In short
A bachelor party (for the groom) or bachelorette party (for the bride) is a send-off with close friends shortly before the wedding. The names change with the country: stag do and hen party in the UK, buck's night in Australia, and enterrement de vie de garçon – literally the "burial of bachelor life" – in France (Wikipedia: Bachelor party). Some couples skip the split and throw one joint party instead.
Photo: Photographe EVJF GREG / Unsplash
The idea is old. Accounts of the ancient Spartans describe a dinner with toasts for the groom on his last night as a single man, and the term "bachelor party" appears in print in 1922. Today the format ranges from a quiet dinner to a full weekend away with activities by day and a night out after dark.
In Germany the same event is called a JGA (Junggesellenabschied, "bachelor farewell"). German JGAs usually last a single day and often feature matching T-shirts, a costume for the bride or groom, and small dares in public – the classic one is selling trinkets to passers-by from a tray worn around the neck (Wikipedia: Junggesellenabschied, in German). Germany also has a separate pre-wedding custom, the Polterabend, where guests smash old crockery – the noise was traditionally said to keep evil spirits away from the couple.
Example
Tom's friends plan his stag weekend in Lisbon. Saturday starts with a food tour, continues with a boat trip and ends at a rooftop bar. The best man hands out a short list of photo challenges: a group shot with a local street artist, a picture of Tom ordering in Portuguese, a sunset selfie with everyone in frame. By Sunday the group has hundreds of photos – spread across eight phones.
What to watch out for
- Plan around the guest of honour. Ask what they enjoy and what is off-limits. Not every bride wants a sash, not every groom wants a costume.
- Be upfront about money. Share a per-person cost early and say what it covers, so nobody drops out quietly.
- Keep challenges kind. Good dares make the group laugh without bothering strangers. For ideas, see bachelorette party games and bachelor party ideas.
- Agree on photo etiquette. Decide together which pictures stay within the group and which can be shared more widely.
- Collect photos in one place. Settle on a shared spot before the weekend starts, not afterwards.
With Filmriss
Filmriss works like a shared disposable camera: everyone joins via a link or QR code and shoots in the browser, no app or account needed. Nobody sees the photos during the party, so nobody quietly deletes the embarrassing ones – the gallery opens for everyone the next morning. See Filmriss for bachelor parties.
