The Hen Party: Doing it Deliciously in London

Written by Claire Burge from Wedding Dates

The concept of hen parties is rather novel to this South African lass. Back home in the sun, we tend towards the kitchen tea: that afternoon tea party where aunts, grandmothers, friends and mothers gather around good food and gifts to set the bride-to-be and her prince’s new home up. It usually involves some strange games of dress up and shaking boxes to guess their content. My own one had a washing line suspended across the lawn with letters and snippets of advice on marriage, cooking and loving my man into our ripe old years.

These kitchen teas are far removed from the traditional European hen party. So now that I find myself in picturesque and mostly rainy Europe, I’m thinking that I would be doing things a little differently if I was to be getting married here. Being a total foodie and a food photographer I think a weekend centered on all things sumptuous in some of the gorgeous London Wedding Venues and restaurants can only make for delicious memories. I have the village of Bermondsey in mind… It holds gems that few people know of.

A few ideas that I would consider for my hen party in London:

Three Meals – Three Venues - I would love to start the weekend in a chic city-centre hotel. Breakfast here and then a hop and a skip over to a traditional antiques market would be the leisurely start that this girl’s heart craves for every Saturday morning. Perhaps from there we will saunter along to a perfume-making class or a few hours of being truly pampered. Lunch will be accompanied by a glass of wine. From there I fancy getting a little creative with some cupcake decorating and the day will end in a beautiful evening of salsa dancing and tapas. Who knows what might happen after the lights go dim…

The Market - Sunday is market day! And off the girls go armed with cameras and ready appetites. The Borough Market is well known for its beautiful collections of good, soul ingredients. This would be followed by a classy afternoon tea so we can share Saturday’s tales and compare our elegant purchases.

Where She Lays Her Head To Sleep - In between all the eating and activities, some sleeping needs to be done so we will book into a London Wedding Venue tucked away in London’s trendiest neighbourhoods.
That brings the weekend to a yummy end, oh wait, the girls are ordering one more glass of champagne. I’ll be right back…

Claire Burge is an online editor for Wedding Dates: a wedding venue and date search tool that allows engaged couples to find the perfect venue that has availability on their desired wedding date.

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