Hen Party in London

So, a hen party is the British name for a bachelorette party. I've known that for as long as I've known British people, and I've always thought it was a pretty fun way to describe the gathering of girl friends before a wedding - the hens on the town for a night. Similarly, bachelor parties have their own funny name in the UK - stag nights! Yes, stag!

The while thing started back in May when Chris told me he wanted to have his stag party while we were both in the UK in June. Not willing to deny him the pleasure of such fun, I thought, "Hmmm, what will I do while he's out doing God knows what?" And that's when I thought about asking some girls to get together for a hen party the same night as Chris's stag party.

The girls - Charli, Jo, Kathryn, Lauren, Nicky, and Purvi - put together a great night! We started at Kathryn's flat with champagne, Pimm's, and a cake with miniature chocolate penises on it. Love it! They also "dressed the hen" by giving me a tiara with a veil (handmade by Jo), a set of pom poms, a hot pink boa, and a princess wand. And I can't forget the hen party shirts. We each got one. They are cute little v-neck black tees with "Don't Stop Me Now, I'm Having Such a Good Time" written on the front. That was a recommendation by Charli from our days of dancing on stage to that song in front of all the kids and staff at Camp Neumann. I still remember the entire dance - and do it EVERY time I hear the song, no matter where I am!

Then it was on to dinner - the Afghan Kitchen. Was delicious! After food, we went across the street to a swanky bar with yummy girly drinks. I had something that tasted like liquid marshmallows, recommended by Purvi. We then went to the pub next door with great music and cheap drinks. It was there that Lauren dropped her Blackberry in the toilet and was forced to take a shot of tequila as a punishment for answering work e-mails on a Saturday night. (Picture below!) Purvi and Jo had some sort of pom pom war which I documented with bout 30 photos on my camera - one of them is pictured below.

Once we had enough of the pub, it was off to Club de Fromage - yes, the club of cheese! And that's exactly what it was! Cheesy 80s and 90s music. I was thrilled. it was absolutely my kind of club! Lauren and Charli kept disappearing to request that the DJ play "Don't Stop Me Now." I think it was at least 2 A.M. when he finally played it! At some point, Jo got a text saying something about her friend who was willing to bail us out of jail if it came down to that! Of course we weren't that bad, but I appreciate that she planned so well, she thought of every possible scenario! Nicky decided to take my camera from me, and began to really document the night by passing it around to all the girls. Thank goodness for that, because I doubt I would have remembered to take a single picture with all the fun I was having!

We wandered out at about 3 A.M. and found a kebab shop for late night snacks. Charli, Lauren, and I went back to Lauren's flat, and although Charli swears we're wrong, we think we saw the first of the morning light on the walk back!