A Stag and Doe's should be planned out thoroughly so that everyone attending has a great time.
Pretty easy concept, right?
It takes about two months to plan a stag and doe. This includes time for ticket sales.
1) Write down all your anticipated costs i.e hall rental,(check to see if hall insurance
is required) food, paper plates, plastic cutlery, napkins, cups, snack foods, ticket printing,
decorations, equipment rental for fund-raising games, Disc Jockey, etc.
2) Don't plan on making a killing from your guests. Plan on making sure your guests
are entertained and having a good time and the rest will come easy.
3) Appoint a committee or delegate responsibilities. Someone to handle ticket printing,
others to handle food (not with their hands) ordering and set-up as well as decorations.
4) Plan on serving a decent spread of food. Potato chips, cheesies and pop just won't cut
it on their own.
Suggestions: Lasagna, pizza(order it hot and fresh just before serving the food)..order
three types in your mix. One that's neutral just with cheese(for the almost vegetarians),
one with meat for the meat lovers and one with toppings that the bride and groom to be prefer.
Cracker and cheese tray. That is a variety of cracker and cheese types. How about ordering
a Chinese food buffet?
The possibilities are endless. Just don't appear chintzy.
5) When hiring a disc jockey here a couple of things to consider, Look at the
possibility of hiring the DJ for the wedding as well. Ask if there is a combo discount
if booking the stag and doe and the wedding with the D.J.
Hire a D.J. that has the ability to make announcements for you throughout the night,
and maybe even has the ability to invite people up for requests. A good D.J. can
even get people to participate in the fund-raising games.
**keep in mind that in many cases people who attend stag and does may not be there to
dance, that's not to say they won't. However, if the venue is small and congested and there
is a lot of chit chat, with games and activities going on, there is a much stronger chance that
less dancing will be taking place. However a good selection of background music to please
the guests creates an exciting ambiance. Hire the D.J. from 9pm to1am. Any earlier and your
wasting your money. Majority of guests tend to show up between 9 and 9:30pm anyway.
For a good D.J. you should pay no lower than $350 to no higher than $500 for 4 hours.
(stag and doe only)
If you don't care about the quality of D.J. you get then it won't matter what you pay, but you
may regret what you get. Qualify them.
6) Make sure the hall that you have booked has a good variety of alcohol in stock. In most
cases the hall takes the bar.
If you control the bar there are more risks and possible headaches involved.
7) Plan the evening with a good selection of fund-raising games. Have your good looking friends
sell draw tickets to your guests. Make sure they charm, smile and hustle for best results.
8) Appoint a number of people to sell the stag and doe admission tickets. Suggested price range of tickets...
$7 to $10 per person or $12 to $15 per couple (higher or lower depending on how wealthy your
friends are).
The average guest should plan to drop at least $15 to $20 on games of chance or skill.
Keep in mind many people may just purchase a ticket to support the cause and
may not show up. However the people that do show up will want to be entertained.
9) Theoretically your stag and doe addmission ticket sales should cover the cost of your
hall rental, D.J. and food. The rest as they say, is gravy.
10) Make sure your friends and family who sell your stag and doe tickets sell them as
a main event, pumping it up with excitement.
11) Refer to our fund-raising ideas section on the previous page to learn more ways to generate
revenue.
12) Make sure you thank your guests for coming out that night. Thank individually everyone
that helped make the night a success (your hoping that it was) and remind everyone
not to drink and drive, order a taxi or you will help them make arrangements to get a
ride home.
