Wolverhampton Racecourse Wedding Fayre

Sunday April 25^th 2010 saw Stag and Hen Manchester At the Races and specifically Wolverhampton Racecourse Wedding Fayre. We set off early from Manchester and were set up and in place in plenty of time and were pleased to see queues to get in at 11am.

We were next to BHS and a bridal fayre and opposite a honeymoon organiser. Other stands included balloons, flowers and favours, a toastmaster, a videographer, catering, a yummy chocolate fountain and a stand selling gold flake infused sparkling white wine.

It was a day where it was mainly all hens with the odd couple of stags thrown in for good measure. Popular requests centred around private Manchester karaoke pods in Tiger Tiger and funnily enough the Manchester hen party mecca across the road at the Birdcage Manchester. There was also a smattering of requests centred around the more relaxed and sophisticated Manchester spa days, champagne afternoon tea in Manchester and Manchester cocktail masterclasses.

A couple of stags who came to see us for ideas for their Manchester Stag Weekends were also after the ever popular Manchester lap dancing and Belle Vue Dogs and we were quite happy to oblige them with all the information they needed to organise their last night of singledom.

The Wolverhampton Racecourse wedding fayre did prove that you wolverhampton brides to be are supremely organised though as all of you were for weddings in 2011,2012 or 2013!! But hey lets face it, it is never too early to start thinking hen and stag party. We certainly made it into some wedding folders and wedding books with our leaflets.

We ran our usual competition for our bottle of pink bubbly and congratulations to the stunning Lizzie and Sinead who became winners and were presented the bottle by our hen expert Sharon. Lizzie was especially thrilled and was planning to go home and have further wedding planning session with a little liquid refreshment. She had also bought a small bottle of 23 carat gold flake infused champagne to go with our pink bubbly she had won.

Pictures from the day are on our Facebook and Twitter sites and don’t forget that if you become a fan of Stag and Hen Manchester on Facebook or twitter and then book your party with us we give you a twin room for your stay absolutely free!! It is a fantastic way of keeping in touch with all the new activities and from the stag and hen side of Manchester.

Our next wedding fayre is on May 8th in Altrincham so why not come down and have a word with us.

Regards the Stag and Hen Manchester Team

http://www.stagandhenmanchester.co.uk

Frog and Bucket Manchester Comedy Club

On Thursday evening this week Stag and Hen Manchester were invited down to what we believe to be the best Manchester comedy club the Frog and Bucket to experience a comedy evening in the Northern Quarter just a few minutes walk from the Printworks. We were thrilled and gratefully accepted the invite as we tend to use this venue wherever possible for a Stag Comedy Evening or Hen Comedy Evening.

The doors to the Frog and Bucket will open at 7pm and the shows at the weekends will tend to start at 8.15pm. We decided we would get there quite promptly and arrived at the main entrance and gave our lead name, (no actual tickets are exchanged), and the bouncer let us through. (stags it is at this point you will be asked for a crisp ten pound note per stag as a good behaviour bond if you wish to enter – It is not intended to put you off it only acts as a safeguard to ensure you all enjoy the entire night as if one of your group is ejected you will lose the whole lot)

A member of the Frog and Bucket team will then lead you through into the venue itself. The Frog and Bucket is a small venue split between the ground floor and balcony. Everyone regardless of whether you are eating with your tickets or not gets a seat around a variety of tables. It ranges from a bar stool and table for those smaller groups not eating to long thin tables or 6ft rounds for those that are. There are also some smaller booths upstairs on the balcony. For your Manchester Hen or Stag Comedy evening don’t worry as you will all either be on the one large table or you will be split across two tables right next door to one another. Our table was smack bang in front of the stage which for a ginger haired lad meant Mike was in for some good natured ribbing!!

The other essential for a Manchester Comedy Club is a good bar and the Frog and Bucket doesn’t disappoint with a large ground floor bar and smaller balcony bar upstairs so you are never more than feet away from liquid refreshment. The only decision you need to make is are you prepared to get up in the middle of the show and risk being seen by the comedian to go and get the next round in!

