Sten Do Ideas: How to Plan a Joint Stag and Hen Do That Actually Works

The latest craze for hen do ideas is actually Sten parties: a coming together of the hens and the stags for one incredible event!

More couples want their friends to actually know each other before the wedding day — and that's the real driver behind the sten do. A joint stag and hen do (or 'sten do', if you like a portmanteau) means no awkward first-meeting at the reception, no FOMO about what the other half is up to, and a wedding party that arrives at the ceremony already on first-name terms.

It's not just a vibe shift, either. According to YouGov polling, around 8% of men aged 25-34 have been to a sten do — and the appetite for combined celebrations keeps growing as friendship groups become more mixed.

The catch: planning for double the people means double the schedules, the dietary requirements, and the energy levels. The bride's nan and the groom's five-a-side team aren't going to want the same Saturday afternoon. So the five sten do ideas below are picked specifically because they work for mixed groups — different ages, different stamina, different ideas of fun.

A cocktails class is the easiest icebreaker for a sten do

If half the room hasn't met the other half, you need an activity that puts a drink in everyone's hand within ten minutes. A cocktail masterclass does that. Everyone's got something to do, no one's awkwardly hovering at the edge of a group chat they're not in, and by the time the second round is shaken people are swapping recipes and stories.

A good mixologist will run you through three or four cocktails — classics like a margarita or negroni, plus a couple of more adventurous builds. There's usually a friendly competition built in: best presentation, most creative garnish, closest to the textbook spec. Team bride versus team groom is a great (if a little obvious) choice!

A few classes worth booking:

• cocktail making class in Shoreditch
• cocktail masterclass in Manchester
• mixology class in Liverpool

Group size: Most cocktail classes cap at around 12-16 people per session — bigger sten dos will need to book two sessions back-to-back, or split into morning and afternoon slots.

Highly recommend! Paul was a really good host. The preparation of the class was amazing and the drinks tasted lovely. It was a really fun event that the whole team enjoyed - thank you so much! Victoria Brimble, ClassBento Crafter

Like the idea of some pre-wedding relaxation? Click here for wellness-inspired hens party ideas!

A photography tour solves the 'what do we actually do all day' problem

The hardest bit of a sten do isn't picking one activity. It's filling six hours without anyone checking their phone. A photography walking tour fills the time and gives everyone something to take home — which is rare for an activity that doesn't involve eating.

You walk a route through a city, your tutor stops at five or six locations, and along the way you learn about composition, light, shadow, framing — the stuff that actually makes a photo work rather than just look filtered. iPhone or DSLR, doesn't matter. Most of these classes are pitched at total beginners.

The bonus: by the end, half your group is taking sharper photos than the wedding photographer's assistant, which pays off properly on the day itself.

A few to consider:

• photography walking tour in London
• iPhone photography class in Edinburgh
• street photography class in Manchester

Group size: Walking tours scale up better than indoor classes — typically 8-15 people, but most tutors will run two parallel groups for larger sten dos. Worth asking when you book.

Gee is a lovely, friendly guy who takes time to find out what you’d like to learn. He was able to tailor his class to suit our needs. As a result, I learned lots of useful things. Lots of ‘wow’ moments, as we surprised ourselves with what was achievable! Thanks! Beverley Bryant, ClassBento Crafter

Chocolate making is the low-pressure option for mixed ages

If your sten do includes the bride's mum, the groom's nephew and three flatmates from uni, chocolate making is the rare activity that works for all of them. No standing for three hours, no shouting over a cocktail shaker, nothing anyone needs to feel competitive about. Just a table, a bowl of melted chocolate, and a confectioner walking you through truffles, pralines or fudge.

A few classes worth looking at:

• chocolate making class in Shoreditch
• truffle making workshop in Bristol
• chocolate class in Manchester

Group size: Chocolate classes are usually capped at 10-14 people per session. They run for around 1.5-2 hours, so two back-to-back sessions are a sensible model for bigger sten dos — the first group can head to a pub while the second group melts chocolate.

