The History of Hen Dos and Stag Dos

The matching "Bride Tribe" t-shirt feels like a recent invention. The party it's printed for is nothing of the sort — versions of it have been marking the run-up to a wedding for well over two thousand years.

Ancient Beginnings

The bachelor party's roots stretch back to Sparta in the 5th century BC, where soldiers held a dinner to toast a groom on the eve of his wedding — a formal send-off from single life among close male companions. Ancient Greek bridal customs included the bride and her female relatives making offerings together before the wedding, an early parallel to the modern hen do.

Where the Words Actually Come From

"Hen" has been used as slang for "woman" since the 1620s, and "hen party", meaning a gathering of women, was first recorded in 1887 — well before it meant anything to do with weddings specifically. "Stag" as slang for an all-male gathering is American English slang dating to 1848. Neither term started out wedding-specific; they only attached to pre-wedding celebrations later.

The Modern Version Takes Shape

The stag and hen party as a distinct pre-wedding tradition really developed from the mid-19th century onward. Bachelorette-style parties for brides became more common in the 1960s, alongside women entering the workforce in large numbers — female colleagues marking a bride's last days as a single working woman. By the 1970s, these had grown from tame office gatherings into events that mirrored the format of men's nights out, and the modern hen and stag weekend, often involving travel, themed outfits and a full weekend rather than one evening, developed from there.

Matching Kit Is the Modern Signature

What's changed most in the last twenty years isn't the party, it's the printing. A matching hen or stag t-shirt used to mean a limited run from a specialist supplier, ordered weeks ahead. DTF printing removed that barrier: full colour, individual names or nicknames on every shirt, no minimum order, turned around in days rather than weeks.

Where This Shows Up in What We Print

Matching hen, stag and wedding party clothing, personalised with names, nicknames or roles, is exactly what our hen party, stag do & wedding printing page covers.

Frequently asked questions

How old is the tradition of a pre-wedding party for the groom?

It dates back to at least 5th-century BC Sparta, where soldiers held a farewell dinner for a groom the night before his wedding.

Where does the term "hen party" come from?

"Hen" as slang for woman dates to the 1620s, and "hen party" meaning a gathering of women was first recorded in 1887, predating its modern wedding-specific meaning.

When did the modern hen and stag weekend develop?

The tradition took its current shape from the mid-19th century onward, with bachelorette-style parties for brides becoming common from the 1960s and growing into full weekends by the following decades.