So we had arrived and sat down and decided to have some of the food that is on offer as all our Manchester Stag comedy evening and Hen comedy evening tickets include two courses. We went for a pizza and curry to start with and both were good for what they were and followed it up with some chocolate cookie and cheesecake. Now Stags and Hens the food does a job and is very nice for what it is but just don’t be expecting restaurant standard from a smaller comedy club as your expectations probably won’t be met. In our opinion other Manchester comedy clubs offer the same standard as it is an additional thought and not what the clubs are set up to do. There isn’t a set time for having your food and plenty of people decided to eat during the comedy itself when it started but with a large group I would suggest using that first hour or so to get it out of the way so you can fully concentrate on the hilarious comedians.

The comedy itself generally lasts until about 11pm and is split into manageable segments so that there are breaks in between and the show is kept together by a hired in MC who is also a comedian to get a bit of banta with the audience. One of our favourite comedians from the night was Paul Tonkinson a previous winner of Best Comedy Performer at Jongleurs amongst other things but you never know who might be on or popping in as the Frog and Bucket spawned the famous like Johnny Vegas for example and he has been known to pop back unannounced every now and then to. One piece of advice though it is adult humour so those with delicate sensitivities this probably isn’t the best Manchester Stag or Hen activity for you.

Come close of the comedy show the chairs and tables are removed downstairs and very quickly the Frog and Bucket reverts from Comedy Club into small exclusive disco with hits from the 70’s, 80’s and 90’s until 2am for those that don’t wish to make the short walk to the Printworks and worry about getting in elsewhere. This time though we didn’t hang around for it but it’s great fun for those that like a bit of retro cheese.

Stags remember to get your behaviour bond money back at the end of the evening as stags very rarely get thrown out and lose it that way but have been known to forget to collect it on the way out at the end of the night!!

All in all a fabulous night and our thanks go to the Frog and Bucket Comedy Club in Manchester for the invitation.

So why do we recommend the Frog and Bucket over other Comedy Club options. It is because with a smaller capacity of 200 sat on tables in groups rather than theatre style, additional food and drink to have during the show, a comedy pedigree and a position close to the ever popular bars of the Northern Quarter and the Printworks bar and club complex at Shudehill it has the full package.

For additional pictures and videos check out our youtube channel, facebook site and twitter pages as the pictures will give you more of a feel for the venue aswell. Then for any queries or if you wish to book regardless if you are stag or hen, private individual or group feel free to get in touch on info@stagandhenmanchester.co.uk or by telephone on 0161 223 0417.

Stag and Hen Manchester at Wolverhampton Races Dunstall Park Wedding Fayre

Yes you have read that correctly a week on Saturday on the 25^th April 2010 Stag and Hen Manchester will be at the Wolverhampton Racecourse in Dunstall Park. Now just as we won’t be gambling but exhibiting at the wedding fayre you Wolverhampton prospective bride and grooms shouldn’t gamble on the quality of your Stag or Hen parties. They are after all as important as the big day itself so let us at Stag and Hen Manchester organise that unique party to remember.

The Wolverhampton Racecourse wedding fayre on April 25^th 2010 is an ideal chance for you to start thinking stag and hen parties. We focus on solely Manchester as we are based here and passionate Mancunians and can provide you with invaluable local knowledge to give you only the most friendly stag and hen friendly accommodation, best and in certain cases unique activities and activity venues and best places to experience Manchester’s cosmopolitan nightlife.

Now we know it is highly unlikely that you aren’t going to be booking your stag and hen parties at a wedding fayre so we offer an easy way to keep in touch with our Facebook, Twitter and normal website pages and run a permanent offer whereby if you join as a fan and then book your party with us we will give you one twin room completely and utterly free (t&c’s apply). We will also be running an hourly competition for a bottle of sparkling wine which lets face it could help you mull over your wedding plans after the fayre J All you need do is fill in some details about you and your special day ahead to be entered into the prize draw.