The teacher was incredibly knowledgeable and helpful, and his passion for chocolate really shone through during the session! Theo Lawson, ClassBento Crafter

A pizza class beats a sit-down restaurant for groups over 10

Once your sten do passes ten people, a sit-down restaurant becomes a logistical mess. Half the table can't hear the other half. The waiter forgets two orders. Someone's chair is in the doorway. A pizza-making class is the same activity (eating) without any of the same problems — everyone's standing, everyone's moving, everyone gets their hands floury.

Your chef will run you through the dough (stretching, tossing, the stuff that's harder than it looks), then it's open season on toppings. There's almost always wine on the side. The food shows up hot, in stages, and nobody waits 40 minutes for their order.

A few worth booking:

• pizza making class in Hackney
• Italian pizza class in Manchester
• Neapolitan pizza workshop in Newcastle

Group size: Most pizza classes are built around bench space — usually 12-20 per session, which fits a mid-sized sten do nicely. For 30+, ask about a private hire, which a lot of venues offer at a slightly bumped per-head rate.

Thanks very much for a great afternoon, we all had such a good time. The staff were very helpful, and most importantly the pizza making course was fantastic (so was the pizza). Highly recommend! Chris White, ClassBento Crafter

A calligraphy class is the antidote to a hangover sten do day two

For weekend-long sten dos, day two is often the problem. Everyone's a bit dusty. Nobody wants another bar. A calligraphy class is slow, quiet, and rewards a steady hand — which is harder than it sounds after a late night, but in a fun way. People settle in, find their breathing, and an hour later there are 18 hand-lettered cards on the table that nobody expected to be able to make.

It's also one of the few classes that runs as a virtual session, which is handy for anyone in your wider wedding party who couldn't travel for the full sten do but wants to be part of one bit of it.

A few to look at:

• modern calligraphy class in London
• brush lettering class in Manchester
• virtual calligraphy class (delivered nationwide)

Group size: Calligraphy classes typically cap at 8-12 — they're the most intimate of the five. Bigger sten dos will need parallel sessions, or to position calligraphy as the day-two activity for the subset of guests who fancy it rather than the whole group.

How to plan a joint stag and hen do that actually works

The five activities above will give you the day. The trickier question is the planning around it — and it's the one most sten do guides skip. Here's the practical bit.

• Pick a group size and stick to it. Most workshop venues cap classes at around 12-16 people. Once your sten do creeps past 16, you've either got to book two back-to-back sessions of the same class (works well — the first group debriefs in the pub while the second cooks), or pay for a private hire of a venue that can take the lot. Anything over 25 and private hire is almost always the cleaner option.
• Decide how the cost gets split. Sten dos cost more than a single hen or stag because there are more people. Tradition says the couple doesn't pay for their own pre-wedding party — but the maths gets uneven fast when one side of the friendship group is bigger than the other. The clearest model: a flat per-head contribution from each guest into a shared pot, with the chief organisers (usually the maid of honour and best man working together) booking from that pot. Splitting strictly down the middle between 'team bride' and 'team groom' tends to fall apart the minute one side has more guests.
• Plan for mixed energy levels. A sten do guest list spans more ages and stamina ranges than a single-sex hen or stag does. The bride's nan, the groom's five-a-side team, the couple's coupled-up friends with a toddler at home. Pick at least one activity that works for everyone in the room — a class, a meal, a walking tour — and put any high-energy stuff (club, late dinner) at the end of the day, after the people who want an early night have slipped off.
• Use the 'split, then merge' model. This is the best of both worlds and it's what most successful sten dos actually look like. Hen and stag groups do their own thing in the morning — separate spa, separate go-karting, whatever — then merge for a joint afternoon activity and dinner. Both sides still get the same-gender catch-up time that's the traditional point of a hen or stag do, plus the wedding party gets the icebreaker.
• Make it different from the wedding. A sten do shouldn't feel like a dry run for the reception. If you've already got a sit-down dinner on the wedding day, your sten do isn't another sit-down dinner. Pick something hands-on, slightly silly, slightly outside the comfort zone — that's what guests will actually remember.

If you've got a sense of the group size and a rough budget, the simplest next step is to scan ClassBento's class listings by city — most workshops work just as well for sten dos as they do for single-sex parties, and the cap-per-session rule above will tell you whether you're booking one slot or two.