Organising a stag group: Take the lead
These days, many people try to get everyone involved in organising things like stag do’s; they want everyone to be comfortable with the plans so that everyone can have a great night. Unfortunately, this inevitably leads to the original plans being diluted, with everyone vetoing certain parts of the plans, you’ll often end up with a pretty standard night on the town.
One strategy to combat the mediocre nights that are caused by this chaos-by-commitee is to take charge. If you’re the best man, it’s your duty to make the decisions and tell everyone what’s happening. We recently got forwarded this email from a friend:
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“Hello All -
If you are reading this email, it is because you are invited, along with a privileged few, for the premiere event of 2010. On April 16th, Tom will be having his one-and-only Bachelor party, in anticipation for his marriage/funeral, yada yada, yada. For those of you who don’t know me, my name Is Rob and as Tom’s best man, I’ve been put in charge of organizing his bachelor party and believe me when I tell you it’s gonna be amazing. Here’s what you need to know:
1) Due to the uniqueness of this bachelor party, only eight of Tom’s close friends will be able to attend. And because there’s no way for him to fairly select eight friends, it is on a first-to-confirm basis. Of course he wants all of you to attend, but he especially wants those of you who REALLY want to attend. So here’s what else you need to know in order to make your decision.
2) The bachelor party will begin the Friday afternoon of April 16th and end the evening of April 18th. There will be no late admittance, or joining midway, or leaving midway. Attendance is all or nothing.
3) There is a fee of $425. This will cover EVERYTHING for the weekend. Tom doesn’t want cost to be a factor in your decision, and frankly if you can’t raise $425 in 4 months, he’ll understand. There is one exemption to the $425 cost. If you are flying in from out of state, your $425 fee is waived and you can put it towards the cost of your plane ticket.
4) The weekend will begin and end in Los Angeles, and in the spirit of the element of surprise, that’s pretty much all I’m going to tell you for now. I will say that this weekend would be classified as an “Outdoors” type weekend. No, it’s not camping, but it’s not a 5-star hotel either. If you’re not a fan of the elements, Tom will understand.
5) Once you confirm, and I’ve received your check for $425, I can give you more details about what you’ll want to bring, and any travel arrangements you may need to make.
6) Finally, there is one rule we will all have to abide by during the weekend: This is Tom’s Bachelor party and therefore it’s all about him. If you have any hesitation about that, or if you don’t think you’ll be able to commit 100%, Tom will understand. But once you commit, you commit to the whole 9 yards.
If you can agree to all the conditions above, please let me know immediately. Reply to this email as soon as you’ve made a decision either way. Remember, it’s a first-to-reply booking. There’s a lot of planning involved here so I’d like to have everyone’s names confirmed ASAP. I guarantee you will enjoy yourselves. This is gonna be a good one.”
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If you’re going for this strategy, make sure your plans are solid – organise a stag weekend that the group will remember for the rest of their lives. Don’t hold back, be daring, take no prisoners, and take the lead – “A man who procrastinates in his choosing will inevitably have his choice made for him by circumstance.”