So what’s on offer in Manchester you ask? How about an enviable and large selection of hotels in a city centre where you can walk to almost everything. Manchester Stag Accommodation and Manchester Hen Accommodation are covered with options from 3* independents, to 4* apartment hotels to 5* chains. Prices range from as low as £40BB upwards so every budget is catered for.

Our enviable range of stag and hen activities stretch from the adrenalin end of things with indoor skydiving, snowboarding, indoor assault course and Manchester paintballing down to the popular relaxed activities like cocktail masterclasses, mini spa days and even a champagne afternoon tea in Manchester. All designed to make those Manchester stag nights or Manchester hen weekends extra special.

Then we can advise and organise passes to a wide range of Manchester’s nightlife with highlights including the only city centre super club Pure, the hen mecca that is the Manchester Birdcage and a large number of bars in the popular Printworks and Deansgate Locks complexes.

So head down to the Wolverhampton racecourse wedding fayre on the 25^th April 2010 and come and see the Stag and Hen Manchester team. We'll be looking out for you to see what you've got in mind. If you're not heading off abroad then Manchester is the place to be.

See you there!!

Regards the Stag and Hen Manchester team

Espionage, Entourage and American Foodage

Stag and Hen Manchester’s blog has unfortunately lain dormant over the last two weeks due to a large amount of work being done to expand our list of both stag and hen activities in Manchester and due to a large amount of bookings very quickly approaching in by far the most popular month of the year so far May. We were tempted to try and fool you with something obsurd on April 1^st but decided you would see through it.

So on we go to additions to the activity listings. Firstly came a dip into the deep and murky world of Espionage Manchester as we donned our finest spy gear and met up at an undisclosed city centre location to discuss how best to get a unique spy experience for you stags and hens visiting Manchester.

So the question is what is Espionage Manchester? Espionage Manchester is a fast paced hi tech treasure hunt around Manchester involving various gadgets, tasks and challenges. The city is divided into twelve different sectors where if you solve the challenges and are first to report back to mission control you win each particular city sector. The action is tracked and scoreboard updated real time and sent out to the teams so you can see at any one time what state the game is at. The winning team is the team to win the most city sectors in the time frame allowed.

Espionage Manchester will start off at HQ with a 30 minute team briefing before you are divided into teams and let loose on the streets of Manchester. From trying to find a barcode to scan on a lamppost in the Northern Quarter to getting Chinese translated in Chinatown you could end up doing anything. Half way through the morning of afternoon you meet up again at a designated rendezvous point at which the remaining challenge information will be released and then once time is up you will meet back at HQ to discover who has won and divvy up the prizes.

Half day packages are available in the morning or afternoon and it is an ideal stag, hen or even mixed group activity for those looking to explore Manchester during the day and who are a little competitive. Our advice the larger the group the better but games have been set up with as low as 10 people before.

Next to be added to our activity list came the impressive and stylish Entourage Manchester nightclub inside the Printworks. Reincarnated from its previous existence as Paparazzi this nightclub is ideal for those stags and hens who want to really dress up in their finest gear and be part of clubbing glitterati at the Printworks as you throw some moves on its sizeable dance floor to tunes from crowd pulling DJ’s. If you want to get some stag or hen props or fancy dress going on Entourage Manchester is one to avoid however. Up against the more mainstream and bigger superclub Pure it tries to differentiate itself by its glitz and glamour so girls get your gland rags on and head on down. Stags max group of 12 allowed so if you are above that not one for you.

Last but by no means least Stag and Hen Manchester were contacted about linking up with our favourite American Bar and Grill Henry J Beans Manchester and needless to say we jumped at the chance. We have been given a stag and hen package which includes either pitchersof beer or cocktails on arrival a fab three course meal and then a shot to send you off on your way and all for just £25 per stag or hen. That is if you want to go as with its sizeable bar and enviable collection of spirits and cocktails its hard to drag yourselves away a lot of the time.

Then not content with being a restaurant during the day Henry J Beans Manchester transforms into a venue to rival any bar in the Printworks as a dance floor appears as if from nowhere and a house DJ starts playing plenty of music to enjoy your night to. So even if you don’t want food and just a good night you can get entry for the special price of £2 per hen or stag if pre booked with us.

