop if that’s what he wants. Otherwise, most importantly, be sure to relay all the important information to the boys invited. You want them to be across dates, destination, dress-code and any out of pocket costs they’re going to need to cover. Like-wise they’ll be able to fill you in on any info you need to know about them. Think dietary requirements, accessibility requirements etc. this will ensure everyone is looked after on the day.

Of course, if all of that seems a bit much, you can handball some of the planning to the professionals (that’s us!). We can organise the destinations, accommodation, all the way down to the activities. So don’t be shy, give us a buzz and we’ll help share the load.

With that all said and done, we reckon it’s time for a beer! Who’s with me?

The Bucks Co