How to Plan a Jack and Jill Party

A Jack and Jill party (also known as a Stag and Doe party) is often run by the best man, maid of honor, and family members of the bride and groom before the actual wedding ceremony. The celebration is often held to help raise money for the bride and groom to either pay for wedding costs, honeymoon, or to assist starting out their lives as a husband and wife.

A Jack and Jill party is often run in place of other associated pre-wedding events, such as a bachelor party or bridal shower, but this can vary depending on cultural customs and family traditions.

Things You'll Need

• A location to hold the event
• Food and Drinks
• Raffle Prizes
• Entertainment
• A group of people to help

Instructions

1. Gather your team and start planning.

   Finding a group of people to assist in the planning process can go a very long way, as you certainly do not want to be stuck doing everything yourself! Look for volunteers from other bridesmaids, groomsmen, and close family members and set meetings to get some ideas going. During the meeting, split up your handling of the party into segments and assign it to different people. Whether its food, alcohol, renting a location for the party, running a raffle, or entertainment, people can be assigned a topic to gather information and costs. Make sure to set a deadline for this information so they have it when everyone can meet next.

2. 

   Calculate.

   Once you have your cost information from everyone, calculate all costs. Try to estimate how many people might show up to the party. Do the Bride and Groom have large families or an extended network of friends? Would you consider co-workers attending? Questions like these should be considered.

   Tally up the cost of everything, even to the smallest detail, like purchasing tickets or decorations, and write it down for a total. Once you have a total you can consider a reasonable price to charge a patron per donation in exchange for an entry ticket. It is essential that the number of entry tickets sold can at least cover the cost of expenses. Distribute and sell these entry tickets as early as possible in advance to start paying for the costs of the party.

3. 

   The Raffle.

   Running a raffle for prizes during the Jack and Jill party is a great way to raise money for the bride and groom. Use all your contacts and resources to gather potential prizes. There are many people that would not mind donating a free bottle of wine, a golf lesson, or even tickets to a ball game, but you wont know unless you ASK. Whoever is in charge of this assignment has to be savvy! If budget is not much of an issue, the bridesmaids, groomsmen, or family each might be able to contribute something for a prize. The more that is obtained for the raffle, the better!

4. Bring it all together and have fun.

   Arrive early to set up your location. Time will be needed to set tables, decorate, and items. If you have a group of people helping out, make sure all duties are covered such as having someone at the door to collect entry tickets, a "bartender" to pour drinks, and people to run the raffle. Confirm that they can hold these responsibilities either the entire party, or can switch duties with another person later on.

   If everything comes together, the Jack and Jill party can be a great event for everyone involved and the bride and groom will appreciate your efforts taken to run it in their honor!

Tips & Warnings

• You can save potential costs on catering in various ways. If you do hire a catering service, ask if they will have someone there to manage the food the entire event and if they provide plastic plates, cups, and utensils. They might throw in these extras for free depending upon how much food you ordered. Better yet, ask to see if anyone can make and bring food potluck style, which can help reduce catering costs.

• If you are providing alcohol, consider beer and wine only. Liquor can get expensive to order and use. Ask your alcohol distributor if you can return unused kegs or unopened wine for a refund if not used after ordering.

• You do not have to go overboard with entertainment options, if you do not want to hire a DJ or band, see if you can get a good mix of lively songs to put on an ipod instead.

• Check your local area for a decent place to rent for the party. There might be many social clubs, fish and game clubs, or veterans affairs clubs that can provide a place to hold the Jack and Jill party at a reasonable price.

• Be sure to know the capacity of people allowed inside your location, as it can be considered a fire hazard by local authorities if you allow more people inside the area than allowed.