We are currently working on sailing, kayaking, canoeing, climbing, windsurfing and powerboating all at a venue only a tram ride away from the city centre so keep an eye out for further activity additions.

Football, Groovy Wonderland, Pure Comedy and A Busy May

It has been a busy old week in the life of Stag and Hen Manchester since we last updated our blog. Highlights included a invite to see how the other half live in a corporate box at Manchester City V Everton, attended the launch of Groovy Wonderland Tiger Tiger's new Friday night party for stags and hens and finally headed to the launch of Pure nightclubs comedy club. Throw into the mix a numbers of confirmed stag and hen parties booked for May and you easily lose a week like that.

So the football well put simply the city is split into two separate halves Blue (Manchester City) and Red (Manchester United) and so I donned a light blue scarf and posh shoes and headed to East Stand Corporate Box 19 for an evening as a guest of Draf Engineering a local firm. The food and drink were fabulous the result was not. Still it gave weight to our plan to introduce football tickets both normal and corporate to both Manchester City and Manchester united from next season. Keep your eyes peeled on our website, twitter and facebook feeds for more information when we release it.

For Manchester Hen Weekends normally we would always suggest a night at the Manchester Birdcage that mecca for visiting hen parties but now Tiger Tiger in the Printworks have come up with a more than equal alternative for a bit of retro fun on a Friday night. Groovy Wonderland in a private room with glitterball, multicoloured flashing dance floor, groovy chicks roller skating around, stilt walkers and cocktails galore served in hollowed out fruit. My favourite being a hollowed out watermelon!! We posted some pictures and a small video on Facebook but they didn't even do it justice it is great fun. Again I am awaiting final details to release to the website and hope they will come soon.

Then after a bit of Groovy Wonderland it was off to Pure Comedy Club for a spot of giggles followed by late night clubbing. Pure Manchester's only city centre superclub with over 2000 people hitting the club on a Saturday night out are now doubling the value for money by offering a comedy show with club entrance from only £10 per person and with the quality of local comedians I experienced on opening night and buckets of 5 beers at only £12 I can safely tell you that if you eat early and fancy something different it is definitely the way to do comedy and Pure whilst on your Manchester Stag Party or Manchester hen night.

Then suddenly this week we have had bookings galore for May and am thrilled to have sorted out two stag parties and one hen party since the weekend! So if you were planning a Manchester stag night or Manchester hen party in May get a move on accommodation is getting harder to find!

Signing off for Now Mike at Stag and Hen Manchester

Stag and Hen Manchester Illusions Magic Bar VIP Opening

The Stag and Hen Manchester team accepted an invite to go to the grand VIP opening of Illusions Magic Bar last night and thought that we would twin it with a meal at the Hard Rock Cafe to celebrate Sharon our hen expert’s birthday.

We booked a table at 7.15pm at the Hard Rock Cafe Manchester and when we arrived were greeted by the friendly staff and immediately taken to our own booth and given menus to choose what we having. We opted to wait until after the meal to have some of their legendary cocktails and instead opted for a cheeky pink number from their wine list to go with our food. To start with we shared some Tupelo Chicken Tenders for mains Sharon went for Caesar Salad and Grilled Shrimp and I went for the Hickory Smoked Pulled Pork sandwich and then we evened squeezed in a desert Creme Brulee for Sharon and I opted for the strawberry cheesecake. Everything was top notch and we stuffed ourselves!

The restaurant’s popularity shone through as even on a Tuesday night it was bustling with people throughout the course of our meal and the friendly team were very attentive to sort out everyone’s need no matter how big or small the group. There was an atmosphere with rock music on in the background but the important thing is that you can still hear each other talk. They have the mix just right at the Manchester Hard Rock Cafe.

We finished up our meal and then headed down to the legendary Hard Rock Cafe Manchester cocktail bar where Luke whipped us up an Electric Long Island Iced Tea (one for the stags) and a Raspberry Prosecco (one for the hens). Luke is one of the bar tenders that will be doing some of our cocktail masterclasses and that is because he knows his stuff and hens he isn’t bad to look at!! Both stag cocktail masterclasses and hen cocktail masterclasses are available at the Hard Rock Cafe right through from midday to midnight if needs be and prices start from just £35 per person for 2 hours of mixing fun!

Following our meal we headed around the corner in the Printworks to Illusions Magic bar where after a few weeks of soft opening they had rolled out the red carpet and were having a grand opening. Stag and Hen Manchester always enjoy a trip into Illusions Magic Bar as the cocktails are superb and thanks to our special exclusive deal are 2-4-1 with wristbands we will organise and the magic always leaves us open mouthed. Misdirection is the name of the game and no matter how hard we try we never see the slight of hand it is truly amazing.

It is a brilliant and ultimately different venue as it is one of only two branded magic bars in the entirety of the United Kingdom and on a Manchester Stag Weekend or Manchester Hen Weekend you can experience it for hardly any money at all. Entrance is free and we will give your discount drink wristbands for free aswell all you need do is tag it onto your enquiry that you send us , it is that simple.

Once you have a drink you can sit at the “Magic Bar” where magicians will do shows from 7pm onwards throughout the night and once you have finished with the magic why not try the acoustic guitar or piano live music that is played on a Friday and Saturday night and all before you pop next door for the Manchester clubbing experience at Pure or across the road to the Birdcage. In Manchester stag nights and hen nights out are that easy!!

Check out our website for Illusions Magic Bar for hens and Illusions Magic Bar for stags and then check out our Youtube, Facebook and Twitter pages for photos , videos and updates from last night. Why not follow us or become a fan!

Watch out for our next blog following a visit to the Blue footballing half of the city as Stag and Hen Manchester head to a corporate box for tonight’s big game Manchester City against Everton.

Regards the Stag and Hen Manchester Team

Our Day at the Vincent Hotel Wedding Fayre March 21st 2010

Sunday March 21^st March brought Stag and Hen Manchester’s 4^th wedding fayre of the season at the Vincent Hotel Wedding Fayre in Southport. From 12 midday to 4pm we spent the afternoon helping all your stags and hens and encountered everything from a groom who was passing our details on to his best man in Australia who was struggling to get something organised to ­­­­a lovely group of bridesmaids who were at pains to shoo the bride away when talking to Mike about plans for the Hen Do.

The day started brightly and we enjoyed meeting friendly faces from the Crosby Cake Company where Sharon snaffled a rather delicious bit of white Belgian chocolate cake. The view directly across to the 15 wedding cakes all afternoon was a killer though and had us both salivating!! We also had the pleasure of flawless hair and bridal make up and linzi next to us on the stand who also did the make up and hair for the two bridal catwalks. Then on the other side of us were the hosts The Vincent Hotel themselves and the lovely team there.

Straight from opening time at midday we were delighted to see a steady stream of brides and grooms mainly with some bridesmaids and best men coming to see us with some queries. A lot of those with weddings this year were asking specific questions particularly hens about the mecca that is the Manchester Birdcage for that Manchester Hen night out and stags this time it was a lot of questions about Manchester Karting which we were happy to help with.

Those with weddings a few years off were eager to start their stag and hen planning early and were over the moon to hear about our Facebook and Twitter special offer available at http://www.stagandhenmanchester.co.uk/special-offers.html . They really felt like they could keep in touch with all things Stags and Hens in Manchester without feeling pushed into booking.

We ran our usual competition for our bottle of pink bubbly and congratulations to the stunning Jennifer Edwards who became our winner and was presented the bottle by Mike. She said she was thrilled and planning to go home and have further wedding planning session with a little liquid refreshment.

Check out all our photos and videos from the day at our Facebook site and brand new YouTube channel – why not subscribe for regular updates and all things Stag and Hen in Manchester.

Next up for Stag and Hen Manchester is a trip to the races in Wolverhampton for our penultimate wedding fayre of the season on the 25^th April so if you are in the area we look forward to seeing you there!!

Regards the Stag and Hen Manchester team